Bandai Namco has released a new Dragon Ball: Sparking! Zero update that adds the ability to play splitscreen across all of the game’s stages, as well as new gameplay adjustments and more.
As the update’s patch notes reveal, offline splitscreen matches can now be held in any of Dragon Ball: Sparking! Zero‘s twelve stages. Previously, splitscreen play was limited to the Hyperbolic Time Chamber stage, but that limitation has officially been removed.
Back in June, Bandai Namco said it would be “difficult” to implement local splitscreen play while retaining Sparking! Zero‘s “core elements” of busy effects and terrain destruction, which is likely why splitscreen was previously limited to the largely-empty Hyperbolic Time Chamber.
However, now, thanks to this latest update’s rather nebulous assertion that the devs have “improved performance and ease of use”, it’s possible to enjoy splitscreen play across any number of Sparking! Zero‘s levels.
Of course, this isn’t the only improvement the update brings. You can also expect a number of quality-of-life improvements and gameplay adjustments, including the ability to skip battle animations during online matches, as well as a new High-Speed Dragon Dash move that lets you close distance to your opponent.
If you’re interested, you can read the full patch notes for this Dragon Ball: Sparking! Zero update right here. I’d say it’s almost certainly worth doing so if you’re planning to jump into online play anytime soon.
Dragon Ball: Sparking! Zero is the latest installment in the Budokai Tenkaichi sub-series of Dragon Ball fighting games, and the first game in the series since 2007’s Budokai Tenkaichi 3. Unlike previous games, it bears the series’ original Japanese name of Sparking! in the West as well.
Placing an emphasis on lore-accurate power levels and movesets instead of pure competitive balance, Sparking! Zero became the Dragon Ball series’ highest-charting Steam debut when it launched in October, going on to sell three million copies in a single day.
You can check out Dragon Ball: Sparking! Zero right now on PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X|S. Make sure to read our very own Robert’s review here to find out how this larger-than-life fighter stacks up against its rivals.