Rumor: Dragon Ball: Sparking Zero May Be Missing an Important Multiplayer Feature

18.02.2024 - 18:45 / gamerant.com / Spike Chunsoft / Trumann Tu

According to a recent interview, Dragon Ball: Sparking Zero possibly won't have any form of split-screen multiplayer. Dragon Ball: Sparking Zero has been one of the most anticipated releases for Dragon Ball fans, as it is a direct successor to the Budokai Tenkaichi arena fighter games. It features a lot of the classic gameplay from past titles in the series, including destructible environments, transformations, and a large roster of characters. One of the strongest aspects of the Budokai Tenkaichi series is its multiplayer mode.

In the original Dragon Ball: Budokai Tenkaichi series, players could play together in local PvP, with the third game introducing online multiplayer. While the online mode was criticized for being archaic and barely functioning, fans have nostalgic memories of playing these games with friends and engaging in kinetic battles with its huge roster. Split-screen multiplayer is still available in some games today, letting gamers play with each other locally. However, it appears this function may be axed for Sparking Zero.

This information comes from a recent Twitter thread posted by LaunSSJ, which was translated by ShonenGameZ. It supposedly contains details that were gathered from an interview with Sparking Zero's producer, Jun Furutani, and two French streamers. According to Furutani, Sparking Zero won't feature split-screen local multiplayer, not because the developers don't want to include it, but due to issues related to Sony and Microsoft, stating the situation is «complicated.»

Furutani states the developers are trying to find a solution to include split-screen multiplayer, but for now, fans shouldn't expect the feature in the game. ShonenGameZ puts forward that this omission could be due to Sony and Microsoft's policies, which currently favor selling more consoles to consumers. Furutani says the situation may still evolve, as the team is aware of the fans' demand for including this feature in Sparking Zero. Furutani also mentions that adapting games to the Xbox Series S console has been a challenge as well, which may be part of the reason why this feature was omitted.

Many fans were disappointed to hear that Sparking Zero is supposedly axing this feature, lamenting that one of the biggest draws of the Budokai Tenkaichi series was its multiplayer and getting together with friends to battle it out as their favorite Dragon Ball characters. The possibility of having the multiplayer modes regulated to be strictly online was seen as a bad move.

Furutani says the team is very open and wishes to improve Sparking Zero wherever possible, with series producer Ryo Mito gathering global feedback for the game. Despite this news supposedly coming from Furutani, fans should still likely wait