Developer: Spike Chunsoft
Publishers: BANDAI NAMCO Entertainment, Namco Bandai Games America Inc.
Platforms: PC, PS5, Xbox Series X/S
Tested on: PS5
DRAGON BALL: Sparking! ZERO – Review
Have you ever wondered what would happen if Goku didn’t die in his fight against Raditz? In DRAGON BALL: Sparking! ZERO you can find out for yourself! This game provides fast-paced combat, vibrant visuals, and expansive arenas, offering fans the chance to relive Goku’s battles and scenarios that differ from the main storyline of Dragon Ball Z. Whether it’s earth-shattering energy blasts or epic transformations, DRAGON BALL: Sparking! ZERO promises to be a must-play for any Dragon Ball enthusiast looking for a fresh yet nostalgic fighting game experience.
Story
The story mode gives access to the main story of Dragon Ball Z up to the end of Dragon Ball Super. You can choose to follow the story of Goku, but you can also choose to follow the story from the perspective of other major characters. One of them being Goku Black. This is an exciting aspect since it gives a different view of the story altogether. Another reason to keep playing the story mode is that if certain conditions are met, such as finishing a battle in the allocated time frame, a ‘what if’ scenario can be unlocked. This scenario can then be followed for a couple of episodes leading to an alternative cutscene called the ‘Sparking episode’. This is an awesome addition to the main storyline and a big motivation to unlock said scenarios because they can lead to unbelievable moments. To illustrate without spoiling: one of them is another character donning the uniform of Black. Try to unlock them, it’s worth it!
A small downside to the story mode is that it feels somewhat short. Major events that would take the anime 20 episodes are glanced over in less than 5 seconds. Big parts of the story are also in snapshots with only a few cutscenes, which is unfortunate because the cutscenes themselves are well-made. It would be nice to see even more of them.
Graphics
As said in the intro, the graphics are breathtaking. The character designs are very well done and look just like their anime/manga counterpart. Most notable here are the many transformations you can do. For example, the way Freeza goes through his multiple forms captures the horrific contortions of his body very well. The latter shows just how much of a monster he is, just as his character should be. The stages where you can fight your battles have also been animated beautifully. They’re also interactive because they will show damage or can be partially destroyed when hit by ki blasts or beams.
Last but not least is how well ki blasts and beams have been animated. They feel much more real than previous Dragon Ball games and they don’t cause any fps drops, which was the case in some older Dragon Ball Budokai games. Especially the moment when you hit your ultimate attack on the opponent and a small cutscene plays out, has been animated fantastically. Sometimes, during a battle, the camera might move weirdly so that you lose focus of what’s happening and that can be quite annoying.
Sound
The sound design is very good. Many music tracks are recognizable from earlier games or anime, and fans will recognize and love them. The voice acting is great as well. Hearing many original voice actors from the anime is a delight. Especially during big attacks, such as unleashing a Kamehameha wave, it’s nice to hear the original cast backing things up. Finally, the sound effects from kicks, punches, and beam attacks have been done great as well. The sound effects give much more impact to the attacks this way and feel in some sense stronger.
Gameplay
DRAGON BALL: Sparking! ZERO is a 3D fighting game with more than 200 characters you can choose from. However, unlocking most characters will cost a lot of Zeni which can be obtained by fighting battles. There are a couple of modes you can choose from. First up is local mode, in which you can choose to play with a friend locally. In this mode, both players will use the same screen which will be split between the two players. Tournament mode offers an offline or online tournament setting in which you can create your own tournament rules or use a preset ruleset.
Online mode offers the choice between a friendly match or a ranked match where you can show off your skills to improve your rank. DRAGON BALL: Sparking! ZERO implemented a new system for balancing ranked matches: the destruction point (DP) system. This system limits each party to a maximum of 15 points per team with stronger characters costing more DP than weaker characters. For example, Gogeta Super Saiyan 4 costs a staggering 11 DP while Mister Satan only costs 1 DP. Of course, Gogeta is going to be a whole lot stronger, but their team will not have as many team members as the team with Mister Satan. This is quite balanced, as a good player can perhaps take five weak characters, with five members being the maximum number of characters, and still win against a team that consists of one or two very strong characters. This is a great implementation in the game since this encourages players to also consider taking weaker characters, such as Yajirobe, Yamcha, Krillin, etc. These characters would otherwise not be picked since they can’t measure up against Super Saiyans for example.
Next up is the custom mode which is also very interesting. This mode is basically a tool in which you can create your own unique stories. You can choose which characters face off against each other, what stage they’ll be fighting in and the BGM. On top of that, you’ll be able to choose what kind of condition is present during the battle and what scene is played before or after the battle. The options are endless and DRAGON BALL: Sparking! ZERO encourages players to experiment and create the scenario of their dreams. You can also put your own created scenario online to let other players try it out.
Finally, in the challenges and missions mode you unlock rewards for completing certain requirements, such as fighting with a character during several battles. These rewards are often in the form of Zeni. This mode, simple as it is, is an important one as it provides a lot of Zeni that you will need to unlock characters.
During combat, the general movement controls feel smooth: you can run around or fly up, down, towards, or away from the opponent. Except for normal dashes, you can also use a Dragon Dash that uses ki or even a Z Burst Dash to sneak up behind the opponent. Then of course is the iconic ‘vanish’ mechanic which you can use to teleport behind the opponent to give yourself the advantage. All these movement options give the player a big toolbox as to how to approach the opponent which is good since this makes the game more dynamic. The interesting part that makes this game stand out from other fighter games is that there isn’t as much of a combo system as in for example Tekken. However, it is more reaction time-based as you must understand your opponent’s actions and how to counter them so you can use an attack of your own. For example, perception block works well for guarding against melee attacks but won’t do anything when you get hit by a ki blast.
Talking about ki blasts, there are two different ways you can use them. You either tap the blast button to shoot multiple small ki blasts or you keep holding down the button to shoot a bigger one. The small ones can be deflected while the bigger ones cannot. They also have their uses such as stopping the opponent from ki charging or extending melee combos. For close combat, you have a few but important options. You can use a simple rush attack, but this can often be guarded against and is quite predictable. During a rush attack, you have several options as well. You can charge the rush attack to break the opponent’s guard, combine it with the left stick to either do a sweep attack or a lift-up attack, or you can press the guard button to vanish behind. It’s nice to have these different options as it keeps the battle engaging and very interactive as you must decide which type of attack or guard method you will use.
Finally, you have the ki charge mechanic which is also an important tool since ki is used in almost any other option you have at your disposal. When you have one gauge ready, you can charge all the way towards Sparking mode. In this mode, your rush attacks can be chained to a long string of 20 hits and only during this mode you can use your ultimate attack. Understanding and being able to use all different methods of attacking and blocking is the success of winning in DRAGON BALL: Sparking! ZERO and this makes the game fun but also challenging to play.
Conclusion
DRAGON BALL: Sparking! ZERO has only been released for a couple of weeks but it is already making the grounds of the fighting game community tremble. With breathtaking graphics, awesome music, and a well-developed battle system, this game will provide many hours of fun for returning Dragon Ball Z fighting enthusiasts and new players alike. The many different modes one can choose from make it interesting for both casual and more competitive players. Share your energy with DRAGON BALL: Sparking! ZERO, because it has made its awesome debut and it’s here to stay for many years to come!
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