So..Whats after Sparking Zero?

[mecha3000]

I think FighterZ 2 is very likely at this point.

Not anymore after ArcSys is confirmed to be working on the new Marvel Tokon game. With that said, I think the return of the Budokai series should be next. Tenkaichi already made a comeback and since FighterZ is officially done, I think a Budokai 4 can fulfill the need for a new 2D fighting game for Dragon Ball.

[Vegeta th3 4th]

I think FighterZ 2 is very likely at this point.

Not anymore after ArcSys is confirmed to be working on the new Marvel Tokon game. With that said, I think the return of the Budokai series should be next. Tenkaichi already made a comeback and since FighterZ is officially done, I think a Budokai 4 can fulfill the need for a new 2D fighting game for Dragon Ball.

Sparking Zero is the best selling game in the franchise, so I have no doubt they'll try to replicate that success again with a Budokai 4. They've been renewing its trademark, so there's definitely interest in the brand.

[mecha3000]

I think FighterZ 2 is very likely at this point.

Not anymore after ArcSys is confirmed to be working on the new Marvel Tokon game. With that said, I think the return of the Budokai series should be next. Tenkaichi already made a comeback and since FighterZ is officially done, I think a Budokai 4 can fulfill the need for a new 2D fighting game for Dragon Ball.

Sparking Zero is the best selling game in the franchise, so I have no doubt they'll try to replicate that success again with a Budokai 4. They've been renewing its trademark, so there's definitely interest in the brand.

Forgot about that, but yeah, that's definitely a good sign. And with how well Sparking Zero sold (despite the hate for it lately, some of which I've contributed to for certain reasons), the only thing that would rival its hype is the return of the Budokai series. A Budokai 4 that includes more GT characters (Teen Uub, Rildo, Ledgic, and Oceanus come to mind after Sparking Zero dropped the ball there except for Uub) and Super and Daima characters would be really hype. As much as I want a Sparking Zero sequel (Sparking Nexus?) or something, I'm not sure the time is right or if the hype will be the same unless they wait until 2027/2028 at the earliest. Hell, I'm not even sure if the hype will be the same regardless. Sparking Zero was like a once-in-a-lifetime thing seeing Tenkaichi 4 become a reality (even though I see Sparking Zero more as a reboot). But a Budokai 4 releasing in 2026 would be amazing along with the hype of seeing Budokai 4 become a reality after Budokai Tenkaichi 4 did with SZ.

Also between Xenoverse, Kakarot, Breakers, and Sparking Zero, there's been more than enough 3D Dragon Ball games released in the past decade. FighterZ was the only big 2D fighting game released in that time so Budokai 4 seems like a natural next step. No Kenji Yamamoto music would hurt, but hopefully, they get a better composer than they did for Sparking Zero. Also, can you link to news about the renewed trademark?

[budokaifanatic007]

I’m actually glad the chances of a DBFZ2 is slim to none at this point, it opens the door for a new 2D DB Fighter(Hopefully a new Budokai).

[Hellspawn28]

The Budokai games were never 2D. I don't know why people called them 2D figthers?

[IntangibleFancy]

I’m actually glad the chances of a DBFZ2 is slim to none at this point, it opens the door for a new 2D DB Fighter(Hopefully a new Budokai).

I feel bad for any potential fighting game. Gameplay wise it'll be held to Budokai's standards and visually speaking it will always be compared to FighterZ. In terms of gameplay, I think they can manage well, but I can only imagine one other studio matching Arc System's aesthetic skills and their games are Chinese only

[Vegeta th3 4th]

I feel bad for any potential fighting game. Gameplay wise it'll be held to Budokai's standards and visually speaking it will always be compared to FighterZ. In terms of gameplay, I think they can manage well...

Sparking Zero's gameplay feels like a step down from Tenkaichi 3's in a number of areas, so I wouldn't be so sure about a Budokai 4 being just as good as 3.

[WittyUsername]

I admit that I’ve actually sort of come around to the idea of a Budokai continuation. I just don’t know if Dimps would be interested in going back to the Budokai formula after years of games like Heroes and Xenoverse.

[Bardock God of Time]

If Budokai returns I could see them making it a spinoff of Xenoverse with a Character Creator in it too

[BlazingFiddlesticks]

I do wonder if the audience is there for a second 2D-plane fighting game so soon, but then three or four of the top five best-selling retail Dragon Ball games to date are from the PS4 era so the potential market size is certainly there. And a future Budokai or other such game would be a 1v1 fighter rather than 3v3 which is a distinct style of game to any kind of player.

If Budokai returns I could see them making it a spinoff of Xenoverse with a Character Creator in it too

I mean, that is the headspace a new Dimps-developed game would be coming out of!

The Budokai games were never 2D. I don't know why people called them 2D figthers?

That so much movement is still forward/backward on the 2D plane. Particularly in Budokai which only takes advantage of the 3D space in a handful of instances.

[Shiba87]

I'd be very happy with the revival of the Butouden series. Something like FighterZ but a little slower and tactical with awesome beam clashes.

[Jord]

The advantage of using the Budokai style is the models are easier to make than FighterZ's, giving the team more time to spend on individual animations and such. They could probably take some of Heroes as a base to start from

[Rory]

Everyone's talking about Budokai 4, but no one has mentioned the superior alternative

Spoiler:

Burst Limit 2

.

[JulieYBM]

Dragon Ball Dynasty Warriors, please and thank you. Just a fun little game where characters get to beat the shit out of hoards of enemies.

[budokaifanatic007]

Shouldn’t be too long before we start hearing rumors or seeing leaks of what might be released 2026. I really hope it’s not a Sparking Zero 2, Please be a 2D game of any sort! We have not had one since 2018.

[LightBing]

A Daima beat ''em up would be cool.

Advanced Adventure is still one of the best Dragon Ball games around.

[SelfTrainedNamekian]

With the immense success of SZ, what could possibly come next or top it? Id love to hear your thoughts.

most likely sparking something sequel. and this time with missing stages and probably a really huge roster

[PhantomSaiyan]

I'd love a Budokai 4 but I've always seen the full on 3d transition of the Budokai Tenkaichi series as one of those things you don't really come back from once you've done it, unless you're doing a serious fighting game like Figherz

I hope I'm wrong in thinking this because a new Budokai would be dope. But as someone else said, I also fear the comparison to Figherz

[WittyUsername]

Honestly, I’m not really convinced that a Budokai revival is on the table anytime soon. The arena fighter approach has pretty much been the norm for two decades now and even Dimps seems to have moved on from the Budokai style.

I’m not saying it’s impossible, but there doesn’t seem like there’d be much of an incentive for it. Pandering to nostalgia can only get you so far.

[funrush]

Sparking Zero is the best selling DBZ game, so I'd say pandering to nostalgia works pretty well actually. If Fighterz2 is truly off the table for a while, a Budokai 4 (I guess Infinite World doesn't count lolol) could be a pretty hype thing.