Hannan Mundia 
Dragon Ball: Sparking Zero has over 180 playable characters, but players must unlock many of them using one of multiple methods.
Dragon Ball: Sparking Zero is becoming one of the most popular anime games of the year. This success is largely because it continues the coveted Budokai Tenkaichi series. The Budokai Tenkaichi series is known for having some of the most impressive rosters of playable characters, and Sparking Zero is no different.
Like its predecessors, Sparking Zero has many playable characters from the series and the movies totaling over 180. While many characters are unlocked from the get-go, others must be unlocked through various means. Here’s every method to unlock characters in Dragon Ball: Sparking Zero.
Every way to unlock characters in Dragon Ball: Sparking Zero
Players can unlock characters in Dragon Ball: Sparking Zero by playing the story or purchasing them in the shop.
There are four ways to unlock characters in Dragon Ball: Sparking Zero.
The first method is by spending Zeni. Sparking Zero has a shop where players can spend their in-game currency to acquire select items and characters. Increasing the player level unlocks new items to purchase from the shop. A pop-up indicates new items are available in the shop every time the player levels up, suggesting it might be a good idea to check if there’s a new purchasable character.
The second method is like previous Dragon Ball games, where players must go through the story mode. Most characters are unlocked by going through the story normally, but others require people to end a fight in a specific way that may unlock a new “what if” path. Many of the characters unlocked through this method are outright purchasable from Dragon Ball: Sparking Zero’s in-game shop.
However, some characters require the player to increase their level before they’re available in the store. Many characters also require more Zeni, making completing their in-game requirements less costly and grindy.
Some unlockable characters are locked behind a paywall as DLC and can be purchased separately or through the season pass. Pre-ordering the game gave players access to some characters although Goku Mini, the Dragon Ball: Daima version of Goku, is the only one players can’t unlock through normal means.
Finally, players can unlock some characters by summoning Shenron. Similar to previous titles in the series, players can summon different types of dragons, including regular Shenron, Porunga, and Super Shenron. Collecting the designated Dragon Balls and summoning the dragons allows players to unlock characters using wishes.
All unlockable characters in Sparking Zero
All unlockable characters in Dragon Ball: Sparking Zero can be purchased from the shop but many of them can be unlocked through other means. These include beating certain chapters in the different story modes, playing certain game modes, and so on. Here’s the full lineup of characters, and how they’re unlocked:
| Character | Unlock Requirement | Zeni Cost |
| Goku (Super) – Ultra Instinct -Sign- + Ultra Instinct | Complete “Goku’s Mentor” in Jiren’s Episode Battle | 120,000 |
| Goku (GT) + Super Saiyan, Super Saiyan 3, and Super Saiyan 4 | Complete “Number One Spot” in Vegeta’s Episode Battle | 75,000 |
| Goku (Teen) | Win the World Tournament for the first time | 45,000 |
| Majin Vegeta | Complete “The Long-Awaited Battle” in Vegeta’s Episode Battle | 105,000 |
| Vegeta – Super Saiyan 4 | Complete “Pushing the Limit” in Goku’s Episode Battle | 120,000 |
| Future Gohan + Super Saiyan | Complete “Defiance in the Face of Despair! Gohan vs. Androids” in Bonus Battles | 60,000 |
| Super Gogeta (Z) | Win the Other World Tournament for the first time | 105,000 |
| Gogeta – Super Saiyan 4 | Play as Gogeta 10 times | 120,000 |
| Gogeta (Super) – Base + Super Saiyan and Super Saiyan Blue | Complete “The Greatest Saiyan of All” in Bonus Battles | 105,000 |
| Broly (Super) Base + Super Saiyan, and Legendary Super Saiyan | Pre-order bonus | 60,000 |
| Videl | Complete “Chaos at the World Tournament” in Gohan’s Episode Battle and choose to fight Spopovich | 30,000 |
| Mecha Frieza | Complete “Frieza Descends on Earth” in Frieza’s Episode Battle | 90,000 |
| Cell Jr. | Win the Cell Games for the first time | 30,000 |
| Majin Buu (Pure Evil) | Complete “To Be the Best: Advanced” in Bonus Battles | 90,000 |
| Yajirobe | Complete “Vegeta’s Secret Maneuver” in Goku’s Episode Battle | 30,000 |
| Pan (GT) | Complete “Defend Earth from the Frieza Force” in Gohan’s Episode Battle | 45,000 |
| Uub + Majuub | Complete “The Power of One, The Power of All” in Goku’s Episode Battle | 60,000 |
| Bardock (Super) | – | 60,000 |
| Saibaman | Win the Yamcha Games for the first time | 30,000 |
| Cui | Complete “Frieza’s Assassination Order” in Vegeta’s Episode Battle | 30,000 |
| King Cold | Complete “Parent-Child Tournament of Power” in Frieza’s Episode Battle | 60,000 |
| Frieza Force Soldier | Clear “Welcome to Frieza Force!” in Bonus Battles | 30,000 |
| Super Garlic Jr. | – | 45,000 |
| Dr. Wheelo | – | 45,000 |
| Turles | Complete “Avenger Returns” in Bonus Battles | 60,000 |
| Lord Slug + Giant Form | Complete “Android 17” in Piccolo’s Episode Battle | 60,000 |
| Cooler + Final Form | Complete “Brothers Fight Together” in Frieza’s Episode Battle | 90,000 |
| Metal Cooler | Use Cooler in battle 10 times | 105,000 |
| Android 13 + Super Android 13 | – | 60,000 |
| Bojack + Full Power | Complete “Combined Power” in Gohan’s Episode Battle | 60,000 |
| Janemba + Super Janemba | 60,000 | |
| Tapion | Complete “Final Battle with Zamasu” in Gohan’s Episode Battle | 45,000 |
| Hirudegarn | Complete “Great Saiyaman vs. Kaiju?!” in Bonus Battles | 90,000 |
| Baby Vegeta + Super Baby 1 and Super Baby 2 + Great Ape Baby | Play as Vegeta 10 times. | 105,000 |
| Syn Shenron + Omega Shenron | – | 120,000 |
| Spopovich | Complete “Ultimate Fusion” in Goku’s Episode Battle | 30,000 |
| Goku Black + Super Saiyan Rosé | Acquired through Super Shenron’s wish. | 75,000 |
| Fused Zamasu + Half-Corrupted | Acquired through Super Shenron’s wish. | 120,000 |
| Frost | Win the Tournament of Destroyers for the first time | 90,000 |
| Caulifla + Super Saiyan 2 | Complete “Fight Universe 6’s Mightiest Warriors” in Bonus Battles | 60,000 |
| Kale + Super Saiyan and Super Saiyan (Berserker) | Complete “Surpass god, Trunks” in Future Trunks’ Episode Battle | 60,000 |
| Dyspo | Complete “Virtuous Warrior, Virtuous Villain” in Frieza’s Episode Battle | 90,000 |
| Bergamo | Complete “Rematch with Bergamo the Crusher” in Bonus Battles | 60,000 |
| Kakunsa | – | 90,000 |
| Roasie | Complete “Neo Tri-Beam is powered-up like never before” in Bonus Battles | 90,000 |
| Anilaza | Win the Tournament of Power for the first time | 120,000 |
It’s important to note that in some cases, every form of a character is unlocked simultaneously. For example, meeting the requirements to unlock Future Gohan will automatically unlock both his base and Super Saiyan forms.
DLC characters are seemingly handled separately and are unlocked automatically. Goku (Mini) is automatically unlocked for those who pre-ordered the game. The same may apply to future DLC characters.
A statement from Bandai Namco suggests the upcoming DLC characters may be from the Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero movie and Dragon Ball: Daima. This means characters like Gamma 1, Gamma 2, and Gohan’s Beast transformation are likely to come to the game as DLC.
