Dragon Ball: Sparking Zerois the official revival of the belovedBudokai Tenkaichiseries of fighting games. More than a spiritual successor, it’s inevitable that games would draw comparison. More accurately, it remains to be seen ifDragon Ball: Sparking Zerowill live up to the legacy of its predecessors.
Ever since the very first game,Budokai Tenkaichihas made its name on massive rosters. Not only does each game contain a massive number of playable characters, the makeup of the roster is incredibly diverse. Considering the rising cost of development time, many thought that any potential sequel could never live up to this metric. Thanks to recent materials that have leaked online early, it seems thatDragon Ball: Sparking Zerowill manage to do the impossible.
Dragon Ball: Sparking Zero’s Roster Could Compete With Budokai Tenkaichi
Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichifeatures a whopping 64 characters, which is especially impressive for a 2005 fighting game. After all,Dragon Ballhas continued to gain acclaim over time, and every subsequent game in the series has been sure to take advantage of this.Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 3currently has the largest rosterin the series, with a mind-boggling 98 fighters joining the fray. When factoring in the additional forms that many characters have, this number balloons all the way to 161.
This was practically unheard of in its day, and still remains incredibly rare now. For reference,Dragon Ball FighterZhad a base roster of 21 characters, with 3 additional fighters that players could unlock. Even by the end of all DLC seasons, the game only had 44 characters. While the phrase “only 44 characters” may sound laughable when measured against many other mainstream fighting games, it goes to show whyBudokai Tenkaichiis such an outlier.
Dragon Ball: Sparking Zero Could Live Up to the Hype
Thanks to a generally reliable leaker named Hype, the number of characters included inDragon Ball: Sparking Zero’s final roster has leaked online. Hype included an image of the game’s box, the back of which included numerous details about the game, including the size of its launch roster. According to this image,Dragon Ball: Sparking Zerowill feature more than 180 characters at the time of its launch.
This far exceeds expectations, and would even surpass the titanic roster ofBudokai Tenkaichi 3. With that in mind, it’s likely that this count includes alternate forms and similar characters. In fact, the official roster already includes many such alternate forms, ranging from Super Saiyans to Mecha Frieza. This is hardly a cause for disappointment, as these forms have always been a defining trait of the series. WhileDragon Ball: Sparking Zero’s rostermay live up to its predecessor, character diversity is another question entirely.
Dragon Ball: Sparking Zero Still Has Some Work to Do
Thankfully, this has been answered by recent announcements as well. For example,Dragon Ball: Sparking Zerowent a long time without making mention of anycharacters or content fromDragon Ball GTafter its reveal. This left many wondering ifGT’s corner of the universe would be left to DLC, or simply be ignored entirely.
A recent trailer proved this wrong, withGTfinally getting the spotlight thanks to the inclusion of its most important characters. Attention then shifted to the game’s lack of movie characters, but this was again mended inDragon Ball: Sparking Zero’s most recent trailer. Likewise, the inclusion of obscure characters like Bergamo has put many other worries to rest.
Dragon Ball: Sparking Zerocurrently checks the boxes of both size and diversity.Budokai Tenkaichi 3admittedly still hasSparking Zerobeat in the latter category thanks to the inclusion of absurdly obscure characters such as Appule and Hirudegarn.Sparking Zerohasn’t even reached into the pockets of its more recent additions, as theSupermanga’s characters have mostly been left on the table. Thankfully,Dragon Ball: Sparking Zerocould use DLCto fix this in the future, and fulfill the promise of aBudokai Tenkaichi 4.
Dragon Ball: Sparking! Zero
WHERE TO PLAY
DRAGON BALL: Sparking! ZERO takes the legendary gameplay of the Budokai Tenkaichi series and raises it to whole new levels. Become a super warrior and experience the earth-shaking, limit-breaking power of DRAGON BALL battles!Unleash the strength of over 180 fighters from DRAGON BALL Z, DRAGON BALL Super, DRAGON BALL GT, and selected DRAGON BALL movies, all in the base game! Each character comes with their own signature abilities, transformations, and techniques.Make the destructive power of the strongest fighters ever to appear in DRAGON BALL yours!Engage in heart-pounding, high-speed 3D battles that stay true to the anime and video game series, with breathtaking visuals and authentic combat moves like beam clashes, rush attacks, movements too quick for the eyes to see, and planet-razing ultimate attacks.Challenge other players online to test your skills, or sit down with friends offline to hone your skills exclusively in the Hyperbolic Time Chamber! Fight your way to become a champion across various tournament modes and victory conditions.Conquer the action-packed battles from the beloved original story, or discover and unlock new encounters for your favorite Z-Fighters and more. Relive your favorite moments from the series through cutscenes you can experience from the perspectives of eight characters!Recreate your favorite battles from throughout the DRAGON BALL story, or set up your dream story battle with your favorite characters! Share your creations with other fans and experience the battles brought to life by imaginations around the world.
