It took 17 years, but we finally got it. I am talking about the newest installment of the Sparking! Series, Dragon Ball: Sparking! Zero. It isn’t perfect, but Sparking! Zero is, in my opinion, one of the best anime arena fighters we’ve received these past few years. Honestly, this game shows that we can receive high-quality anime fighters, but instead, we get titles such as My Hero One’s Justice, JJK Cursed Clash, and Naruto Ultimate Ninja Rehash. Storm Connections still has yet to earn my money.
Sparking Zero Gameplay
To give some perspective on this review, I’m going to start by saying I’ve never played Budokai Tenkaichi 3. The closest I’ve ever gotten was Dragon Ball Raging Blast 2, also developed by Spike Chunsoft, going as Spike back then. While I missed the experience in 2007, Sparking! Zero sent me on a rage-inducing, action-packed, visually stunning adventure. It’s like what Jaden Smith said: “I Feel Like I’m Goku”.
Being a Raging Blast Truther, I came into this game thinking button mashing would be the way to go, and boy, was I wrong. Shout out to the Great Ape Vegeta battle to put me in my place. What I love about Sparking! Zero is the variety of movements, combos, and techniques players can use. These can range from high-speed movements and attacks to advanced guards and counters. With 182 characters, I can already see how to play “insert character” videos online.
On the other side of that coin, however, Sparking! Zero doesn’t tell you any of that going in, so it’s recommended you do the tutorial, which I want to add is fantastic. I don’t think I’ve ever given a compliment to a game’s tutorial before, but there’s a first time for everything. You play as Gohan getting trained by Piccolo, and there’s an excellent little transition. How is that not cool?
What was I talking about again? Right, not knowing the moves. While the more experienced fighting players have a better chance of retaining all of the advanced battle tips, casual players like myself had to process everything thrown at us and improve via trial and error. While I had no problem training with one of the realest Dragon Ball characters, it may be a turnoff for others being given such a learning curve. If you’re playing with friends, I think you’ll manage just fine, but when going to ranked mode, you will look like the Yamcha death pose. Gotta practice if you want to hang with the best.
Story mode in this game is broken up into individual episodes for certain characters. You play the character’s role in each episode through their respective Dragon Ball sagas. Most cutscenes are presented as panels and still models, but fret not. There are Sparking Episode Moments where you can see the breathtaking graphics in Sparking! Zero. Another aspect of story mode I liked are the What-Ifs Scenarios. Instead of replaying the same story we already know, there are options to take a non-canon route and see how the story unfolds—an absolute treat and surprise for Dragon Ball fans. I’m sure people would love to see more of their favorite characters in Sparking! Zero‘s style, but I’m willing to make that trade.
If I have to gripe about anything, I would say I encountered some matchmaking issues, which were at least enough for me to mention in this review. The camera was also finicky at times, glitching into the environment, and input delay can happen when performing combos and could be at crucial moments. Once more, it is enough for me to mention them in this review.
Conclusion
In this game, no matter what mode you play, all you see are your favorite Dragon Ball characters using their super and ultimate moves, beam clashes, and environmental destruction; believe me when I say it’s breathtaking. You have 182-characters( GT and movies included) with their movements, even the multiple variations of Goku and Vegeta. I know playing online can be rough as a casual player, but getting whooped by UI and Super Saiyan 4 Goku isn’t enough to blind me.
I can’t say that Sparking! Zero is the best Dragon Ball game ever made, as my track record is on the lower side, but it’s the best anime arena fighter I’ve played in a while. The bar has been set, and it’s incredibly high. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to train in the hypersonic lion tamer.
This game was reviewed based on Xbox S|X review code, using an Xbox S|X console. All of the opinions and insights here are subject to that version. Game provided by publisher.
