Dragon Ball: Sparking Zero Trailer Reveals How It’s A “Genuine” Budokai Tenkaichi Sequel

A new look at Dragon Ball: Sparking Zero has gone live, showing off more combat mechanics, environmental destruction, and advanced clothing devastation from the Spike Chunsoft-developed title. The showcase kicked off with a fight between Goku and Vegeta, as they sparred across a familiar canyon and flattened it before they transformed into their Super Saiyan Blue forms and continued the battle.

Like previous entries in the Budokai Tenkaichi series, Sparking Zero adopts a third-person camera angle and the gameplay has a flashy aesthetic in line with the manga and anime source material.

This is all by design, according to producer Jun Furutani, as Spike Chunsoft is aiming to create a “genuine sequel and evolution” of the series. “One of our goals was to preserve the essence of what made the Budokai Tenkaichi series so popular. An enjoyable, dynamic 3D-action battle experience that deeply captures the elements of Dragon Ball,” Furutani said in the showcase video.

Sparking Zero features an arsenal of close-range attacks and rush combos, as well as familiar systems like Dragon Dash for high-speed movement, a counter system, and “Impact Action” for when players exchange energy blasts or punches. Spike Chunsoft has tweaked some of the older gameplay mechanics as well, as Furutani mentioned how these have been augmented with new systems like Skill Count, Revenge Counter, and Vanishing Assaults to better express the high-speed action of Dragon Ball.

In another trailer, Spike Chunsoft revealed more characters for the game’s roster. This video was focused specifically on the warriors introduced in the Dragon Ball Super anime like Hit, Dyspo, Kakunsa, Toppo, Kale, and Broly, but it also included fan-favorite characters like Jeice and Burter from the Ginyu Squad, Master Roshi, and Trunks.

Dragon Ball: Sparking Zero doesn’t have an official release date yet, but it’ll be raising its power level to over 9,000 when it launches for PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X|S. Sadly, Dragon Ball creator Akira Toriyama won’t be around to see it, as the legendary mangaka passed away recently. Another game featuring Toriyama’s artistic influence, Sand Land, is out soon and if you’re interested in checking it out a demo is now available.