Now This is ‘Dragon Ball Sparking! ZERO’

‘Dragon Ball Sparking! ZERO’ was one of the most anticipated games in the series. A new entry in the ‘Budokai Tenkaichi’ series 17 years after ‘Budokai Tenkaichi 3’ released, you could choose up to 182 different characters from all over the series, now including ‘Dragon Ball Super’, and DLC for characters from ‘Dragon Ball Super: Superhero’ and ‘Dragon Ball Daima’ coming soon. The game was a massive success on launch, praised by fans and critics alike who loved the 3D arena fighter and wide variety of characters. However, as time went on, fans were quick to point out the game’s fatal flaws. There wasn’t a lot of single-player content compared to the previous entries, the ‘DAIMA’ DLC packs were taking forever, there were hardly any unique stages, and the roster, while undeniably massive, felt like it was missing the crazier, more interesting characters seen in other games. It’s not to say ‘Sparking! ZERO’ was bad by any means, but people just felt like there could’ve been more added.

Then, during the ‘Dragon Ball Genkidamatsuri’ in January, our prayers were answered. Bandai would unveil a wave of new content planned for ‘Sparking! ZERO’ in 2026. Two free updates would come to the game with two brand new modes; one titled “Mission 100” that would be added days after the presentation and a second mode called “Survival Mode” that was set to release in Spring. These two would eventually lead to a major DLC pack in the Summer, which wouldn’t receive any major details until April 19th during the ‘Dragon Ball Games Battle Hour’ unveiled a trailer showcasing the full roster, new costumes, and teased a new mode. This is what everyone wanted, and now that it’s out, was it worth the wait? Only one way to find out!

Let’s start things off with the free updates then work our way down. Mission 100 was the first new mode added to the game on January 26th, literally one day after the ‘Dragon Ball Genkidamatsuri’ event. This is a returning mode from ‘Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 3’; the player is given one hundred unique battles to choose from, with each one getting more challenging the further you go. Every mission has its own unique set of rules that give them a distinctive level of difficulty. You can also choose from anyone on the roster; you’re no longer forced to play as the same three characters through every mission like in ‘Budokai Tenkaichi 3’. Most of these missions will put you in either a Team Battle or DP Battle, forcing you to experiment with the characters and pick a team that will work best in whatever mission you’re in. If a mission puts you in a Team Battle, you’ll need to pick two or three characters before starting. If a mission puts you in a DP Battle, it’ll work the same way as regular combat, but fluctuating between a limit of 10 or 15. Let me tell you that these fights are beefy. Much like in Episode Battle, the CPU won’t hold back and can be ruthless if you aren’t careful enough. One bad hit and you can kiss that Z-Rank goodbye. Even missions you think will be easy like Mission 50 “Big Gete Star” and Mission 77 “Rampage in the Flesh” can be very hard because the CPU will pull some ass shot out of nowhere and never let you out of their sight. As fun as these missions are on a first playthrough, the worst thing about it is there’s no reward. At most, you’ll get Zeni or a title, but that’s just not worth it. They could’ve at least given you capsules like ‘Budokai Tenkaichi 3’ did or costumes and recolors like the Parallel Quests in the ‘Dragon Ball Xenoverse’ games gave you. It’s a fine mode with so little to incentivize you to keep playing beyond getting Z-Ranks.

Next up is Survival Mode. This feature was added to the game on April 21st, and it’s pretty much exactly what you expect. Unlike the version of this mode in, again, ‘Budokai Tenkaichi 3’ where you’re forced to play as one character through a gauntlet against 50 opponents, you can actually pick the rules and stage you want to fight on. You can choose between a Team Battle, DP Battle, or Single Battle. This is a new addition that tones down the previous entry’s Survival Mode, while also not taking away anything from what made it fun in the first place. In fact, this mode is split between two individual modes; Round Robin Battle and Deathmatch Battle. In Round Robin Battle, you’ll face off against everyone in the game one by one until they’re all defeated. Capsules are turned off, so you need to rely on your skills to take them all down. In Deathmatch Battle, players will fight opponents in an endless match. After you beat an enemy, your health will be restored, and you get to pick between three different ones with varying DP until you can’t fight any longer. I’d strongly recommend playing through either one of these if you’re new to the game and want to get better at using certain characters. The mode’s endless battle mechanic allows the player to not only experiment with the fighters of their choosing for a prolonged period of time but also get familiar with other characters as they fight. Similarly to Mission 100, there aren’t any rewards for fighting other than Zeni and titles, as far as I’m aware of, but this can get a pass since it’s just a straightforward battle mode; it doesn’t really need it.

Now we get into the real meat and potatoes; as the DLC arrived on July 30th as ‘Dragon Ball: Sparking! ZERO: SUPER LIMIT-BREAKING NEO’ (what a mouthful). This DLC is packaged with four new stages, three variant stages that came free with an update, a brand-new intro cutscene with a song performed by series legend Hironobu Kageyama, four Episode Battles, updates to the battle system, 20 new customization options, an entirely new mode, and 35 different characters to choose from; totaling the game’s roster to 242 unique fighters. There’s so much content here that felt like it should’ve been launch, and it all feels incredible to experience. I feel like the best place to start is with the characters and stages.

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One of the most agreed upon critiques towards ‘Dragon Ball: Sparking! ZERO’ was the roster. To be extremely clear, it wasn’t because they were bad or boring choices, but it was the fact that some of the bolder choices in previous games and series staples weren’t included. The ‘Dragon Ball’ games have always had such strange choices added to their titles that made them stand out because you would never expect them to be there. Entries like ‘Dragon Ball: Raging Blast 2’ had Hatchiyak and Tarble, ‘Dragon Ball Kai: Ultimate Butouden’ had King Kai, and I’m sorry I keep bringing up ‘Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 3’, but that game had some of the most interesting character choices, like the Pilaf Machine, Arale, and Great Ape Nappa. It’s something that a lot of recent games in the franchise haven’t leaned too heavily into since ‘Dragon Ball Super’ helped fill the void. It doesn’t even stop there though; ‘Sparking! ZERO’ was missing a handful of classic characters such as Super 17, Demon King Piccolo, Pikkon, and an unbelievable amount from the original ‘Dragon Ball’. Datamining suggested that they were meant to be included in the base roster but were scrapped last minute due to time constraints. Thankfully, ‘Super Limit-Breaking Neo’ fixes all of that, as 35 characters from all corners of the franchise were added to the roster; including those mentioned above and a few more. Not only that, but there are additional costumes and skills that can be given to the base roster like Android 18’s appearance in ‘Dragon Ball GT’ and Goku’s “End of Z” Gi. Most of them are packaged with an additional new technique that you can choose to have equipped or not but lets you customize your character greatly.

Next up, we have the stages. Much like the roster, fans also felt that the iconic locations from across the series weren’t included in favor of open deserted lands. Sure, you had places like the Hyperbolic Time Chamber, The Tournament of Power Arena, and Planet Namek in the game, but so many others like Kami’s Lookout and Planet Vegeta that were just not included for the same reasons. With this new DLC, we get other locations from the franchise; four to be exact. Kame House, Kami’s Lookout, Stratosphere (Earth and Planet Vegeta), and Bitter Tundra. Three of these stages are iconic locals from the franchise and should’ve been in the game to begin with, especially considering Kame House and Kami’s Lookout are in the game’s menu and could’ve easier been added as a stage at any time. Bitter Tundra is an interesting location, taking direct inspiration from ‘Dragon Ball Super: Broly’ and even including a variation of the stage with Frieza’s ship in the background. Two other stages were added as part of a free update following the DLC; Molten Lava and Rocky Land (White Valley). There’s not much to talk about here; they’re both variations of already existing stages which can also be said about the clear skies variation of City Ruins that came free with the update. However, don’t let that take away from how fun these stages are on their own. These new arenas and characters were some of the most highly requested things to be added to the game, so to finally see that recognized is truly something.

With the character roster being so fleshed out and finally getting new stages, this is a good time to transition to the DLC’s main selling point and new campaign; ‘Limit Breaker Journey’. This game mode is basically a mix between an RPG and a roguelike. You’ll start the campaign with a SP of 1 and will be given one of multiple destinations to travel to, battling against various opponents with a higher SP than you which makes fighting them have a unique sense of challenge. Additionally, some fights will have special requirements, like defeating them within a certain time limit or beating them before they transform; it keeps you on your toes for what’s bound to happen and makes you think before you pick your fight. Once an enemy is defeated, your SP will level up and you’ll gain points that can increase one of five stats. If you lose, you’ll have to start over from the beginning, but all your stats carry over. Thank god too, because you’ll most likely die a number of times while playing and it lets the player get a better understanding of what to expect. It’s worth noting that you need to keep an eye on your stamina while navigating through the world map, as enemies and events are spread far and wide. Luckily, you can use Senzu Beans to restore your stamina and health. Finally, there’s the bosses which provide their own challenge. By the halfway point of the journey, you’ll choose between one of three bosses to fight before progressing further. Depending on who you play as, you’ll get three opponents relating to that character. Then by round 10, you’ll have one final fight to determine how strong you are, and beating it will reward you with a higher difficulty. There’s even a chance you’ll run into a secret boss that’s far stronger, but it’s best to avoid that if your stats and SP are low.

Upon a first glance, this sounds like Mission 100 and Survival Mode with a new coat of paint, and that would be far from the truth. Unlike the other two modes, this one rewards the player for experimenting by traveling to certain areas listed as “Events”. For the most part, these locations will have you meet with a specific character and receive their Battle Art, which can enhance one of your five stats and give you a unique ability like slowly recharging your ki or being able to heal through taunts. These can be equipped and swapped whenever available. In fact, you can upgrade them if you meet with that character again. As your SP increases, the more Battle Arts can be equipped. However, that’s not all these locations are good for. Some locations have very specific events, like the Hyperbolic Time Chamber giving you a massive level-up or Yajirobe giving you Senzu Beans, or the Tournament Stage where Hercule can give you XP or cause him to get tongue tied and leave you with nothing. In fact, there’s a rare chance you find the Dragon Balls in these locations. Collecting all seven lets you grant one of four wishes; an increase in strength, a free Battle Art, a free retry, or keeping your stamina full for the remainder of the game. Additionally, there are locations labeled with a green question mark that could either be an event or a fight, which really emphasizes how important decision-making is here. Even if you aren’t obtaining a Battle Art in these areas, you’re still being rewarded with other things to keep the player engaged.

The rewards for exploration and experimentation make this campaign far more compelling than all the modes in this game. You aren’t just fighting enemies back-to-back; you’re navigating a larger map to find ways to get stronger, swapping between Battle Arts, traveling to certain locations with events and thinking strategically on how you can get closer to the final round. You might die frequently throughout your playthrough, but this trial-and-error mentality keeps you hooked and leaves for so much room to experiment. It’s also worth noting that these rewards aren’t just limited to ‘Limit Breaker Journey’, as you can actually carry over these stats to online/offline matches. Which I think makes experimenting with all these different stats and Battle Arts even more engaging than before, allowing you to max out the stats of any character and make them obscenely powerful on the battlefield.

Surprisingly, there’s still more to this DLC with four Episode Battles for Krillin, Yamcha, Tien, and Cell. Much like with the Episode Battles in the base game, the scenarios are pretty fun and the stories are engaging, such as seeing what would happen if Cell beat Gohan before he transforms into Super Saiyan 2, causing everyone to intervene to save him and Goku transforming instead, or Tien and Chiaotzu going to Namek with Krillin and Gohan, having him face off against Frieza alongside Piccolo and Vegeta. I personally wish there were more Episode Battles for the other characters and an expansion on others, like Vegeta, but what’s here is good enough considering it isn’t the focal point. Who knows? Maybe Bandai will add more in a possible future DLC pack.

If there’s one major issue this DLC pack suffers from, it would be its pricing. The ‘Super Limit-Breaking Neo’ pack costs around $35. While it can be argued if this is a fair price for something that very well should’ve been in the base game, if you bought the Ultimate Edition like I did, you won’t be getting this for free like every other pack. It’s also strange that Bandai Namco would also remove the Digital Edition in favor of the Neo Edition, though this one is less egregious since you could just buy that separately, and it’s priced the same amount as the Digital Edition. This doesn’t hurt the enjoyment of ‘Super Limit-Breaking Neo’ by any means; it’s just a weird decision that doesn’t feel consumer-friendly.

‘SUPER LIMIT-BREAKING NEO’ is exactly what ‘Dragon Ball Sparking! ZERO’ needed. From the new modes featured before the DLC’s release to all the new content available, this is ‘Sparking! ZERO’ at its finest. The three modes are challenging and entertaining, there’s so much experimentation with the 30+ characters and new customization features, and the new stages finally fix the fatal flaw of lacking locations. It brings more life to this game for players who felt it lacked a lot of content at launch and opens the doors for the possibility of more DLC. Again, the only real downside is the cost, but once you get passed that, you’re left with one of the best things added to ‘Sparking! ZERO’ since launch. It’s genuinely some of the best content we’ve gotten for this game and hopefully we’ll get more in the future.