Plus when everyone else can start playing
Although Dragon Ball games certainly haven’t gone anywhere (and arguably reached a new peak with Dragon Ball FighterZ), the Budokai Tenkaichi / Sparking series remained dormant for over a decade until now.
The day has finally come for Dragon Ball: Sparking Zero to hit the stage boasting the largest roster in the franchise, at least for those who got in on the early access period.
While the official release date for the arena fighter featuring Goku and his many friends / enemies is set for Thursday, October 10, there’s a way to start playing in just a few hours.
Those who pre-order the $100 USD Deluxe Edition or the $110 Ultimate Edition digitally can start playing today, October 7.
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The release time is supposed to be the same worldwide, so it should unlock for everyone at the same time across PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC.
Sparking Zero’s early access unlock time is scheduled for 3 p.m. PDT / 6 p.m. EDT, and we’ll have a breakdown of what that means for other regions as well below.
• EDT – 6 p.m. (October 7)
• CDT – 5 p.m.(October 7)
• PDT – 3 p.m. (October 7)
• BST – 11 p.m. (October 7)
• JST – 7 a.m. (October 8)
• CEST – 12 a.m. (October 8)
• AEST – 8 a.m. (October 8)
These same release times should apply to the official launch on October 10 / 11 as well depending on your location.
The Deluxe Edition comes with the base game, early unlocks for 6 characters, Season Pass, and early access for the Season Pass while the Ultimate Edition contains all that plus the Ultimate Upgrade Pack and ability to summon Super Shenron.
Anyone who pre-orders Sparking Zero also receives Goku (Mini) as an exclusive playable character too.
To help celebrate the launch, Bandai Namco is holding a special early access showcase looking at every single character starting at 10 a.m. PDT.
We’re facing off with
every.
single.
character.
in #DBSZ tomorrow! Don’t miss it!— Bandai Namco US (@BandaiNamcoUS) October 6, 2024
Sparking Zero is slated to launch with a whopping 182 fighters including their transformations and different versions, and you can see them all on the full character select screen plus all of their DP values.
There will be no shortage of single-player and story content to go through starting from the beginning of Dragon Ball Z including branching paths and “what if?” scenarios like Goku surviving the Raditz battle.
On top of that, the fan-favorite Tournament Mode is back with a multitude of custom rulesets players can pick from or create for both offline and online play.
We’ve also gotten to see the opening cinematic for the Dragon Ball warriors clashing once again too.
A new era for Dragon Ball games is about to begin.