The 'Sparking!' in the Japanese title references the last lyric found in the chorus of the first opening theme to the Dragon Ball Z anime series, ' Cha-La Head-Cha-La' (though the opening theme to the first game is the TV series' second opening, ' We Gotta Power'). ( September 2021) ( Learn how and when to remove this template message) Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources. In March 2023, a new title was revealed during the Dragon Ball Games Battle Hour event. Moreover, a spinoff titled Tenkaichi Tag Team released on PlayStation Portable in 2010.

The original game was released in 2005 as a PlayStation 2 exclusive, while the second and third installments released for PS2 and Wii. Since Budokai Tenkaichi 3, Bandai Namco has handled Dragon Ball game publishing in all regions, effectively ending Atari's involvement. The series was published by Namco Bandai Games in Japan and Europe, and by Atari in North America and Australia until 2008.

Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi, released in Japan as Dragon Ball Z: Sparking! ( ドラゴンボールZ Sparking!), is a series of fighting games developed by Spike based on the Dragon Ball manga series by Akira Toriyama.