Dragon Ball: Sparking Zero Review – A Final Flash or a Fizzling Fad?

The fast-paced clashes that Dragon Ball enthusiasts anticipate are finally here, yet they are overshadowed by a somewhat superficial experience characterized by more repetition than innovation.

By on October 7, 2024 at 4:32PM PDT

Seventeen years have passed since the release of Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 3, which featured 3D-arena-based combat on consoles. Fans have been eager for a revival of that classic style ever since. Dragon Ball: Sparking Zero attempts to fill that void, enriched by the introduction of a new story arc stemming from Dragon Ball Super, which became part of the Dragon Ball universe in 2013. While the Tenkaichi format still shines through its swift and dynamic battle mechanics, the gameplay suffers from repetitiveness and a lack of variety in game modes, leaving players longing for a more comprehensive experience.

Dragon Ball: Sparking Zero brings back the classic Tenkaichi structure, offering players the chance to engage in combat within expansive arenas filled with destructible environments like buildings, rocks, and cliffs. Each character unleashes a range of physical and ki-based attacks, featuring thrilling and spectacular special moves such as the Kamehameha, Final Flash, Spirit Bomb, and many other beloved techniques from the Dragon Ball saga.

The visual aesthetics of Sparking Zero are strikingly impressive, from the main menu to the dynamic battles. Each character showcases smooth movements during combat, and the brief scenes that unfold during successful ultimate attacks provide a delightful experience, enhancing the connection to these moves. Notably, the Point-Blank Kamehameha executed by Ultra Instinct Goku’s Sign form is particularly stunning, featuring animation derived directly from the anime, making it a thrilling way to conclude a match.

Navigating the arena and engaging in battles generates a sense of excitement; however, each confrontation often reduces to frantic button mashing. Every character follows the same fundamental control layout: one button is designated for close-range physical attacks, another for rapid ki blasts, and special moves require holding a shoulder button while pressing either of those attack buttons. Additionally, characters can dodge, dash, soar into the sky, drop back to the ground, or counter while being struck. Ultimately, if a player charges their ki meter beyond full capacity and triggers Sparking, they gain access to a powerful ultimate attack.

The thrill of each match is palpable, as the button mashing mirrors the high-speed punches and kicks witnessed in the anime. However, players seeking intricate, skill-based combat mechanics may be disappointed. The majority of fights tend to follow a predictable cycle: the match begins, a few attacks are unleashed, the opponent is pushed away, the ki meter is charged, and the process repeats until victory is achieved.

This approach to battle brings a vibrant energy—executing a Super Spirit Bomb and witnessing the accompanying sequence is consistently gratifying—and exploring different characters within the world of Dragon Ball is truly enjoyable. Nevertheless, the simplicity of the core combat system limits its longevity, making it more suited for brief gaming sessions than extended play. Nonetheless, this simplicity also characterizes previous entries in the Budokai Tenkaichi series, which hasn’t deterred dedicated fans from having a blast, so long-time players may find it familiar and comforting.

The experience is particularly clear in Episode Battle, which serves as the primary single-player mode in Sparking Zero. In this mode, players choose one of the iconic characters from the franchise and engage in the storyline from their viewpoint, battling all the significant foes that character encounters. The transitions between fights contain various cutscenes, ranging from still images accompanied by voiceovers to brief, fully animated segments showcasing dialogues between the characters.

This structure introduces a sense of repetition that, although the battles can be enjoyable, quickly becomes monotonous. The cutscenes primarily feature a few witty remarks before the player is thrust into the next encounter. This feeling of redundancy is further intensified by some peculiar spikes in difficulty throughout the journey. While many of these challenge peaks occur during pivotal moments against the formidable foes of Goku’s story, some are excessively frustrating; for instance, Great Ape Vegeta can withstand a 10-hit combo without so much as a stagger, counter before the player lands a subsequent hit, and swiftly diminish one of Goku’s five health bars. Additionally, if the player loses a battle, an unskippable cutscene plays before they can attempt to retry. Repeated defeats mean going through this cutscene multiple times, enduring the same voice clips, which can become irritating very quickly.

Attempts to introduce variety in Episode Battles are present, with some cutscenes offering decisions or win conditions that lead to alternate storylines. These moments of choice serve as an innovative way to enhance the familiar narrative arcs of the Dragon Ball Z saga. For instance, early on, when Piccolo invites Goku to team up against Raditz, players can opt to decline and fight solo, leading to a scenario where Krillin joins Goku instead, creating a “what if” situation.

While these unique scenarios are interesting, they generally lead to just one or two additional battles before returning to the main storyline, making these “what ifs” feel more like temporary diversions. Overall, Episode Battle retells the intricate story of the Dragon Ball series effectively, but aside from the arcs from Dragon Ball Super, it revisits well-trodden ground, and the alternate routes based on player choices do not significantly alter the experience.

In standard matches, the number of playable characters in the Sparking Zero roster reaches an impressive total: 181. However, similar to past trends in Dragon Ball fighting games, that number is somewhat misleading due to the duplication of characters found in those slots. Notably, there are 19 versions of the series protagonist Goku, which includes four “base forms” where he appears in his regular, black-haired appearance. Every transformation, from Super Saiyan to Ultra Instinct, occupies its own slot, including his kid iterations from Dragon Ball GT and their respective transformations. Additionally, the count does not include Goku Black—the villainous alternate from Dragon Ball Super—or his various forms, nor does it encompass Goku’s multiple fusions with Vegeta and their transformations.

Goku isn’t the only character to have an extensive representation on the roster, as Vegeta occupies 14 slots (excluding fusions or his GT alter ego, Baby Vegeta), Gohan has 11, and Trunks fills nine slots. The villains are also subject to this trend, with Frieza, Cell, and Buu each claiming at least five slots. Some of these forms can even change into other forms during a match, further showcasing the seemingly arbitrary abundance of “unique” character slots.

While it is certainly beneficial to have such a broad array of forms represented, and it’s worth noting that each form is not a mere carbon copy of the others. The combo animations differ between forms, and the special moves executed by holding R2 also vary—much like Echo Fighters in Smash Bros., rather than being distinct characters. Nevertheless, since the control scheme remains consistent across all characters, the special nature of these unique moves feels diminished when identical button commands are used to perform them. There is a noticeable excess in this character roster, and a glance at the selection screen makes it quite apparent.

This expansive roster is available for one-on-one battles and World Tournament brackets, both offline and online; however, the online experience could be improved. During our pre-launch playthrough, we managed to connect to only one online match despite multiple attempts through various methods. That match functioned well for the most part, with only some occasional stuttering, but with a limited player base available, that singular experience may not reflect the actual conditions at launch. Your experience may vary when the game is fully released.

Sparking Zero also provides players with the opportunity to engage in Custom Battles, where you can create a battle framed by unique cutscenes that play before and after the action. The in-game editors empower you to select scenes, backgrounds, character poses, and even dialogue, letting you upload your crafted scenarios to an online server for others to experience. This concept is quite appealing as it allows you to construct a mini-anime episode that features an intense battle. However, there is a significant limitation that undermines the personal touch this mode aims to offer.

The problem lies in the dialogue options, as the text you can “write” is not open-ended; rather, you must select from a set of pre-existing phrases and decide which characters will deliver them. Certain words highlighted in green within these phrases can be swapped for alternatives, but your choices remain preset instead of being freely crafted. While the reasoning behind restricting dialogue is understandable, this limitation significantly detracts from the overall idea. The provided lines are generic and limited, lacking the excitement needed to energize the scene, which ultimately leaves the mode feeling less engaging.

Dragon Ball: Sparking Zero does a competent job in modernizing the Budokai Tenkaichi tradition. However, many pitfalls from that earlier era—such as the monotonous control scheme, superficial gameplay, and a lack of mode diversity—have also carried over through the decade-long gap. The core fighting experience is enjoyable and visually impressive, but the excitement tends to wear off quickly. The available modes allow you to explore your favorite Dragon Ball narratives from various perspectives, yet the overall experience can feel repetitive.

While there is enjoyment to be found in Dragon Ball: Sparking Zero, this comeback ultimately fails to ignite the level of enthusiasm we had anticipated.

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