Dragon Ball Budokai Tenkaichi’s comeback reveals 24 characters – and they’re all Goku or Vegeta

Bandai Namco has released the first roster details and a trailer for it Dragon Ball: Sparking! Zero — the official title for the fourth main event in the Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi series – and the 24 revealed characters are all variations of Dragon Ball’s most famous characters, Goku and Vegeta.

For any other game, that might sound like a fan shortage, but in the unique context of Dragon Ball fandom and the Budokai Tenkaichi games, it constitutes fan service. The manga and anime series and their video game spin-offs have long focused on the various special forms their heroes can take, and the original three Budokai Tenkaichi games – all released between 2005 and 2007 – stand out with their huge grids filled with every character imaginable. variant. Each form is treated as its own character, with different stats, moveset, and fighting style.

Sparks! Zero doesn’t seem to be any different. (With this new entry, Bandai Namco appears to be unifying the series behind the Japanese title Sparking!. Budokai Tenkaichi was the name originally used in the West.) The image Namco Bandai released alongside the roster announcement suggests that the final game will appear as many as 164 characters. The 24 announced characters consist of 11 Gokus Z And Super and 13 Vegetas, including Great Ape Vegeta, Super Vegeta and Majin Vegeta.

Bandai Namco also released a trailer alongside the announcement, showing various forms of Goku and Vegeta. Like the previous Budokai Tenkaichi games, Sparks! Zero features a dynamic over-the-shoulder camera view and extravagant, anime-accurate animations and effects. Honestly, it looks great, and the roster announcement went down well with fans. “24 slots for just Goku and Vegeta, we’ll be right back,” said a fan on Reddit.

Those fans have been waiting a long time for this game. Aside from a few spin-offs, and despite a passionate following, there hasn’t been a Budokai Tenkaichi game in over 15 years. Dragon Ball: Sparking! Zero is being created for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X and Windows PC by original Budokai Tenkaichi developer Spike Chunsoft. There is no release date yet.