Highlights

  • Bandai Namco has released a handy beginner's guide for the upcoming fighting game Dragon Ball: Sparking Zero.
  • The guide details stat trees, controls, HUD information, and more.
  • Dragon Ball: Sparking Zero, set to be released in October, will be the first game in the Budokai Tenkaichi series since 2010.

Bandai Namco has shared a beginner's guide for its upcoming fighting game, Dragon Ball: Sparking Zero. The guide shows that while it's a new title, Dragon Ball: Sparking Zero retains the essence of the original Budokai Tenkaichi series, along with many familiar elements from the franchise.

The Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi series, originally published as Dragon Ball Z: Sparking in Japan, began in 2005. The collection of fighting games is based on the Dragon Ball manga series by the late Akira Toriyama and features iconic characters from the comics and anime, including Goku, Vegeta, Piccolo, and dozens more. The Budokai Tenkaichi series introduced the behind-the-back camera system, which follows your character as they use their powers, teleport, and perform their signature moves. When Dragon Ball: Sparking Zero was first announced, many fans celebrated, as the series hadn't seen a new game since 2010.

A collage image of Goku, Piccolo, Trunks, and Goten from Dragon Ball: Sparking Zero
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Dragon Ball Sparking Zero: 5 Things You Might Have Missed In The Trailers

The Sparking Zero trailers are full of hidden details about what the gameplay and story will look like.

To prepare the battle arena for both new fans and veterans, Bandai Namco has shared a Dragon Ball: Sparking Zero beginner's guide. In the guide, the Japanese publisher explains the basics, such as the gameplay HUD and what each part of the interface means. Additionally, it shows that the game will have classic and standard types of controls. However, unlike some modern control schemes seen in recent fighting games, these control styles in Dragon Ball: Sparking Zero change the button behavior without any significant differences in the gameplay.

Each Dragon Ball: Sparking Zero Character Will Have Their Own Stats Tree

The guide also reveals the stats tree feature, which displays every character's attribute value. Customizations, transformations, or other states like fusion can influence these values. The stats are divided into Special Attack, HP, Combo, Ki, and Attack. Special Attack and Attack increase the damage of blasts and hand-to-hand attacks, respectively. Combo increases the damage caused by combos and Ki allows characters to perform more powerful Ki blasts or recharge the Ki gauge more quickly, while HP is self-explanatory. According to Bandai Namco, each character in Dragon Ball: Sparking Zero will have their own stats tree.

The last part of the guide refers to customization in Dragon Ball: Sparking Zero, explaining that players will be able to change four unique elements. Two categories, outfits and accessories, are purely cosmetic and don't alter a character's stats. The other two categories add RPG elements to Dragon Ball: Sparking Zero, similar to Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot. One is called Type and changes the characteristics and abilities a character can use, while the other, known as Ability Items, enhances a character's skills through capsule customizations.

Despite being called Dragon Ball: Sparking Zero and following the series' official name in Japan, fans are already referring to the upcoming fighting game as Budokai Tenkaichi 4. It won't be long before players can experience it themselves, as Dragon Ball: Sparking Zero is set to be released on October 11 for PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X/S.