Sparking! ZERO brings back Androids and Cell

Greetings, Z Warriors! Get ready, because the hype train is about to blow up the station! DRAGON BALL: Sparking! ZERO was announced, and guess what? Bandai Namco decided it was time to revisit that glorious piece of everyone's childhood: the Androids and Cell sagas of Dragon Ball Z.

Yes, the same ones that made us tremble in our bones and shout “Kamehameha” in the middle of the living room, while the TV heated up to the point of almost turning into a ball of fire.

But before we dive headfirst into the new trailer that’s melting social media, let’s talk about what makes this throwback so, so epic. First of all, there’s a name that’s already shaking your bedroom walls: Budokai Tenkaichi. That's right, the game that made you buy an extra controller “just in case” because you knew that at some point, between a Super Saiyan 3 Goku and a stressed-out Vegeta, that first controller was going to fly out the window. And if you thought Namco was joking when they said they were going to revive the franchise, think again. Not only are they bringing it back, but they're playing big with Sparking! ZERO.

And what exactly does that mean? Well, imagine the Budokai Tenkaichi you know, now with the firepower of Unreal Engine 5. Fights so frenetic and explosive that if you blink, you might miss half the planet being obliterated. Environments so large and destructible that they’ll make you think twice about calling in Krillin to lend a hand – because let’s be honest, he’s not going to save the day, he’s just going to increase the repair bill.

We've got it all here. From Mecha Freeza, who was beaten back by Trunks like it was a morning workout, to King Cold, who… well, he tried, right? And of course, we can't forget Androids 16, 17, and 18, who arrived with that casual “I could finish you all off, but I'd rather enjoy my day and do it later this afternoon” vibe.

But it's Cell, my friends, who steals the show. You remember that building tension as he went from “First Form” to “Perfect Form”, absorbing everything and everyone in his path, and all you could think was, “Someone, please, stop this before he destroys everything!” Well, now you can relive every second of that anguish. And this time, with graphics so realistic that you can almost feel Gohan's despair when he realized he was going to have to save the world (again) while his father was busy training (again).

Now, let's talk a little about the franchise history. Because you can't play DRAGON BALL: Sparking! ZERO without appreciating the journey that brought us here. The series Budokai Tenkaichi began way back in the 2000s, and quickly became a legendary fighting game. With its arena gameplay, allowing you to move freely in 3D environments while throwing punches and Kamehamehas like there was no tomorrow, these games became a phenomenon. And now, after a hiatus of more than 15 years, the series returns with Sparking! ZEROpromising to capture all the nostalgia, but with a modern twist that will make even new players wonder how they managed to live so long without it.

And to end with a flourish, here is a curiosity: did you know that the original idea of Budokai Tenkaichi Was it to make a game that was more focused on strategy and less on action? That was until the first playtest, when they realized that players didn't want to think – they wanted to destroy things with giant explosions and fly through the sky like they were Goku himself. And so, Budokai Tenkaichi that we know and love was born.

So, Z Warriors, mark your calendars: October 11, 2024. Because that's the day your memories will come to life again, but this time, with so much detail that it will seem like you're inside the anime. And remember, be careful with the controller – it can still end up on the wall if you're not careful.