Here’s How To Unlock Every Character On The Dragon Ball: Sparking Zero Roster
Screenshot: Bandai Namco / Kotaku
Dragon Ball: Sparking Zero features a massive roster, with over 180 playable characters. But just like some other entries in this series, you don’t have access to them all at the start. There’s a bunch of ways to unlock them in the game, and we’ve broken them all down.
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The game has 47 characters to unlock, and that number reaches the 70s if you count all their transformations as separate characters. The good news is, there’s a multitude of ways to gain access to them. The bad news is that there isn’t any decent in-game explanation for any of this! Never fear though! We can point you in the right direction to expand your line-up. Click Next to browse through all the available methods.
Screenshot: Bandai Namco / Kotaku
The most straightforward method is to purchase characters at the in-game shop, located at the Shop & Customize part of the Main Menu. But fear not, there are no microtransactions here, as everything’s purchased with the Zeni currency you earn through battles.
Aside from needing to gather lots of Zeni to acquire the characters, there is one more important catch—not all the characters are listed here at first. The shop updates with new items as you increase your player level, and that includes new characters. Every unlockable fighter should be in the shop once you’ve reached Player Level 20.
One of the quickest ways to increase your player level is to wish for it when using a Shenron summon. This boosted me up to level 8 and updated the Shop quite a bit. You can also wish this with a Super Shenron Summon for an even bigger boost, but there’s arguably a better use for that dragon that I’ll be going over soon.
I also want to reiterate that although you can just buy them all in the shop, there’s always an alternative. Aside from the eventual DLC characters and Goku (Mini), the latter of whom is exclusive to the pre-order pack, you can unlock everyone through other means.
Screenshot: Bandai Namco / Kotaku
If you don’t want to grind out money for the shop, your next best option is to unlock them through the Episode Battles. That’s right, you can acquire a bunch of these fighters for free just by playing through Dragon Ball Sparking Zero’s version of story mode.
This is certainly the most efficient method to get more characters. You’ll unlock them naturally as you progress through the story, all the while increasing your player level and earning Zeni to use at the shop for even more characters. Unless there’s someone you immediately want to unlock and use, I suggest getting most of your roster this way. It’s better to save your Zeni for any extra Costumes or Ability Items.
Be prepared to dive into some branching path fights as well. What-if battles have been a hallmark of this series for a long time so of course they’ve returned for this entry. Aside from seeing the creative alternate scenarios, some of them will reward you with a character for completing the episodes.
Screenshot: Bandai Namco / Kotaku
Running through Episodes Battles isn’t the only offline mode that will unlock characters. Completing most of the Offline Tournaments will unlock a character based on their theme. Here is who you can look forward to:
Beating the World Tournament unlocks Goku (Teen).Beating the Cells Games unlocks Cell Jr.Beating the Other World Tournament unlocks Super Gogeta (Z).Beating the Tournament of Destroyers Unlocks Frost.Beating the Tournament of Power unlocks Anilaza.Beating the Yamcha Games unlocked Saibaman.Screenshot: Bandai Namco / Kotaku
I mentioned the importance of what-if battles earlier, and Dragon Ball: Sparking Zero takes it a step further with Custom Episodes. These allow players to create their own stories with simple dialogue cutscenes and special rules for battles.
There are also a bunch of developer-made Bonus Battles, and quite a few of them will unlock more characters. Do these to unlock the likes of Caulifa, Future Gohan, and Gogeta (Super). That last one’s especially important if you didn’t pre-order (good for you), and get early unlocks for the character.
Screenshot: Bandai Namco / Kotaku
There’s a lot to do while playing Dragon Ball: Sparkling Zero, and nothing proves that more than Zen-Oh’s Orders. This giant list of challenges can be browsed on the main menu, and you’ll unlock plenty of Zeni and Titles from doing all of these. But I bring these up because a handful of characters can also be unlocked by completing them.
If a character is available as a reward, you’ll see an icon of them with the challenge. A majority of them show up as the second reward, for using a character a certain amount of times.
Screenshot: Bandai Namco / Kotaku
The last method allows you to unlock two characters early. When making a wish from Super Shenron, you can choose to unlock Goku Black or Future Zamasu. Both of these fighters are eventually added to the Shop, but only when you reach a Player Level of 20.
Considering how long that can take, no one would blame you if you used a Super Shenron wish for one of these characters. You could also wish for a million Zeni that can then be used towards buying more characters! Another potential wish is to increase player level, which will take you pretty close to level 20. The choice is yours, and depends on how far along you are.
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Although I wish it was all better explained or at least hinted at, I think spreading out character unlocks is a great motivator for exploring Dragon Ball: Sparking Zero and every aspect that people love about it. It’s pushed me to play with certain fighters I might not have considered, and to check out other modes too.
Even if you’re like me, and bought a couple of your favorites as soon as you could with Zeni, nothing feels quite as good as completing an objective and earning a brand-new character to play with.
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