Dragon Ball: Sparking Zero was one of the most popular games of 2024, and now it is coming to the Nintendo Switch 2 in late 2025. The latest installment in the beloved Dragon Ball: Budokai Tenkaichi lets players recreate their favorite battles from the various Dragon Ball manga, anime, and movies with a massive roster of heroes and villains spanning the entire franchise and several game modes like the story-based Episode Battles and Dragon Ball: Sparking Zero’s ever-popular multiplayer.
Reviews for Dragon Ball: Sparking Zero were largely positive when it first launched in October 2024, though there were a few pointed criticisms aimed at the game’s Episode Battle story missions and somewhat repetitive enemy AI. Still, Dragon Ball: Sparking Zero is being held up as one of the best video games in the franchise, and the resulting sales helped lead to a massive profit increase for publisher Bandai Namco throughout 2024.
Dragon Ball: Sparking Zero Makes a Case For Another DB Fighting Game Sequel
The unprecedented popularity of Dragon Ball: Sparking Zero should encourage Bandai Namco to make a sequel to another popular DB fighting game.
There have been rumors that Dragon Ball: Sparking Zero would eventually be ported to the Nintendo Switch 2, and now this has officially been confirmed. One of the first third-party announcements made during the latest Nintendo Direct was that Dragon Ball: Sparking Zero is coming to both the original Switch and the Switch 2 on November 14, 2025, complete with all of the pulse-pounding action fans loved from its original 2024 release.
Dragon Ball: Sparking Zero Nintendo Switch and Switch 2 Launch Date
- November 14, 2025
One new feature being added to the Switch versions of Dragon Ball: Sparking Zero is motion controls, allowing players to unleash powerful attacks like Goku’s legendary Spirit Bomb by performing movements with the Joy-Con or Joy-Con 2 controllers. The player's story progress and unlocked characters will transfer over between the two consoles, but fans should be advised that Battle Replays and online battle records will not.
Bandai Namco and developer Spike Chunsoft are still expanding Dragon Ball: Sparking Zero's already massive roster through updates and DLC, with some of the most recent additions being the younger versions of characters like Goku and Vegeta from Dragon Ball: Daima and Shallot from the Dragon Ball Legends mobile game. As the world waits for any future Dragon Ball: Sparking Zero DLC, Nintendo Switch 2 owners will finally be able to jump into the blistering action for themselves when the game launches on Switch 2 this November - over a full year after it took the Dragon Ball fandom by storm on other consoles.
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OpenCritic Reviews
- Top Critic Avg: 82 /100 Critics Rec: 86%
- Released
- October 11, 2024
- ESRB
- T For Teen Due To Mild Language, Mild Suggestive Themes, Violence
- Developer(s)
- Spike Chunsoft
- Publisher(s)
- Namco Bandai
WHERE TO PLAY
DRAGON BALL: Sparking! ZERO takes the legendary gameplay of the Budokai Tenkaichi series and raises it to whole new levels. Become a super warrior and experience the earth-shaking, limit-breaking power of DRAGON BALL battles!
Unleash the strength of over 180 fighters from DRAGON BALL Z, DRAGON BALL Super, DRAGON BALL GT, and selected DRAGON BALL movies, all in the base game! Each character comes with their own signature abilities, transformations, and techniques.
Make the destructive power of the strongest fighters ever to appear in DRAGON BALL yours!
Engage in heart-pounding, high-speed 3D battles that stay true to the anime and video game series, with breathtaking visuals and authentic combat moves like beam clashes, rush attacks, movements too quick for the eyes to see, and planet-razing ultimate attacks.
Challenge other players online to test your skills, or sit down with friends offline to hone your skills exclusively in the Hyperbolic Time Chamber! Fight your way to become a champion across various tournament modes and victory conditions.
Conquer the action-packed battles from the beloved original story, or discover and unlock new encounters for your favorite Z-Fighters and more. Relive your favorite moments from the series through cutscenes you can experience from the perspectives of eight characters!
Recreate your favorite battles from throughout the DRAGON BALL story, or set up your dream story battle with your favorite characters! Share your creations with other fans and experience the battles brought to life by imaginations around the world.
- Genre(s)
- Fighting, Action
