Akira Toriyama’s Dragon Ball has proven to be just as popular in the video game industry as it is as an anime and manga. There are dozens of exceptional Dragon Ball video games that properly capture the series’ fast-paced combat and super powered transformations, but there’s an extra level of excitement for 2024’s upcoming Dragon Ball: Sparking! ZERO. Sparking! ZERO is the fourth proper entry in the popular Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi franchise, the last of which was released more than 15 years ago in 2007.
The Budokai Tenkaichi series prided itself on its robust roster that pulled from all corners of Dragon Ball lore. That being said, the franchise has changed a lot in the past 15 years, especially with the release of Dragon Ball Super. Sparking! ZERO has announced that it will feature a staggering roster of 164 characters that will include heavy representation from Dragon Ball Super. The inclusion of characters from the Dragon Ball Super anime is important, but if Sparking! ZERO really wants to make its mark, the game needs to pull from Dragon Ball Super’s ongoing manga.
Sparking! ZERO Is A Great Way To Introduce Original Manga Characters
Many Dragon Ball Gamers Have Never Read The Dragon Ball Super Manga
Dragon Ball Super ran for 131 episodes, which is no small feat and gives Dragon Ball: Sparking! ZERO plenty of characters to showcase. However, this material only covers 42 chapters of Dragon Ball Super’s manga, which has currently released 103 chapters. This means that Dragon Ball Super’s anime doesn’t even cover half of the manga’s full story and there is substantially more material for Sparking! ZERO to adapt if it doesn’t limit itself to only anime content.
Several new storylines and transformations have been revealed in Dragon Ball Super’s manga, not to mention a wealth of unique characters. Granolah, Gas, Saganbo, Seven-Three, Merus, Baytah, and Black Frieza are all some of Super’s most compelling characters and it’d be a serious disservice for Sparking! ZERO to exclude them simply because they’ve yet to appear in the anime. Furthermore, not every Dragon Ball anime fan reads the corresponding manga and is aware of the series’ latest developments.
Dragon Ball video games are often a powerful equalizer and there’s a much greater correlation between anime fans & gamers. Sparking! ZERO could be a valuable venue to help introduce these new characters for those who don’t read the manga. There’s a level of disconnect between Dragon Ball Super’s anime and manga crowds, and Sparking! ZERO could help bridge this gap and bring the fandom together.
The Dragon Ball Super Manga Would Give Sparking! ZERO A Truly Original Roster
Dragon Ball Fighting Games Have Exhausted Every Other Character
Sparking! ZERO’s confirmed roster of 164 characters gives the game a lot of room to experiment and explore. Over three decades of Dragon Ball video games have basically already explored every imaginable character, even deep-cut individuals like Fasha, Cui, and Dr. Slump’s Arale. There are even plenty of Dragon Ball video games that create original characters, so there’s something new to showcase on the roster, whether it’s the Ginyu Force’s Bonyu, Android 21, or unique fusions like Tiencha and Gokule.
All these original approaches have been exhausted at this point and there’s very little that Dragon Ball games can do with their character rosters to genuinely grab the audience’s attention. This is why it’s crucial for Sparking! ZERO to dip into Dragon Ball Super’s manga characters and give them their due. This would truly be different and give Sparking! ZERO a fresh quality that’s not present in any other Dragon Ball title. Sparking! ZERO has plenty of fresh gameplay features and quality of life updates that were absent in the previous Budokai Tenkaichi titles, but these elements can only go so far – especially when players are resigned to playing with the same handful of characters that they have for decades.
Random deep cut roster inclusions are fun, but often feel like novelties. They’re typically not characters that audiences will turn into their main characters. None of Dragon Ball Super’s original manga characters are perfunctory or gags. They’re all legitimate forces of nature that can hold their own with the series’ strongest characters. It’s important to include these characters not just because they haven’t been previously featured, but because individuals like Moro, Granolah, Gas, and Black Frieza are among the franchise’s most powerful players. Audiences want to feel what it’s like to control these titans and cause serious damage rather than just getting the opportunity to play as someone random like Barry Kahn or Jimmy Firecracker for the first time. There’s true value in Dragon Ball Super 's manga characters.
Sparking! ZERO Has An Opportunity To Expand Upon & Develop Manga Characters
Sparking! ZERO Can Build Upon The Manga's Foundation
One of the most gratifying things about Dragon Ball video games is how they’re able to build upon concepts that have only had their surfaces scratched in the anime and manga. There are so many characters – especially more fringe individuals – who release bold blasts that aren’t given proper names. The very nature of Dragon Ball video games requires attacks, power-ups, and combos to all have clear names. Virtually all of Raditz's techniques only have names because of the video games, for example.
This helps certain anime and manga abilities grow more prominent because they’re easier to identify and it’s not uncommon for these video game names to later show up in the anime and manga. It’s much more fun to discuss Broly’s huge energy attack or Gogeta’s impressive kick when they actually have legitimate names. Sparking! ZERO can make this possible for the abundance of Dragon Ball Super manga characters who have been featured, but not necessarily extensively developed. It’s a great way to expand upon character lore that hasn’t had the opportunity to reveal itself in the manga.
Additionally, the presence of Dragon Ball Super manga characters in Sparking! ZERO opens them up to broader attack arsenals. Fighting games need to be relatively balanced and give each character a wide array of abilities. There are certain manga characters who are strong, but don’t highlight detailed attack arsenals. Sparking! ZERO has the opportunity to flesh out their abilities and add to their characters in the process. This can be tricky territory, but the Budokai Tenkaichi series has always done a good job at introducing new attacks and mechanics that mesh with the series and its characters.
Manga Characters In Sparking! ZERO Makes It Easier For Them To Appear In The Anime
Video Game Success Can Lead To New Opportunities
There’s a symbiotic relationship between Dragon Ball’s anime, manga, and video games. It’s always fascinating to see how these contrasting mediums influence and feed into each other in a way that benefits the entire Dragon Ball franchise. Dragon Ball video games have a tremendous audience and there are even some titles that draw in gamers that aren’t even fans of the series, but are merely looking for a well-designed and rewarding fighting game.
Dragon Ball video games try to feature playful rosters that showcase fan-favorite characters, as a way to draw in players, but there are plenty of instances where Dragon Ball video games are responsible for a character’s popularity and their increased presence in other Dragon Ball media. For instance, Broly was a popular Dragon Ball video game character during the many years that there was no new anime and manga material. Broly’s prominence in Dragon Ball video games helped keep the character relevant and popular among the mainstream. This, in turn, had a chain reaction that resulted in Broly getting canonically incorporated into Dragon Ball with Dragon Ball Super: Broly. The same is true for Android 21, a character who made her debut in a Dragon Ball video game.
The decision to flood Sparking! ZERO with Dragon Ball Super manga characters only gives them a better opportunity to find mainstream success and invade other Dragon Ball media, such as its anime. It’s a smart way to legitimize characters, even if it means that they just initially show up in other Dragon Ball video games. Improved visibility is a good thing for these obscure individuals. There’s been a heavy demand for a new Dragon Ball Super anime – or feature film – to adapt the Moro Saga or showcase Vegeta’s Ultra Ego transformation. This has yet to happen, but it becomes a likelier possibility if these characters dominate Sparking! ZERO and are all over playthroughs, gaming tournaments, and social media.
Dragon Ball Super's Manga Is Rich In Storytelling Potential
There Are Just As Many Narrative Opportunities As There Are For The Game's Roster
The character roster is often the priority in any fighting game, but this genre is also no stranger to comprehensive story modes. This is particularly true for Dragon Ball fighting games, where a rich story mode often makes or breaks the title and indicates its staying power. Pulling from Dragon Ball Super’s manga opens Sparking! ZERO to many promising characters, but this material is also full of captivating story arcs that would translate well to the fighting game. The Dragon Ball Super manga’s story is uniquely structured and would naturally lend itself to a story mode, as well as additional missions, training exercises, or supplemental challenges.
These extra features are just as responsible for a fighting game’s personality as the characters who are playable. These modes can also function as clever ways to unlock new characters, so that story and challenge modes work hand-in-hand with the game’s roster. Dragon Ball Super’s manga has covered a lot of ground, whether it’s Goku and Vegeta’s Galactic Patrol training, the flashback to Bardock on Planet Cereal, Vegeta’s time on Yardrat, or even Goten and Trunks’ hijinks at high school as they face the Alpha Series of Androids. These stories could be adapted as they are written, but they’re also malleable enough to be expanded upon and feature even greater depth and context than what was initially featured in the manga. This becomes an effective way to not just showcase Dragon Ball Super’s storytelling, but to also strengthen it.
Furthermore, Sparking! ZERO prominently featuring story elements from Dragon Ball Super’s manga also opens the game up to continuing manga threads that haven’t been paid off. Audiences would love it if Sparking! ZERO follows through on some of the bigger ideas that the manga has teased, but hasn’t had the time to feature. Sparking! ZERO could incorporate a second Tournament of Power, Vegeta’s trip to Universe 6 to train their Saiyans, God of Destruction candidate auditions, and even an interlude that shows what Uub has been up to since his energy contribution during the battle against Moro. This helps Dragon Ball: Sparking! ZERO connect the dots between all Dragon Ball media and create a more cohesive franchise, rather than just operating as a fun video game that showcases the series’ past triumphs. Adapting and expanding the Super manga is a strategy that’s necessary for Sparking! ZERO to truly win over all Dragon Ball fans.
