Summary
Dragon Ball: Sparking Zero, the successor to the oldDragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichiseries, is on its way. Trailers have begun slowly unveiling parts of its enormous character roster, as well as detailing what fans can expect from the latest iteration of simulatedDragon Ball Zcombat. A big focus ofDragon Ball: Sparking Zerohas been its environmental destruction, enhanced by a strongly cell-shaded art style, coupled with a thoroughly built-up playable cast to make recreating iconicDragon Ballfights easier than ever.
Impressively, the end of the Goku vs. Vegeta trailer implies that the playable cast will be164 characters strong atSparking Zero’s launch, up fromBudokai Tenkaichi 3’s 162. The trailer’s accompanying press release also confirmed that character slots would be assigned to every unique form, often including the same form from differentDragon Ballsagas and even obscure forms like Super Vegeta, distinct from Super Saiyan Vegeta, and Vegeta’s Great Ape transformation. WithSparking Zeroset to cover at leastDragon Ball Zand theDragon Ball Superanime, those 164 slots will fill up fast, but the game should still save room for a few special additions.
New Forms Are A Classic Dragon Ball Game Feature
Above all else, theBudokaiandBudokai Tenkaichigames are known for their fanservice. Not only did they eventually collect every pre-Dragon Ball Supercharacter of some notoriety in one place, but they also added lots of obscure characters like backstory Saiyans, anime filler combatants, and various underlings from throughoutDragon BallandDBZ. Furthermore, the differentBudokaiandBudokai Tenkaichigames featured what-if scenariosthat included bizarre non-canon fusions like Cellin, made from Cell absorbing Krillin instead of Android 18, and Tiencha, Tien performing a Fusion Dance with Yamcha. These non-canon forms weren’t always part of the regularly selectable roster, but their existence is still appreciated by these games’ fans.
What-If Sagas In Dragon Ball: Sparking Zero Would Be Great
Adding non-canon content toDragon Ball: Sparking Zerowould permit more what-if scenarios like these to be in the game, which will be another point in its favor. Going by whatthe bestDragon Ballgameshave done, any made-up characters involved wouldn’t even need to be fleshed-out members of the main roster, though that would also be appreciated. If nothing else, the chance to experience cool and sillyDragon Balldream scenarios could easily be a back-of-the-box selling point for anyDragon Balltitle, and the non-canon form that would giveSparking Zerothe highest “wow” factor is Super Saiyan 3.
More Super Saiyan 3 Representation Should Come In Dragon Ball: Sparking Zero
Super Saiyan 3 is a rare form inDragon Ball, despite having technically been surpassed inSuperseveral times over. Only Goku and the fused Gotenks can regularly summon the cascading stream of hair spikes that has become SS3’s signature, despite several other characters theoretically having similar potential. Non-canon works have seen Vegeta and Broly, alongside various other characters like Bardock and the Saiyan villain Cumber, attain Super Saiyan 3, and forms like Super Saiyan 4 and the later Super Saiyan God states imply thatSuper-era Vegeta should have it, but always passes over it.
How Super Saiyan 3 Would Fit Into Sparking Zero
Dragon Ball: Sparking Zerohas the chance to fix this while many eyes are on it, and should make these non-canon forms fully playable in the process. Only a couple ofmajorDragon Ballcharacters like VegetaandDBZBroly would gain SS3 transformations, and said pair have the best shot considering they reached SS3 in theBudokai Tenkaichi-adjacentDragon Ball: Raging Blast 2. It would be best forDragon Ball: Sparking Zeroto prioritize adding obscure canon characters over mainstay fighters’ non-canon forms, but a couple extra Super Saiyan 3 states would enhance the game’s story and make fans happy.
