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Dragon Ball: Sparking! Zero brings the series’ high-speed 3D battles back with story campaigns, alternate scenarios, custom matches, and a large roster of fighters. The game revisits major events from Dragon Ball Z through Dragon Ball Super, offering fans a way to experience key battles while exploring possibilities beyond the established story.
Dragon Ball: Sparking! Zero story and What-If battles
Episode Battle is the main story-focused mode. Players can choose from several characters and follow their individual journeys through significant fights in the series. Campaign lengths differ according to each character’s role in the story, with Goku’s campaign described as the longest.
The opening Raditz encounter demonstrates how the mode can branch. After Raditz kidnaps Gohan, players can follow the familiar path and team up with Piccolo or choose to face the threat alone. The solo route prevents character switching during battle, but can unlock different dialogue and cutscenes. Winning a fight that the original story expects the player to lose can also lead to special scenes.
These alternate routes give players a reason to revisit familiar encounters. If you want to see more of the original story, follow the established route first; then try different choices and outcomes to uncover variations.
Custom Battles, Bonus Battles, and local play
Custom Battles let players build and share scenarios by choosing fighters, stages, and victory conditions. This mode provides room to create matchups that differ from the main story. Bonus Battles, by contrast, are developer-created challenges, some featuring their own cutscenes or unique conditions for winning.
For local multiplayer, the game includes split-screen battles set in the Hyperbolic Time Chamber. This offers a straightforward option for playing against a friend on the same screen. Before starting a custom match, check the win conditions so the battle plays out as intended.
Combat controls, transformations, and environments
Classic fights can be played with standard controls or a classic control scheme designed to evoke the earlier Budokai Tenkaichi games. Players can also choose a stage and background music before a match. Each side has three character slots, allowing teams to combine different versions of familiar fighters with characters such as Broly, Mr. Satan, and Trunks.
During combat, directional-pad inputs are used to switch characters and trigger transformations. Charging Ki enables powerful attacks and fast maneuvers, while filling the gauge allows fighters to unleash Super attacks such as the Super Kamehameha. Some attacks can affect the environment, including changing the weather.
Stages are destructible: buildings can collapse, mountains can break apart, and stadium crowds can evacuate as a fight escalates. To get comfortable with the action, start with standard controls and a familiar character, then experiment with transformations and Ki-based attacks.
What to expect from Dragon Ball: Sparking! Zero
The hands-on preview featured a selection of classic battles and showed fast-paced aerial movement alongside powerful character-specific attacks. The three-dimensional arenas and transformation options are central to the experience, so players returning after a break may need time to get used to moving and fighting in open space.
Episode Battle may also help players catch up on major story events if they have not followed every part of the anime. It offers an abridged route through the characters’ stories rather than a replacement for the full series.
Release date and platforms
Dragon Ball: Sparking! Zero is scheduled to arrive on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC on October 11. Its combination of story campaigns, branching battles, custom scenarios, local multiplayer, and destructive arenas makes it a substantial return to the series’ 3D fighting format. For fans looking forward to revisiting classic rivalries, Dragon Ball: Sparking! Zero offers both familiar story moments and new ways to shape a fight.
