Marc Griffin is a Louisiana-born, Buffalo, New York-raised Gaming Journalist for XDA. Before joining the squad, Marc graduated from Niagara University with a degree in English Literature Studies and received a Masters in Journalism from Buffalo State College. Sometime after college, he took up freelancing to chase his dream of one day writing for the publications that he so obsessively read as a child and managed to acquire bylines in Grammy.com/The Recording Academy, Billboard, JD Sports, VIBE Magazine, HotNewHipHop, Consequence of Sound, The Face, among others. During the days that he isn’t writing about video games and Black culture, Marc can be found reading Spider-Man comic books, streaming on Twitch, creating content for YouTube, collecting vinyl records with his fiancé, MJ, or updating his sneaker collection.
Dragon Ball: Sparking! Zero is receiving its biggest update yet, and this one is attempting to right the course of the game's shelf life. While the game had an impressive launch, selling over 3 million copies globally, the game has lost quite a bit of its player base.
Countless videos have shown how the ability to find a match online has become increasingly difficult since its October 2024 release. With the second DLC arriving today (April 24, 2025), bringing the character roster to a whopping 200 available fighters and fixing most of the bugs in the game will land the game back in the community's good graces.
So, if you're trying to get back into the game or maybe want to pick it up for the first time, here is everything you need to know about the Dragon Ball: Sparking! Zero - Daima Character Pack 1 DLC and title update.
Dragon Ball: Sparking! Zero's DLC adds to the massive character roster
Credit: Source:Bandai Namco
Credit: Source:Bandai Namco
Credit: Source:Bandai Namco
Credit: Source:Bandai Namco
Credit: Source:Bandai Namco
Credit: Source:Bandai Namco
Credit: Source:Bandai Namco
Credit: Source:Bandai Namco
Credit: Source:Bandai Namco
Credit: Source:Bandai Namco
Bandai Namco released a new trailer for the latest Dragon Ball arena fighting game on Monday (April 21st). The new visuals showed off the new additions to the game in the form of Daima characters, the newest anime from the late great Akira Toriyama, which finds our favorite Saiyans transformed into children.
Based on the trailer, characters like Panzy, Glorio, Majin Kuu, Super Saiyan 3 Vegeta, and others will hit the arena with more over-the-top finishers and high-octane battles. Bandai Namco's visuals also alert the fans that they can purchase the Sparking! Zero Season Pass is used to get all of the characters from the second DLC and even the characters from the first round of downloadable content, which was based on the Dragon Ball Hero of Justice movie.
Additionally, the Season Pass would grant players access to the third wave of DLC, which is also derived from the Daima series—so, who knows, maybe fans will see that SS4 version of Goku in that pack.
Along with the major additions to their character roster, the game received a beefy update to address various bugs and bring balance to the game. Some of the most notable changes to the game are in the form of giant characters getting their rush attacks and smash attacks severely nerfed and the human characters like Hercule, Yajirobe, and Master Roshi being nerfed with their Ki recovery speed being reduced. And, for no reason at all, low-tier characters like Recoome and Nappa were targeted in the Nerf as their health was decreased.
Find other changes below based on game mode:
Changes and Adjustments by Game Mode:
Episode Battle
Adjusted the balance of some stages to reflect changes to the battle system.
Bonus Battles
Adjusted the balance of some Bonus Battles to reflect changes to the battle system.
Added 2D cutscenes and text.
Changes and Adjustments to Features:
Battle Rules
In Offline Battle, Player Match, World Tournament, and Training DP Battle, players can now select total DP amounts of 10/15/20.
Fixed an issue where the last settings were not retained after the game ended.
Character Select Screen
Added a display switching function.
Options
Added the ability to switch the sound quality of some battle SFX.
Changes and Adjustments to the Battle System
Short Dash
Reduced the speed of backward Short Dashes.
Reduced the recovery time after initiating a Dragon Dash during a Short Dash.
High-Speed Dragon Dash
Adjusted the input timing to make it easier to connect Rush Attacks upon arrival near the opponent.
Reduced the time required to fully charge Smash Attacks during High-Speed Dragon Dash.
Adjusted the system so that even when manipulating the trajectory during High-Speed Dragon Dash, the player will ultimately reach the front of the opponent.
Z-Burst Dash
Reduced the Ki needed for activation and changed the system to consume Ki based on the distance traveled after activation.
General Melee Attacks
Increased the ki recovered upon hitting an opponent.
Adjusted the system to make attacks less likely to deviate from their target when used against an opponent immediately after they use a Step.
Rush-in
Fixed an issue where guarding was possible between Rush-in and Rush Attacks in some cases.
Rush Chains
Made it possible to activate Rush Chains even while Rush Attacks are being automatically evaded by characters like Goku (Super), Ultra Instinct and Whis.
Smash Attack
Adjusted the system to allow for smoother connections when using Smash Attacks during Rush Attacks.
Rush Ki Blast
Reduced damage.
Strengthened the damage reduction correction when hitting multiple times in a row.
Smash Ki Blast
Reduced the damage of spreading-type Smash Ki Blasts.
Made it possible to deflect Smash Ki Blasts from Goku (Super), Ultra Instinct -Sign- and Goku (Super), Ultra Instinct.
Increased the Ki needed for and recovery time after firing unblockable Smash Ki Blasts.
Perception
Made it impossible to perform Perception during guard stun.
Increased the time window for follow-up attacks after a successful Perception.
Increased the Ki needed for upon activation.
Increased the Skill Count requirement for using Perception against Smash Attacks and Rush Chains from 1 to 2.
Super Perception
Buffed the effects granted upon deflecting a Blast. (Increased effect amount, extended effect duration)
Slightly restored Ki upon deflecting a Blast.
Blast
Reduced the damage dealt when hitting with Blasts or Ultimate Blasts during a combo.
Reduced the damage dealt when hitting with Blasts consecutively.
Auto-reflect
Only characters with DP 7 or higher can activate Auto-reflect during Sparking! Mode.
Other
Increased the automatic Ki recovery speed for the first Ki gauge only.
Adjusted the camera behavior during battles between normal-sized and Giant Characters.
Adjusted the system to prevent accidental throws during Air Combos when using Classic controls.
Adjusted the time until character switching becomes available.
Credit: Source:Bandai Namco
Credit: Source:Bandai Namco
Credit: Source:Bandai Namco
Credit: Source:Bandai Namco
Credit: Source:Bandai Namco
