With Dragon Ball: Sparking! ZERO finally getting its first full gameplay trailer, Bandai Namco has also confirmed where players will be able to play the first Budokai Tenkaichi-style game in over 15 years.
With previous iterations of the series, Bandai and Spike Chunsoft didn’t really develop the Budokai Tenkaichi for multiple platforms—unlike most Dragon Ball games have been for the last three decades. That methodology doesn’t apply to Sparking! ZERO, though there is one key exception that will disappoint fans of the best version of Budokai Tenkaichi 3.
What consoles will Dragon Ball: Sparking! ZERO release on?
Dragon Ball: Sparking! ZERO is going to be a true, current-gen game. That means it will only release on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S. No PS4 or Xbox One version will allow the devs to attain the highest level of performance and visuals—which you can see at work in the first gameplay trailer from Dec. 7.
Unfortunately, that also means Bandai is cutting support for the Nintendo Switch since the hybrid console can’t support that kind of performance without hefty downgrades being put in place for that version specifically. If you need an example of a Switch port needing restrictions, you can look at a best-case scenario like The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt or the dumpster fire of Mortal Kombat 1.
Considering most players who enjoyed the last main entry, 2007’s Budokai Tenkaichi 3 having motion controls and other gimmicks on the Wii, it is a bit sad to see it miss Nintendo consoles this time. This doesn’t mean a version won’t be coming to the Switch or a potential Switch 2 later like something like Dragon Ball FighterZ or Kakarot.
Will Dragon Ball: Sparking! ZERO release on PC?
Dragon Ball: Sparking! ZERO will be released on PC via Steam. There was no mention in the trailer of the game coming to the Epic Games Store.
This makes it the first game in the series to be released on that platform in any official capacity dating back to the first title in 2005. And, considering other recent Dragon Ball releases, it should feature the same content as the console versions. Hopefully that will also include crossplay to ensure that the online playerbase remains as populated as possible post-launch.
