Power Up With These 11 Dragon Ball: Sparking Zero Mods

There is no denying that the character select screen portraits look pretty meh. Unlocking every character is a little less exciting when they all stare to the right with a blank expression on their face. A few are also slightly zoomed out, which results in a lot of space around their faces.

The Character Selection Screen Revamped - Official HD Artwork mod is aiming to fix that. This replaces those unflattering portraits with official character renders that were made for this game, but for some strange reason weren’t used in it. Even though this will make it so that everyone is just staring directly at you and it’s still difficult to tell every version of Goku apart, it is a noticeable improvement.

The only thing more inconsistent than power levels is the color of Future Trunks’ hair. Both he and his mother Bulma have fluctuated between purple and blue depending on the medium, with Dragon Ball Super throwing the biggest wrench into the issue by changing his hair to blue. Multiple video games, including Dragon Ball: Sparking Zero, highlight this awkward disconnect with two character versions with different colored hair.

If you’re like me and think he looks undeniably better with the original lavender color, Consistent Trunks (Z Colors) is a must. This gives the latest incarnation of the character his original hair color as well as the sharper eyes that this character model usually lacks. If you’re interested in the opposite, as in giving every other version of Trunks blue hair, the same modder can help with that too.

Some of the most memorable outfits from the Dragon Ball Z anime are the ones they wore for only one or a couple of episodes at most. Everyone wants to play Vegeta with his Badman shirt or Goku in his Yardrat clothes. As iconic as those are, they arguably don’t hold a candle to Piccolo’s driving test clothes from a filler episode.

Piccolo Postboy Outfit adds this fan-favorite look to the game. Both of his antennae clip through the makeshift backward cap, but it’s otherwise a fantastic recreation. The green guy knows how to rock casual wear, even if they did technically belong to Goku.

The moments of Goku tapping into his Ultra Instinct-related forms in Dragon Ball Super were incredibly exciting for fans. Many found it on par with the crazy transformations from the previous series. Of course, a big part of the fun was also due to the musical themes associated with it.

Whether it’s for the love of hype comebacks or just the numerous memes, UI Theme Plays During Sonic Sway is a fun mod to have. It can be set to play either the first note or the first two seconds of the Clash of Gods theme whenever you use a Sonic Sway counter.

I’m a big fan of how much character dialogue there is for menus in this game. It adds a ton of flair that isn’t necessary but is appreciated. However, what I don’t appreciate is how often the dialogue is triggered. Some of these menus will have a character speaking every 15-20 seconds.

Looking to fix that is the aptly-named Everyone Shut Up. It severely cuts down on the chatter when browsing the shop, as well as the various missions from Zeno and Whis. You’ll even hear less King Kai commentary when participating in an Otherworld Tournament.

One of the biggest points of contention when it comes to Dragon Ball Z is the soundtrack. While most countries only dubbed the character voices and kept the same themes, the US version of the anime went wild. Commonly referred to as the Bruce Faulconer soundtrack, named after the sole credited composer who seemingly didn’t do that much work, it covers a wide range that includes loud guitars and heavy synths. It’s a far cry from the original soundtrack, but American fans love it.

Those wishing to reminiscence can do so with the Bruce Faulconer OST with Track Randomizer mod. This changes the themes that play throughout Episode Battle to let players experience the story with maximum nostalgia. A randomizer option is also available for general play. As if that wasn’t enough, the modder went the extra mile to add movie soundtracks and even popular metal songs that anyone proficient at Windows Movie Maker would use for AMVs back in the day.

Not everyone shares the same nostalgia for those other themes, but plenty still want a different soundtrack than what this game offers by default. What could be more fitting than to use music from another beloved Dragon Ball game?

FighterZ Character Themes swap out the BGM in here with those from Dragon Ball FighterZ. This doesn’t include everything from that title, but instead brings in every character track. Hearing Hit’s smooth jazz and Videl’s adorably upbeat rock themes make this a worthy soundtrack replacement on their own.

Speaking of Videl, there is a big issue concerning her in this title – she’s missing her Great Saiyaman 2 outfit. It’s another memorable look for the character that perfectly encapsulates her willingness to do silly shit with Gohan. You know, real love stuff.

Great Saiyaman 2 - Saiyawoman fixes this problem by giving her the superhero-inspired outfit. Just like the anime, it’s a recolored version of Gohan’s alter-ego costume with a different helmet. Use this with Great Saiyaman’s Ultimate Blast for an adorable tag team attack that looks the way it’s meant to.

The only thing that emphasizes a powerful character more than bulging muscles and different-colored hair is when they’re overflowing with energy. Dragon Ball: Sparking Zero only features a few characters that have a constantly radiating aura though.

If you want to see that effect on other characters, check out the Pinnacle of Power (POP) mod. It adds unique auras to fighters who made a big impact or were essentially at the top of their game, depending on the era they’re from. I strongly recommend this one just for the extra style that it adds to supers and Impact Actions.

The What-If stories in Episode Battle are incredibly fun to play. While everyone has their favorites, an agreed highlight is The Strongest Warrior arc, which introduces Gohan Black. Unfortunately, you don’t have many options to play him other than mods which typically swap him over Goku Black.

Read More: Dragon Ball: Sparking! Zero Has A Cool Original Character You Can’t Miss

You’re more than welcome to use those mods, but a much more significant one is now available. [New Slots] Gohan Black and his variants + Potara doesn’t just add the original character and his special Zamasu variants, but it also adds them within their own slots on the character select screen. You can find them at the bottom of the roster and use them as you expect. Both are capable of transforming, and Gohan Black specifically can perform a fusion with Zamasu to create his version of Fused Zamasu.

Rounding out the list is arguably the coolest. There are a ton of iconic locations that are only available in Episode Battle or for menus. As cool as it would be to fight in space or near Roshi’s Kame House, these areas are inaccessible.

That is unless you download the Let’s Fight Somewhere Else! Mod. It’s as easy as opening up a custom menu in-game and entering a map key to load in. Okay, that’s not nearly as easy as typical stage selection, but at least it lets you access every map instead of overwriting other ones. Plus, you can also use this to load any map you want during a local split-screen battle. No need to be limited to the Hyperbolic Time Chamber anymore when fighting your friends!

More Dragon Ball: Sparking Zero mods are being added every day to sites like NexusMods and GameBanana. A lot of them are similar to these in that they’re focusing on content related to the franchise, but it won’t take you long to find reshade packs and plenty of meme-worthy model swaps. If you’re already playing on PC, you might as well take advantage of what the platform can do and have fun with some mods.