| Game Title: | DRAGON BALL: Sparking! ZERO |
| Developer: | Spike Chunsoft |
| Publisher: | Bandai Namco Entertainment |
| Release Date: | 7th October 2024 |
| Platforms: | PS5/XSX/PC |
DRAGON BALL: Sparking! ZERO is the latest entry of the DRAGON BALL 3D arena fighting game that's harnessing the power of Unreal Engine 5.
DRAGON BALL: Sparking! ZERO is basically known to fans as 4th game in the Budokai Tenkaichi series (The Japanese title has always used Sparking! while in the West it's called Budokai Tenkaichi).
Story
DRAGON BALL: Sparking! ZERO has a story mode that's called Episode Battle. You'll take control of a specific character and finish their story in the whole Dragon Ball story (starting from DBZ's Raditz Saga up to the DB Super's Universe Survival Saga).
In the beginning you will only be able to play Goku's Saga which is basically serves as the Main Story of the game, but you will also unlock other character's saga by going through and finishing Goku's Saga.
Episode Battle selection screen
What makes DRAGON BALL: Sparking! ZERO different than other Dragon Ball games is that the game has an alternate Scenario called "Sparking! Episode".
This can be unlocked through completing specific conditions in a specific fight (Most of the time it's by defeating the enemy ASAP or beating an enemy when you should have lost in the canon timeline).
For example, if you can defeat Cell with Goku in the Tournament, then Gohan will never have the chance to fight Cell and the story ends there.
If Goku defeats Cell, then Goku stays alive and Gohan never fights Cell
While it's quite interesting to see how the "What If?" scenario unfolds, the result itself isn't always interesting.
Sometimes it's only 1 scene and doesn't change the story too much.
Of course, there's a longer one, for example alternate scenario where Vegeta & Trunks defeat Cell instead of Goku & Gohan in the Cell Tournament.
Father & Son Final Flash
So it's kind of a hit-and-miss, and sometimes it feels like not really necessary to have the "What If" scenario for the fight.
While sometimes it feels like it's not really necessary, it's nice to have those options.
Also, the alternate timeline works best when you are playing the Villain's Arc. For example Frieza, Black Goku, or Jiren. This gives us a glimpse of an alternative timeline if our heroes lose the battle to protect the earth/universe.
While you will get the chance to see the Sparking Episode by clearing a specific condition, sometimes the condition to continue the main story is a little bit annoying.
For example, if you fight Cell with Goku. You can't beat Cell too fast, as you will unlock the Sparking Episode where Gohan will never fight Cell.
So you have to "intentionally" lose the battle or take your time so that you don't defeat your enemy too fast.
We had to replay the same battle a few times because we defeated Jiren with Goku faster than the game allowed me to, and by doing that the game kept making me go into the Sparking Episode, and not the main timeline for the story.
Same as the Goku Black's Arc where you have to prolong a fight until Trunks joins the battle and you HAVE to receive his Ultimate Attack for you to be able to continue the story.
You need to receive "Final Hope Slash" from Future Trunks to continue with the story
The story presentation itself is kind of like the usual anime game. Where you will get a still image of a scene + some cutscenes for the important ones.
Still Images but using in-game 3D Engine Model
But in Sparking! ZERO it's great because they use the in-game model rather than using the screenshot from the anime for it.
Although it's the same formula as any other anime game, it still feels fresh because of the in-game engine model.
Gameplay
There are a few things we would like to talk about in regard to the gameplay.
Battle
The basics of the battle are basically still the same as the old Sparking series / Budokai Tenkaichi series.
It's very "Dragon Ball"-ish and to be honest very simple. Flashy quick combo + launch attack + Vanishing Attack + Ki Attack. Those are basically how the battle works in this game.
It's very fun, and it really feels like you are doing battle like those in the Dragon Ball anime/manga.
Kick away that Ki Blast
Basically, you can do a combo with a single button, and a little bit combination with Triangle to do a launch attack.
You need to build/increase your Ki before you can do a Special Attack.
One thing that you need to note is that you can only do an Ultimate attack when your character is in Sparking Mode.
It seems hard in the beginning but once the muscle memory kicks in, it's very simple and easy. All you have to remember is to press the Guard button at the right time, and that's it. It will allow you to evade a Special Attack and even Counter a Vanishing Attack.
We love how the game gives different variations of Clash / Impact.
There are 4 types of Impact:
・Speed Impact
Trigger when both characters clash on Dragon Dash
・Power Impact
Trigger when both characters use grab on each other
・Crash Impact
Trigger when both characters step into each other
・Blast Impact
Trigger when both characters are using their Ultimate Beam Attack at the same time.
Understanding how to win those impacts will help you win your battle as well, so better if you learn it through the Training Menu.
Also, unfortunately the game is quite easy when you understand the game's mechanics. Even with normal difficulties, the NPC isn't hard at all.
Basically, you can just go into Sparking Mode, Press Square to do the combo, and when the enemy is being launched, that's the cue for you to do an Ultimate Attack. You can repeat this step until you win.
While the battle is very very cool and very interesting to look at, it will get stale if you keep playing with NPCs.
You can also create a Custom Battle and make some kind of a special event of your own creation. Basically, you can make an anime episode of your creation with this.
You can choose the title, choose the banter, choose the characters, and choose how do you want the story to go.
Custom scenario between Future Gohan and Videl
While the options to do that are limited, it's great to have those options for Dragon Ball die-hard fans who want to bring their dream scenario to life.
Characters
There are a total of 182 characters in the game (excluding the Season Pass Characters) and you can unlock all of them in the game.
Gogeta (GT) is also a playable character
You can unlock them by clearing specific conditions or just use your in-game currency to buy them from the Shop menu.
Even though there are 182 characters, most of them are the transformations form which you can also access during the battle. For Example, Dragon Ball Super's Goku can go into Super Saiyan Red/Super Saiyan Blue form freely in battle.
Transform into Super Saiyan / Super Saiyan Red / Super Saiyan Blue
Each transformation has a different Special Attack / Ultimate Attack as they count as another individual character as well, which adds the variations of attack animation in battle.
Basically, there are no differences in each character in terms of Combo / Launch Attack / Vanishing Attack.
Every character is the same, except for their transformations & their Special Attack / Ultimate Attack.
Each character has a Special Attack / Ultimate Attack that stays true to the manga/anime which makes them unique.
Kid Gohan with the Father-Son Kamehameha Ultimate Attack
While it seems like every character is the same, this game makes sure that the strong character is strong and the weaker character is weak (In terms of Damage or their Special / Ultimate Attack damage).
But again, the game gives every character the same mechanism in battle, so you can Counter / Vanishing Counter / Vanishing Evade with any characters so even if you are using a weaker one you still have a chance of winning.
We really like how they incorporate the Costumes into the game. You can unlock costumes for each character by completing a specific mission, or unlock it through Dragon Ball / Super Dragon Ball / Porunga, or you can just buy it in the shop with your Zeni.
It's really great how they include the Jackie Chun costume for Master Roshi, and also Yamcha's earlier days costume in this game. Paying a great homage to the Kid Goku Saga of Dragon Ball.
We love how the game has a huge roster of characters from not just Dragon Ball Z, but also Kid Goku from the early Dragon Ball anime, Dragon Ball Super, Dragon Ball GT, Dragon Ball Daima, and villain characters that are exclusive to the Movie such as Bojack, Cooler, etc.
One thing that's interesting with this huge cast of characters, is you can see Special Banter when you are fighting a character with another character that might react to one another.
For example, try Videl vs Future Gohan, it will unlock a unique special banter.
Also when you are doing a team battle, if the team includes unique characters, it will also unlock a special conversation.
So we guess you can try a lot of combinations with different characters and see what kind of unique banter/conversation you can unlock.
Multiplayer
This game also provides a multiplayer experience as well, both online & offline.
As for Offline, you can play locally with 2 players via split screen.
Play online or offline with your friends
The performance for the Splitscreen is really good as well, it doesn't slow down, and the camera works flawlessly for both players during the battle.
You can also play one vs one match online as well. When playing online, there are no limitations to the stage that you can choose.
As for the online multiplayer, you can play Rank Match. This is the typical Rank Match type like any other fighting game. You fight other players online and increase your rank by winning the battles.
The other mode that you can play online is the Tournament mode.
Create your own tournament
You can play up to 8 people online based on the Tournament in the Dragon Ball series such as Budokai Tenkaichi, Cell Games, Power Tournament, etc.
We did try playing online with our friends, even though we are from different countries, the connection is very stable and the buttons are really responsive as well without input lag. It almost feels like you are playing offline. We guess they really optimized the Online Multiplayer mode for this game.
Graphics & Performance
DRAGON BALL: Sparking! ZERO is by far the best-looking Dragon Ball game ever to date. You can really feel that they are harnessing the technology of Unreal Engine 5, plus it does feel really next-gen despite being an anime game.
 |
| Comparison between PS5 / Xbox Series / PC |
As you can see from the table above (Apologize for the Japanese Language as this is taken from the Official Japanese Site), the game runs on 4K/60fps on both PS5 & Xbox Series X, and 1440p/60fps on Xbox Series S.
We didn't experience any performance hiccups when playing the game on PlayStation 5. The game works smoothly and flawlessly, not to mention that every input is very responsive as well.
The camera works especially like magic with all the Vanishing attacks and teleportation, it keeps the screen engaging during battle and it's fun for spectators as well.
Dragon Dash!
Not to mention the colorful effect of the Ki particles is something worth mentioning as well. You can definitely see it when your characters are charging their Ki or trying to go into the Sparking Mode. Also when you are using Beam Attack like Kamehameha, etc.
Another thing that we want to note as well is the "damage" is shown visually.
You are able to demolish stuff on the stage such as buildings, and rocks, and even destroy Planet Namek.
Destroy those rocks with your Kamehameha
Not to mention when you use your Ultimate Ki Blast in Budokai Tenkaichi stage, the spectator will run away from the arena.
We know it's just a small detail, but it really stays true to the original source.
Not only the environment, but your character's costume will also change in battle.
After receiving Ki Blast or getting blasted to a building or ground, your clothes will be damaged just like how it is in the manga.
They really pay a lot of attention to these kinds of small details.
The character's model also stays true to their original source. Basically, there are no prettier Dragon Ball games than Sparking! ZERO as for now.
Sounds
The game also does a great job with the Sounds.
One thing that we would like to take note of is the Sound Effect of the game.
The sounds of when combo hits, the sounds of charging your Ki, the sounds of the Beam blasting, everything feels like right at home.
The game also provides anime music pack which includes the following songs
Anime Music Pack 1 Tracklist:
Track List
• CHA-LA HEAD-CHA-LA
• WE GOTTA POWER
• KYOUFUNO GINYUU TOKUSENTAI
• SHIO YOBU CELL GAME
• Day of Destiny -Soul vs Soul-
• SEIGIO AISURU MONO
• Cho-Zets☆Dynamic!
• Champa's Theme
• Kyuukyokuno Battle(Instrumental)
• AKUMA NO BROLY
• Hand-To-Hand Battle
Anime Music Pack Tracklist:
• MAKAFUSHIGI ADVENTURE!
• Solid State Scouter
• DAN DAN KOKORO HIKARETEKU
• PROLOGUE & SUBTITLE 1
• PROLOGUE & SUBTITLE 2
• CHA-LA HEAD-CHA-LA (Days of Battle)
• Orewa Kakarot
• Broly Sentoukaishi
• DRAGON BALL SUPER -BROLY- Theme
• Blizzard
• SAIKYOU NO FUSION
• YAPPARI SAIKYO SONGOKU!! (WE GOTTA POWER)
Awesome list of the BGMs
Unfortunately these 2 Anime music packs aren't available for free. It's a Paid DLCs that can be bought separately.
But having this music pack really enriches your experience when playing the Episode Battle as the BGMs will play on the respective events.
The bad side of this is that every scenes that have the BGMs from the Music Pack can't be recorded locally on your PS5.
And not just that as you will be going in and out of events with the BGMs, you will be seeing a lot of notifications messages saying that you can't record or you can record again. It might be a minor thing to some people, but we think it's a little bit annoying as this is happening not only during battles but during cutscenes as well.
Good thing about that is you can toggle the Anime Music to On/Off in the Sounds setting.
The Verdict
DRAGON BALL: Sparking! ZERO is definitely one of the best way to enjoy Dragon Ball series in a game media. Although we must say that in terms of Story, it's not as immersive as Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot. If you want a more definitive way to enjoy the Dragon Ball story, it's better if you stick with Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot (they are also releasing Dragon Ball Daima story as a DLC for Kakarot as well!)
But if you want to focus more on the battle/gameplay or see some alternate scenarios then DRAGON BALL: Sparking! ZERO is the way to go.
It's one of the best looking anime game to date.
Unfortunately because of the simplicity of the game, it's not a game where you can do it competitively. It's more like a party game like Naruto Ultimate Ninja Storm series. It's a game that you'll enjoy more playing with your homies.
Whether you are a fans of Dragon Ball or not, this is the game that can be enjoyed by everyone as it's fun to play and also fun to watch as it is the best visually looking 3D Arena Fighting anime game for now.
We finished the game in around 30 hours, getting the Platinum Trophy, unlocking all 182 characters, also completing all Episode Battles and Bonus Battles as well.
Comments
Post a Comment