Bandai Namco made several announcements during The Game Awards 2023 last night, and fighting game fans will be happy to know that the upcoming Dragon Ball Z Budokai Tenkaichi game was also showcased and officially unveiled.
While the game technically acts as Budokai Tenkaichi 4, we learned last night that the official name for the game is actually Dragon Ball: Sparking! ZERO. Bandai Namco featured a new trailer for the game at the show, and in it we were given our first look at its gameplay.
Back in March, Bandai Namco teased a new Budokai Tenkaichi game during the Dragon Ball Games Battle Hour. The quick trailer showed a CRT television playing footage of old games from the series before giving fans a quick look at Goku in the new title transforming into his Super Saiyan Blue form.
The last mainline entry in the Budokai Tenkaichi series was released nearly 16 years ago back in 2007, and the Dragon Ball franchise as a whole is very different now. There are newer series like Dragon Ball Super out now, numerous new characters, films, and much more for the developers to pull from for Sparking! ZERO.
This new trailer provides a look at what players can expect come launch, with characters like Goku and Vegeta squaring off in a deadly battle of the Saiyans. We see villainous staple of the series Frieza firing off his devastating orb that destroyed Namek, Dragon Ball Super Broly slamming his foe, and more throughout the showcase.
Based on this initial trailer, the following characters are very likely to be playable:
• Base Goku (with Super Saiyan Blue ability)
• Base Vegeta (with Super Saiyan Blue ability)
• Frieza
• DB Super Broly
• Piccolo
• Krillin
• Tien
• Yamcha
• Super Saiyan Trunks
• Android 18
• Perfect Cell
• Hercule
• Majin Buu (fat)
• Bergamo
• Android 17
• Jiren
Dragon Ball: Sparking! ZERO does not currently have an official release date. When it does launch, though, it will be available on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and Steam.