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When I said goodbye to Dragon Ball: Budokai Tenkaichi 3, it was like watching a longtime friend move to another city. You watch them take a bus and disappear in the distance while remembering the great times you all had together. And that is what the Budokai Tenkaichi series became to me—a fond memory of the best fighting series in the Dragon Ball universe. Eventually, that friend found its way back to the city and arrived more ripped than ever in the shape of Dragon Ball: Sparking! ZERO. In a way, playing it felt like receiving a dragon fist full of nostalgia in the chest. But in another way, it is the most modern and impressive anime fighting game we’ve had.
My age might be showing as I mention Budokai Tenkaichi 3, but I’m hopeful that other 30-year-old gamers out there with jobs and a mortgage to pay might remember how big of a deal that series is. As the best PS2 and Wii fighting game we had, it hurt that it took almost 20 years to return. Yes, we’ve had some great installments like Kakarot and the still-alive Xenoverse 2, but neither managed to get us as hyped as one quick match in Budokai Tenkaichi. Fortunately, the wait is over, and Dragon Ball: Sparking! ZERO surpasses the limits that this legendary franchise established over a decade ago.
Same Story, New Perspective
Before I talk about the meaty part of Dragon Ball: Sparking! ZERO, I’d like to touch upon the story aspect. To this day, there’s a chance even your grandmother knows about the plot of Dragon Ball, which means I won’t delve into that. However, the developers announced a few things for this game, such as the what-if scenarios and the first-person camera perspective, which seemed odd, but I now understand the reason for including it.
Instead of telling the legendary journey of Goku, Vegeta, and all the Z Fighters, Dragon Ball: Sparking! ZERO keeps it short and to the point. You can pick between different scenarios featuring a character as a protagonist. You’ll start with Goku’s story and unlock most of the others as you progress through the stages. Plus, you’ll see a timeline of sorts that you can fill up as you play. For instance, Goku’s story is the longest, but a few gaps in the Saiyan saga will fill up once you play as Gohan.
Added to this are the what-if scenarios and the first-person perspective, of which I enjoyed the latter most. The what-if part, which was the big selling point of the main story to me, was a hit-or-miss kind of situation. They are not bad by any means, but not all have the same quality or surprise factor. For example, during Cell’s saga, you can pick between waiting for Vegeta and Trunks to arrive and train with you in the Hyperbolic Time Chamber or go and help everyone who is facing Cell at the moment. I chose the latter but only got a quick fight, and nothing else changed. On the other hand, some are quite shocking and change things up a lot, but I won’t spoil those. Again, they are not bad, but not all share the same quality, which was a bit of a bummer.
Lastly, the first-person perspective is something I didn’t think would be necessary to change the story, but I was wrong. During certain scenes, you can swap the perspective to look at everything through the protagonist’s eyes. What seemed like a minor and unnecessary addition made me enjoy the story even more. Nothing beats the epicness of watching Goku take one final look at his friends as Cell is about to explode. The fact that you can see his fingers reading the Instant Transmission technique and Cell’s bloated body in a more personal way is something I didn’t think I would love so much. But I did, and I’m sure many fans of the series will, too.
As Packed as a Spirit Bomb
Story aside, Dragon Ball: Sparking! ZERO has many game modes for players who just want to get right into the action. You have the custom battle mode, which I have to admit I didn’t delve into that much because I wanted to try different teams and unlock other characters. However, there are many options for the creative minds who might want to pit Mr. Satan against all movie characters.
Online and offline battles were surprisingly smooth. I played in a local co-op, and while I already knew we’d only get one stage for it, I was impressed. Everything worked perfectly with zero issues when playing with a friend on the same screen. Still, the online part surprised me even more due to how great the netcode was. I was able to get a match against someone else, and it was great to experience a smooth fight with no lag, frame drops, or any technical problems. Since many will want to spend their time choosing UI Goku and beating the Dragon Balls out of each other, you’ll have no bumps when doing so.
Also, I was glad to see the return of tournament mode. It was one of my favorites back in the day, and it’s nice to see it return with an even larger roster now. Overall, I feel Sparking! ZERO has many things to keep players around, but I wonder how the long-term support will go. Fortunately, the launch seems packed with quality content, so players will have their hands full for days and even months.
A Bout For Everyone
One thing that might be scary for any newcomer to fighting games is getting the hang of its gameplay. I don’t judge anyone who is deterred from joining it. After all, it is daunting and scary. Thankfully, Dragon Ball: Sparking! ZERO is quite easy to pick up and play. The last time I played the Budokai Tenkaichi series was in 2009, so I was as rusty as any other player. However, I never felt punished for that. The controls, UI, and gimmicks are so effortless to learn that anyone can be a worthy opponent regardless of the experience.
For the rookies, there are a few resources you need to pay attention to when playing. Each character has Ki, which is the main energy you need for skills like Vegeta’s Galick Gun or Piccolo’s Special Beam Cannon. Most characters can regenerate this resource by pressing a button combination. Besides that, you also have skill points, which you get just by fighting. You’ll use the skill points to transform, fuse with another character, reach your Sparking Mode, or activate abilities like Kaio-ken or Instant Transmission. In a way, this ensures no one can spam things repeatedly and makes for strategic and fair play.
Speaking of spamming things, I was glad to see the plethora of defensive options this time around. Besides the limited instant dodge counters you have, there are many you can use to escape a long combo or a hairy situation. You have new parry moves that let you stun opponents for a while. Or my favorite, which dodges the attacker’s blows at high speed to retaliate with a punch that sends them flying away. One thing I’ve always found stressful in fighting games is how one mistake can spell doom during an encounter, but Sparking! ZERO lets you recover from these mistakes and take the higher ground if you’re skillful enough.
Finally, depending on the game mode, you can bring up to five characters in your team and swap between them. If you bring the right fighters, you can even fuse them, but losing as a fused fighter will make the two characters unusable. This makes way for interesting team compositions and even longer fights that don’t limit themselves to a one-on-one encounter. Ultimately, Dragon Ball: Sparking! ZERO is one of the easiest and least punishing games to get into. Even if you drop it for a while, you can easily return and just start smacking people left and right.
When Quantity Equals Quality
To my surprise, Dragon Ball: Sparking! ZERO never lost quality with the number of characters it has. With nearly 200 to pick, one would expect a few to be lacking in the gameplay or visual department. That wasn’t the case. On the contrary, every fighter is designed meticulously. Take every version of Goku, for example. I was shocked to see the attention to the smallest details. In his Super Saiyan Blue form, when Goku activates his Kaio-ken, he gets both colored auras. At first, I thought that visual detail would only occur when you’re controlling Goku from a normal third-person perspective. However, I activated an ability and was surprised to see the Kaoi-ken aura remained there.
Another example is the wear-and-tear of the characters’ outfits. We all know that a staple of the series is the fighters losing their clothes and armor bit by bit. However, in other games, it usually happens when their HP reaches a certain threshold. Here, it can happen at the beginning of the match if any of the combatants receive a powerful attack. For instance, when using Goku in a fight against Beerus, I didn’t dodge the latter’s ultimate attack, and Goku’s shirt was ripped off even at high health. It might seem like a small detail, but it considerably adds to the immersion.
Furthermore, the attention to detail carries over to each character’s moves. Seeing all the skills in a modern light is great. While I never minded the PS2 visuals, nothing beats how epic a dragon fist looks now with current-gen graphics. But it isn’t only the visuals that enthralled me—the impact between each blow is equally great. Some punches and kicks feel floaty in many fighting games, anime, and non-anime. Here, however, they feel beyond realistic and bombastic. Some moves are a bit too long, like Future Trunk’s one with the sword. I feel a few players will get annoyed after seeing the same move over and over. Still, it is a price we must pay to bask in its flashy glory.
A Dragon Ball Wish Come True
At the end of my first long play sessions, I couldn’t help but feel nostalgic, but more than that, thankful. It is nostalgic because most of us grew up with the Budokai Tenkaichi. Heck, I remember that my brother and I would settle our disagreements by fighting in Budokai Tenkaichi 3. But I am even more thankful because the developers behind this installment understand their fans and the legacy this series carries.
With top-notch visuals, superb attention to detail, the biggest and best roster to date, and a plethora of game modes to try, Dragon Ball: Sparking! ZERO is the ultimate Dragon Ball experience. My only hope is that the support for this new Budokai Tenkaichi entry lasts for many years. There is so much potential and high quality here that many will have difficulty swapping to any other Dragon Ball game.
Review copy provided by Publisher.
Dragon Ball: Sparking! ZERO
Dragon Ball: Sparking! ZERO is not only the best fighting game of the series but also the best Dragon Ball game we've had in years. With a huge roster, top-notch visuals, and impactful combat, it will be hard for new and old players to put the controller down.
Pros
- The best and biggest roster to date
- Top-notch visuals
- Flashy combat that feels impactful
- Easy-to-grasp gameplay
Cons
- A few what-if scenarios felt underwhelming
- Some character moves are a bit long
