Bandai Namco has announced the return of the Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi series, over 15 years after the franchise’s last mainline entry.
Revealed over the weekend at the Dragon Ball Games Battle Hour 2023 (via Wario64), a brief teaser trailer confirmed that the new game is in development. It doesn’t have a title, confirmed platforms, or release window yet, as the trailer simply said, “A New Sparking Begins.” Dragon Ball Z: Sparking! is the name of the Budokai franchise in Japan.
There’s also an English version of the trailer from a livestream that hasn’t been officially uploaded yet, and it says, “A New Budokai Tenkaichi Begins.” You can check out the Japanese version of the teaser trailer for yourself below.
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「ドラゴンボール Sparking！」シリーズ
最新作情報が解禁！
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映像はコチラから↓#ドラゴンボール #バトルアワー pic.twitter.com/VMMPWWeSUr
— ドラゴンボールゲームスバトルアワー2023公式 (@db_eventpj_jp) March 5, 2023
Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi was first released on PlayStation 2 in 2005. The franchise saw two sequels in the following two years, which came to PS2 and Wii. While there were multiple spinoffs following the original trilogy, the series hasn’t seen a new mainline entry since 2007’s Budokai Tenkaichi 3.
The Budokai Tenkaichi games are 3D fighting games starring dozens of characters from the Dragon Ball Z anime. This teaser trailer doesn’t indicate if the new game is Budokai Tenkaichi 4 proper or another spinoff entry, but either way, it’s been a very long wait for fans of the franchise.
In recent years, Dragon Ball fighting game fans have been playing Dragon Ball FighterZ, the critically acclaimed 2D fighter from Arc System Works. Fans looking for a more straight-up adaptation got Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot, which recently came to PS5 and Xbox Series X|S.
Logan Plant is a freelance writer for IGN covering video game and entertainment news. He has over six years of experience in the gaming industry with bylines at IGN, Nintendo Wire, Switch Player Magazine, and Lifewire. Find him on Twitter @LoganJPlant.
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