Highlights

  • Dragon Ball: Sparking! Zero may launch with the biggest roster in fighting game history, boasting 160+ characters from the vast Dragon Ball universe.
  • One Piece could follow suit with a similar premise, leveraging its extensive lore and vast character roster for a new fighting title.
  • Sparking! Zero's hype and character variety could pave the way for One Piece to return to the fighting game genre, expanding its reach.

When considering the sheer size of fighting game rosters in recent memory, few come close to what Spike Chunsoft is gearing up to do with Dragon Ball: Sparking! Zero. For example, the reason the Mortal Kombat franchise has maintained such a large fan base is partly due to the versatility of its playable characters, with MK1 offering what many would consider a stacked lineup of 22 fighters. However, if Dragon Ball: Sparking! Zero lives up to expectations, it would blow almost every fighting game that has ever existed out of the water. Given how vast the Dragon Ball universe is, it makes sense for the 164-and-counting characters to feature in the upcoming title, and the hype surrounding it reveals a gap in the market One Piece could take advantage of.

The Dragon Ball franchise has birthed what feels like over 9,000 gaming renditions, and there's no sign that the addition of new titles to the ranks is slowing down for the foreseeable future. Such a vast catalog is only possible thanks to the bevy of canon material in the late Akira Toriyama's universe, stemming from 194 manga chapters in the original and the additional 325 in the Dragon Ball Z series. The extensive lore is why Dragon Ball: Sparking! Zero is on course to break anime fighting game records if its roster materializes, and it raises the question of what a One Piece fighting title would look like with a similar premise.

One Dragon Ball Ultimate Tenkaichi Feature Should Return, But Not in Sparking Zero
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One Dragon Ball Ultimate Tenkaichi Feature Should Return, But Not in Sparking Zero

A major selling point from the old Dragon Ball Z: Ultimate Tenkaichi has been worth keeping around, but it wouldn't mesh well with Sparking Zero.

One Piece's Depth of Characters Could Rival Sparking! Zero's

The reason few games have roster sizes as large as Dragon Ball: Sparking! Zero plans to bring to the table is simple: lack of extensive preexisting material. Spike Chunsoft is leveraging Dragon Ball's vast plot lines to buff up its character lineup, as evidenced by the variety of story sagas that should feature in the upcoming title. From Sparking! Zero's announcement trailer, it's reasonable to expect the likes of Dragon Ball Z's Saiyan and Frieza Saga to have some representation, and other story arcs should also make the cut. With this wealth of sagas at its disposal, it's no wonder why Sparking! Zero's roster is so stacked.

If there's any franchise that can come close to the storyline depth that Dragon Ball provides, it has to be One Piece. Apart from the contents of its story, One Piece is best known for the sheer length of its material, with the anime recently crossing the 1,100-episode threshold. This remarkable length spans 11 sagas and 32 story arcs, which rivals Dragon Ball own vast legacy. From Luffy's struggle with the ex-Warlord Crocodile in the Arabasta arc to the high-profile unleashing of Gear Five in the fight against Kaido, there's a myriad of characters a One Piece game could feature. The bevy of Devil Fruits in the canon material also provides the gameplay variety a full-fledged fighting game would require, making the franchise a prime candidate.

A New Fighting Game Could Spread One Piece's Gospel Even Further

From a popularity standpoint, One Piece has a lot to gain with a venture into the fighting niche. One Piece Odyssey is probably the most successful gaming adaptation of the franchise to date, and although games like Jump Force have shown the core characters in an arena-styled title, it still lacks that AAA-rated title that is befitting the anime's achievements. Instead of a streamlined focus on RPGs typical for mainstream media, Dragon Ball: Sparking! Zero's hype stemming from its fighting roster selling point could open up a new area for One Piece to thrive in.

In terms of immersion, Sparking! Zero's Episode Battles could serve as a blueprint for a future One Piece game. Episode Battles allow players to play through a character's history. Similarly, a One Piece fighting title would be remiss not to incorporate the ultimate prize in Laugh Tale, potentially as a reward for beating the game. It remains to be seen how Sparking! Zero will pan out, but a scenario where fans can run through prominent characters in the seas of the Grand Line with Luffy is worthy of exploration.