One of Dragon Ball: Sparking Zero biggest draws is the different narrative branches and what-if scenarios. Fans love to see crazy story beats, especially when they result in unique fights or new characters. A great example of this is Gohan Black, a fun twist on the diabolical Goku Black. He’s become popular enough that everyone wants to play as him, although that’s easier said than done.
This what-if villain has his own story arc hidden behind a tough fight. It’s not as bad or confusing as getting all of Jiren’s endings, but I wouldn’t blame you if you’ve had trouble unlocking it. We’re going to lay out how to encounter him within Episode Battle as well as your options for playing the new villain yourself.
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Who is Gohan Black?
Gohan Black is an original character for Dragon Ball: Sparking Zero, although I’m sure there exists plenty of fanfics already out there based on the idea. If the name or my brief explanation above didn’t already give it away, Gohan Black is the product of a what-if story where Zamasu doesn’t switch bodies with Goku, but with his firstborn son instead.
Everyone has taken a strong liking to this neat twist and plenty have voiced their preference for Gohan as a villain over his dad. Of course, it’s not just the lore that’s left us all excited. Gohan Black is a surprisingly detailed inclusion for the game. While he does share a moveset with Goku Black, he comes with an exclusive portrait and his own voice acting. There is even more to show on the back end of things.
Within the story mode he doesn’t seem like a finished character since he only uses basic rush combos and vanish attacks. Data miners have discovered more work went into him than thought as he has voice work for all of his unused supers and skills. He even has a special battle introduction dialogue interaction against Goku, which would only be viewable in a versus mode.
I have no doubt that this would have been a popular what-if character on their own. It’s thanks to the above aspects, both what’s presented and found within the game’s files, that he’s managed to whip fans into a frenzy about playing him. Before we get to your options for doing that, let’s go over how to fight him in the story mode.
How to Fight Gohan Black in Episode Battle
Gohan Black is only fought through The Strongest Warrior story arc, which can be unlocked in Chapter 5 of Gohan’s Saga. To be more precise, you’ll need to complete the alternate objective in the “Defend Earth from the Frieza Force” mission, which simply reads as “Defeat the Frieza Force Soldier, then corner Frieza.”
That doesn’t tell you much, but I was able to clear it the same way most other alternate objectives are cleared: dealing a lot of damage as fast as I could. This can be a challenge since you have to fight against two enemies. I recommend charging your Ki whenever possible to enter the Sparking! Mode, that way you can get them caught in long rush combos and land your Ultimate Blast on them. Using Gohan’s Full Power Charge skill will also save time by instantly filling up your Ki gauge.
Don’t forget that lowering the difficulty will prevent you from completing an alternate objective. If you’re still having trouble finishing this fast enough, I recommend using a Dragon Orb to give yourself more time. These can be gained from wishes after you’ve summoned a dragon. This is a pretty tough battle, so it’s worth using them here.
Read More: Getting To Grips With Dragon Ball: Sparking Zero’s Wish-Granting Dragons
Getting through the fight quickly enough will lead you down The Strongest Warrior path, which starts with two more fights against Frieza. Defeating the space tyrant for good will cause Gohan to prioritize training more, leading him to catch the attention of Zamasu. This creates an altered version of the Future Trunks Arc highlighted by Gohan Black.
You’ll then be able to fight against the character that everyone wants. As mentioned earlier, he refrains from using any supers and just throws out rush combos and vanish attacks. That doesn’t mean he’s a pushover by any stretch of the imagination. Feel free to try out some of the Battle Assist settings or even lower the difficulty if his combos keep melting your health bar. This story arc is a straight shot without any branching paths, so you won’t miss anything by taking it easy.
There are four more fights for the story after this, including one against Gohan Black in an Ultimate-like transformation that rivals Goku Black’s Rose Form. The last two fights are against Fused Zamasu, who now sports a long bang in front of his face just like Gohan. Beat every mission to unlock The Strongest Warrior achievement and finish this fun alternate scenario.
How to Play as Gohan Black
If you’re looking to properly add Gohan Black to your roster, I’m sorry to say that currently isn’t an option. Some want him to be a separate character and others want him to be a special outfit for Goku Black since the two do share the same move set. Unfortunately, Dragon Ball: Sparking Zero doesn’t have any hidden fighters to unlock, nor any unique cosmetics that overhaul a character.
That’s not to say Gohan Black couldn’t be made available later on down the road. All the unused voice lines and altered visual effects could go to waste if he was made playable as a separate character. Having him be a cosmetic for the character he’s based on would make the most sense. There is a small precedent for a character’s outfit affecting things too, with Android 18 and Goku (Super) having one each that changes one of their super attacks.
You do have a couple of “less official” methods if you play on PC. The first is likely what you expect: search online and find a mod that swaps out Goku Black for Gohan Black. Thanks to so many assets already available in the game, mods for this come off pretty seamlessly. Online opponents will just see regular Goku Black while you will see the edgy what-if character of your dreams.
The second method is a uniquely bizarre workaround that doesn’t require you to have any mods installed on your end. Modders have realized that if they load in non-playable character models that are already in the game’s files (such as for story or super cutscene purposes) and publish them through the Custom Battles feature, anyone who plays it will be able to use those same models. That means you can play Gohan Black on PC by searching through the Custom Battle feature and finding one with him in it.
Gohan Black is arguably the most stable example of the wacky NPCs you can find. This is likely a testament to how “complete” he’s presented as. However, these battles don’t stay up long and are less likely to pop up in the future. Bandai Namco has been very upfront about the fact that those who upload modded Custom Battles will be banned. That shouldn’t threaten anyone playing them, but who knows exactly how they’ll handle this weird situation. I’d recommend looking for mods to be on the safe side. Most of these player-made battles are super difficult and against the strongest fighters in the game anyway.
Dragon Ball: Sparking Zero has a big roster filled with different characters to unlock, but it is lacking a few fan-favorites. Which is why it means a lot that so many are calling for an original character like this to be added. We know that the DLC announced so far will include fighters from Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero and Dragon Ball Daima, but that isn’t going to stop anyone from hoping that Gohan Black is made officially playable through an update.
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