Summary
- Dragon Ball: Sparking! Zero will feature characters from the original Dragon Ball anime series, expanding the roster to 164 playable fighters.
- The Red Ribbon Army and Tao Pai Pai were both teased by the game's marketing director.
- There is also the possibility of characters from Dragon Ball GT appearing in the game, bringing Super Saiyan 4 transformations, though this remains unconfirmed.
Recent comments from a high-ranking official at Bandai Namco seem to indicate that Dragon Ball: Sparking! Zero will include characters from the original Dragon Ball anime series. While Dragon Ball: Sparking! Zero will have the biggest roster of any game from the franchise to date, not every character has been revealed yet, though all the previously announced ones hail from Dragon Ball Z or Dragon Ball Super.
The announced roster for Dragon Ball: Sparking! Zero already contains 100 different fighters from across the two anime series, including several variations on some characters, especially Saiyans. However, 164 playable fighters have been promised, leaving a lot of question marks as to which characters will fill the remaining unannounced slots.
Bandai Namco Shares Dragon Ball: Sparking Zero Beginner's Guide
The beginner's guide for Dragon Ball: Sparking Zero shows that it will be possible to alter the appearance of characters as well as their stats.
Some of those characters may come from the original Dragon Ball, if the words of David Edmundson, marketing director at Bandai Namco, hold true. While being interviewed by IGN at San Diego Comic Con, Edmundson began talking about all the fun fantasy match-ups that players will be able to devise, such as pitting Goku against Gohan in a father-son fight. However, he also remarked, "You can have people from Dragon Ball fight people from Dragon Ball Super," and he name-dropped a few characters from the franchise who did very little after the original Dragon Ball, such as Tao Pai Pai and the Red Ribbon Army.
Characters From the Original Dragon Ball Series May Be in Sparking! ZERO
Tao Pai Pai is one of the aliases used by the villainous Mercenary Tao, who faced off against a young Goku and his friends several times during the events of Dragon Ball's various sagas. However, in Dragon Ball Z, he first appeared in an expository flashback, and only later returned as a cyborg for some limited action scenes, appearing as hired help for a couple of very minor villains and mainly serving as comic relief. While the Red Ribbon Army, as an organization, persists throughout the franchise through the androids created by Dr. Gero, it also played a much larger antagonistic role in the original series than it did in later works. Edmundson's comment that players could choose to use "anyone from the Red Ribbon Army" also leaves the possibility for a lot of its members showing up.
If the original Dragon Ball is represented, it leaves Dragon Ball GT as the only series not included in the game. However, comments from a voice actor may point to Dragon Ball GT being represented in Sparking! Zero, opening up the possibility of Super Saiyan 4 transformations.
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OpenCritic Reviews
- Top Critic Avg: 82 /100 Critics Rec: 86%
- Released
- October 11, 2024
- ESRB
- T For Teen Due To Mild Language, Mild Suggestive Themes, Violence
- Developer(s)
- Spike Chunsoft
- Publisher(s)
- Namco Bandai
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.
- Franchise
- Dragon Ball
- Platform(s)
- PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S
- Genre(s)
- Fighting, Action
