Dragon Ball: Sparking Zero Sounds the Alarm of a Dying, but Beloved Feature

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Dragon Ball: Sparking! ZERO

By Cameron Lucas

Published Feb 20, 2024

Highlights

Dragon Ball: Sparking Zero may not have split-screen multiplayer, potentially disappointing fans looking for a local versus experience.
While online multiplayer is dominant, some games like Gears 5 and It Takes Two prove that split-screen still has value in gaming.
The absence of split-screen in Sparking Zero raises concerns about the future of local multiplayer in Dragon Ball arena fighters.

As the latest in the Tenkaichi series of arena fighters, Dragon Ball: Sparking Zero is set to return to one of the franchise’s most well-received line of video game adaptations. With updates from the current era of Dragon Ball Super, there’s no telling how huge this revival of a historically popular series of gaming's sixth generation will be. Despite the hype surrounding the game, however, there’s one key feature that has yet to be confirmed, leaving some fans on the fence about Dragon Ball: Sparking Zero for the time being.

Arena fighters may technically be distinct from traditional fighting games, but both styles share a core reliance on multiplayer by design. Since the original Budokai Tenkaichi game, the series has always been a fitting representation of the Dragon Ball IP through allowing players to face off against each other in large, 3D battlefields as any number of characters, even locally. This was achieved through split-screen, a feature which may not even make it into Sparking Zero given the current status of the game’s store pages. Although online multiplayer may be the dominant form in modern gaming overall, another title lacking local split-screen could be a bad sign for the future of the feature.

Dragon Ball Z: Sparking Zero's Goku and Vegeta Roster is a Double-Edged Sword of Nostalgia

Goku and Vegeta are all over the roster for Dragon Ball: Sparking! ZERO and that can lead to several advantages and consequences.

Split-Screen Multiplayer's Legacy in Dragon Ball Tenkaichi May Be Coming to an End

A Classic Component of Tenkaichi's Multiplayer

During the era of the PS2 in which the original Tenkaichi games thrived, the multiplayer dynamic was always centered around a local experience. Online wasn’t nearly as prevalent in most games at the time, meaning the majority of titles with multiplayer modes had some form of split-screen to support another controller. Traditional 2D and 3D fighting games, along with arena fighters with cameras like that of the Naruto Ultimate Ninja Storm titles don’t usually require the same functionality, but Dragon Ball's over-the-top action is different. The Tenkaichi series uniquely benefitted from separate split-screens, as it allowed both players to experience the game’s dynamic camera angles on just one system.

Waning Support for Split-Screen Isn't New to Sparking Zero

As online has become the main option for multiplayer across the entire medium, split-screen has been somewhat controversially phased out from several notable titles over the years. Between matters like Halo 5’s lack of the feature before reappearing in Halo Infinite, and more recent backlash to Call of Duty: MW3 Zombies not having split-screen, it’s clear that even franchises that once had local multiplayer ingrained into their identities aren’t guaranteed to include it anymore. Sparking Zero may only be announced, but the game’s listings are cause for concern that the next Dragon Ball arena fighter might follow this trend as well.

Dragon Ball: Sparking Zero Missing Split-Screen Would Be a Bad Sign

Sparking Zero's Local Multiplayer Situation

With the reveal of Sparking Zero as the fourth Budokai Tenkaichi title, many fans likely assumed that the return of this dormant series would make split-screen functionality a given. The Steam and PlayStation Network pages for the game indicate otherwise, as the game is only stated to have online multiplayer on both. As a series so well-known for the local versus experience it provided in the past, leaving out split-screen could make Sparking Zero a divisive game before it even launches. The revival of Tenkaichi has seemed like a hopeful prospect to players, but relegating multiplayer to online-only has the potential to disappoint dedicated and casual fans alike.

There's Still Hope for Split-Screen in Gaming

There may not seem like much potential for local play in Sparking Zero based on what is currently known, but the game also has yet to receive a release date. The success of the recent Baldur’s Gate 3's local co-op, as well as Gears 5, Borderlands 3, and It Takes Two's own multiplayer features in the past few years, all show that there is still a lot of value in maintaining split-screen, despite the industry’s growing emphasis on online. It’s still too early to say if it will omit local multiplayer after all, and the continued presence of outspoken fans could still lead to the inclusion of split-screen when Dragon Ball: Sparking Zero eventually arrives.