Sparking! ZERO's New Mode is Going to Make it the Best Dragon Ball Game Ever (2024)

What If scenarios have always been a hot talking point in the Dragon Ball fandom. Every Dragon Ball fan who’s been with the series long enough has come up with their own – what if Vegeta turned Super Saiyan on Namek instead of Goku? What if Goku never got the Heart Virus? What if Gotenks or Gohan actually killed Super Buu? Any one of these changes would forever alter the course of Dragon Ball history, which is exactly where the fun of What Ifs lie.

Set to release October 11, Dragon Ball: Sparking! ZERO is finally letting fans make their own What Ifs in a brand new game mode. It was recently announced that the upcoming Dragon Ball game will not only allow players to create their own hypothetical battles, but actually share them with other fans world-wide. This is on top of Sparking! ZERO reintroducing its own What-If scenarios, setting up what might just be the greatest Dragon Ball game yet.

Everything We Know About Sparking! Zero’s What If Modes

Create Your Own Match-Ups or Change the Course of Dragon Ball History Forever in Story Mode

Little is known at the moment about how exactly Sparking! ZERO's What If scenarios will play out. Custom cutscenes seem unlikely, if only because voiced dialogue would virtually be impossible to pull off, but the concept alone seems to suggest players will be able to offer their own context for each What If match-up – the whole idea doesn’t really work unless fans can, after all. In a best case scenario, players will be able to write up their own dialogue that goes unvoiced, but that might still be setting expectations a bit too high. More likely than anything, we’ll be able to write up a brief description of why the What If is happening or simply whip up a quick title in the "What If" format.

Another possible outcome (albeit an unfortunate one) would be that player-generated What Ifs have to build off of the story mode’s preexisting fights – so no redeeming Raditz to fight Nappa and Vegeta or Cooler and Frieza duking it out for Namek’s Dragon Balls. This would be a waste, however. Part of the fun of Dragon Ball fighting games (and the Budokai Tenkaichi sub-series in particular) is pitting different characters against each other, especially those who never actually met in-canon. It’d be a shame to miss out on potential scenarios like “What If Gohan fought Goku Black and Zamasu?” or “What If Goku brought Buu to the Tournament of Power instead of Frieza?” Limiting player creativity in any capacity would be a huge mistake.

It’s always smart to temper expectations, but Sparking! ZERO’s description for the mode suggests we’ll have plenty of freedom. According to Bandai Namco, you can, “set up your dream story battle with your favorite characters! Share your creations with other fans and experience battles brought to life by imaginations around the world.” The emphasis on “dream story battle” and “imaginations” is a good sign that we’ll be able to come up with the wildest What Ifs imaginable. It’s not a Budokai Tenkaichi game unless Yamcha can show Omega Shenron who’s boss.

Naturally, Sparking! ZERO will also feature its own What Ifs, although handled a bit differently from previous games. Instead of What Ifs being their own selectable sagas like in Budokai Tenkaichi3, Sparking! ZERO’s story mode will actually feature branching paths. Based on the Official Release Date Trailer, Goku can turn Super Saiyan against Great Ape Vegeta if Krillin dies, Future Trunks can survive the Cell Games, and Goku can deny Piccolo’s help in the Saiyan Saga to fight Raditz alongside Krillin instead. It's safe to assume that Sparking! ZERO's story mode will be so much more than just replaying the same battles Dragon Ball fans have gotten used to over the years.

The Best What-Ifs in Dragon Ball Games

Legend of the Super Saiyan & Super Butoden 2

What Ifs are not a new concept by any means for Dragon Ball games, but they date much further back than most fans might realize. One of the earliest instances of What If scenarios in a Dragon Ball game was in the Super Famicom RPG Dragon Ball Z: Super Saiya Densetsu (known in English speaking countries as Legend of the Super Saiyan). The JRPG adapts the Saiyan and Frieza arcs, but allows players to change minor details throughout the story.

It's entirely possible for everyone except Piccolo (who always has to die) to survive the battle against the Saiyans, letting you bring a massive party to Namek alongside Gohan and Krillin. Captain Ginyu can swap bodies with any party member and there's no requirement to swap back, letting you keep Ginyu for the rest of the game. Any character's death will trigger Goku's Super Saiyan transformation against Frieza, and doing so while keeping Piccolo, Gohan, and Vegeta alive will unlock a secret final boss fight against Super Saiyan Vegeta – it's like playing the Dragon Ball Z anime with your own twist.

Dragon Ball Z: Super Butoden 2's story mode lets you choose between Gohan, Piccolo, Vegeta, and Future Trunks. Starting from the Cell Games, your selected character will defeat Perfect Cell, become the main character in an adaptation of Bojack Unbound, and then square off against Broly as the game's final boss – losing to Bojack actually prematurely ends the game as Broly arrives to kill Bojack himself. Super Butoden 2 features multiple different dialogue options throughout its story mode that determine whether or not you can even fight Broly, as well. It's a proper DBZ "Choose Your Own Adventure."

The Budokai Series

The Budokai sub-series have some of the most creative What Ifs in the franchise and each game has its own unique take on the concept. Budokai 1's What Ifs are unlocked after beating the Story Mode once and each Saga has its own scenario. The Saiyan Saga involves Vegeta defeating all the Z-Fighters, ending with him turning into a Super Saiyan after Yajirobe insults Nappa's pride. The Frieza Saga features Frieza killing every single Z-Fighter one by one, successfully wishing for immortality, and then heading to Earth to destroy it. The Cell Saga has the most interesting What If: Cell accidentally absorbs Krillin and becomes so weak that Yamcha & Tien actually manage to defeat him.

Budokai 2's story mode is basically one giant What If revolving around the concept of Goku being present for every single major saga and fight in Dragon Ball Z. Naturally, the plot has to change quite a bit to accomodate Goku's presence. Nappa arrives alongisde Raditz in the Saiyan Saga, Goku never succumbs to the Heart Virus and actually confronts Dr. Gero in the Cell saga, and in Budokai 2's strangest change, Frieza and Cell are resurrected as Majin Warriors during the Buu Saga. Super Buu can even absorb both villains to make himself stronger.

Budokai 3 integrates its What If scenariors into the Dragon Universe story mode, most of which locked behind a second playthrough. By replaying Goku's story, you can actually fight Cooler on Namek instead of Frieza, unlocking him for the main game. Similarly, the final battle can potentially change from Uub at the 25th Tenkaichi Budokai to Broly or Gotenks. Fighting and beating the latter actually unlocks Omega Shenron as a playable character. Budokai 3's What Ifs aren't as ecclectic as Budokai 1 or 2, but they're a fun way of incentivizing replay value and rewarding players who do a little bit of exploring.

Supersonic Warriors

Supersonic Warriors is home to arguably the single best set of What If scenarios in the entire series. Every single character has their own What If mode that makes them the protagonist of the story and rearranges the plot to justify why they'd be able to save the day. Even the villains get their own What Ifs, with both Frieza and Cell successfully killing the Z-Fighters. Vegeta fans sick of him always getting the shaft can watch him turn Super Saiyan against Frieza, defeat Perfect Cell himself, and work alongside Goku to kill Super Buu. Piccolo's story mode ends with him reviving Demon King Piccolo so they can fuse and become strong enough to stop Majin Buu alone.

Krillin arguably has the greatest story mode of the bunch. He learns the Kaioken from Goku, kills Frieza with a Destructo Disc, and works together with 18 to beat Majin Buu with his very own Spirit Bomb. It's a fantastic way of making Krillin Dragon Ball Z's hero and Supersonic Warriors manages to pull it off while still respecting the series' power scaling. Krillin saves the day not through raw power, but by his own smarts and working alongside the rest of the cast. Supersonic Warriors 2 also has its own What Ifs – including a memorable sequence where Babidi possesses Piccolo instead of Vegeta – but the original Supersonic Warriors is the standout between both games.

The Budokai Tenkaichi Series

Like Supersonic Warriors, the Budokai Tenkaichi games are no slouch when it comes to What If modes. Both Budokai Tenkaichi 2 and 3 boast some of the coolest What Ifs in the series. Budokai Tenkaichi 2 features two standout scenarios – one where Raditz becomes good and the other where Zarbon betrays Frieza to go after the Dragon Balls himself. When Raditz loses his memory at the start of the Saiyan Saga, he temporarily becomes a good guy and joins the Z-Fighters. Unfortunately, he regains his memory and tries to destroy the Earth all over again.

Defeated by Goku, Raditz fights Bardock in a dream sequence where he realizes the error of the Saiyans' ways and launches his space pod directly into Vegeta and Nappa's, repenting by killing all three of them on the spot. Zarbon's "Beatiful Treachery" What If involves Cooler coming to Namek to compete for the Dragon Balls against Frieza, resulting in the two brothers fighting it out while Zarbon and Goku temporarily team up. The What If ends with Krillin wishing Goku back to Earth before Namek can explode, while Zarbon gets caught in the cross-fire – dying alongside Frieza and Cooler before any of them can get their wish.

Budokai Tenkaichi 3 goes all out with the weird What Ifs. Goku's fight with Arale feels like a love letter to early Dragon Ball, Dr. Slump, and Akira Toriyama's works. Unlike other What Ifs, the tone is fairly light and the scenario doesn't end with anyone dying. "Galaxy Battle" stars the Saiyans as they successfuly rebel against Frieza, whittling down his forces until King Vegeta, Vegeta, and Bardock face off against the galactic tyrant in one final showdown that can either end with Bardock killing Frieza or dying at his hands. Budokai Tenkaichi 3's most bizarre What If has to be "Unexpected Help," which involves Spike the Devil Man showing up to stop Mecha Frieza and King Cold with the Devilmite Beam – and it actually works.

Sparking! ZERO’s What Ifs Will Define the Game

Sparking! ZERO Will Be the Best Dragon Ball Game Ever if it Can Stick the Landing

Between player-generated scenarios and a story mode full of branching paths, What Ifs are shaping up to be Sparking! ZERO’s defining feature. The Budokai Tenkaichi games were basically Dragon Ball Z and GT simulators in their own right, and Sparking! ZERO is continuing that tradition with plenty of its own unique flair. Most players spent the majority of their playtime already creating their own match-ups, so letting everyone outright make their own What Ifs and share them with the entire fanbase is a logical next step for the series.

Coupled with an absolutely massive roster covering the entire franchise, this could very well be the ultimate Dragon Ball game. Xenoverse 2 is still getting new updates and characters almost eight years after its launch, so it makes sense Bandai Namco will want to support Sparking! ZERO for as long as humanly possible. Daima alone will blow the lid off of the What If potential, and the Dragon Ball Super anime's inevtible return will likely lead to characters like Moro, Granolah, and the Heeters getting added to ZERO's roster if they don't make it into the base game. Dragon Ball: Sparking! ZERO is redefining a beloved feature that’s absolutely rife with potential and will give fans hundreds of hours of content to play through for years to come.

Dragon Ball: Sparking! Zero

Considered a successor to the Budokai Tenkachi series, Dragon Ball: Sparking! Zero is an in-development arena fighter developed by Spike Chunsoft and published by Namco Bandai.