In the world of anime and manga, few series have the pull and ever-growing fan base as Dragon Ball. The series has grown from strength to strength since its origins in 1984, bridging media with its action-packed epic sagas. Dragon Ball: Sparking! Zero, developed by Japanese developers Spike Chunsoft, is the fourth main instalment of the Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi series. The game also serves as the sequel to the 2007 Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 3. There is, understandably, quite a lot of expectation over Sparking! Zero.
Foundation Ball
Sparking! Zero takes the foundations set by the Budokai Tenkaichi series and builds on it, adding its own touches as well as a new mechanic or two to make it all feel fresh.
The story mode does what many of the games have done in the past. And that is, take you through all the key epic battles from most of the legendary sagas. This may be a bit of a let down for the die-hard fans.
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However, it’s a blast getting to once again brawl in those epic fights I remember seeing as a seven-year-old on Toonami. There will be plenty who will feel the same warmth and nostalgic tingle.
Nostalgia Done Well
This feeling of nostalgia is only boosted by how the game looks. Dragon Ball: Sparking! Zero looks, , frame for frame, as if you are controlling the show. Animations are buttery smooth, mostly.
The characters and arenas are packed to the rafters with fan-pleasing little details. Stuff like how your character pulls a cheeky grin just as they pull off a powerful attack are just wonderful.
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On top of these are the effects, which are suitably over-the-top and truly blinding at times.
Same goes for the sound. There are these extra layers of wholly-unnecessary-but-welcome detail baked in with love. All manner of obscure sound effects and signature audio cues have been mined to make you happy. The voice acting is also of a standard befitting the franchise as a whole.
Narration Done Less Well
But for all the joy you get from the fights, it’s the bits between them that leave you feeling a bit cold. Very often the story outside of combat is kicked on by storyboards with very little animation, and often lacking voice acting. These scenes might break you out of the action a bit.
Also, if you are a big fan, you may also spot that Dragon Ball: Sparking! Zero has a few notable absences. And these absences only becomes more notable during the Supers arc.
Hypothetical Ball
More interesting though are the Sparking episodes, a sort of ‘What if’ series. You have to rewrite history by changing the course of certain events. For example, taking on a fight single handedly where the show had a 2v1 showdown. Or, beating a foe before an ally can do a special attack.
Doing these rewards you with a non-canon story path, like what if Goku didn’t die and instead stayed on earth to train Gohan before Vegeta shows up. These are interesting moments that add a bit of the unknown to the tale. The Sparking episodes also add some meat for the more die-hard fans to get stuck into.
Custom Dragonage
Away from the story mode, there are a few other fun modes to get stuck into in Dragon Ball: Sparking! Zero. Custom battles let you script your dream fight, right down to the camara angles used. Though the UI takes a little getting your head around, it’s a solid offering. Plus, once you finish it, you can share it with the world online.
The only issue I found with that side was there is no real easy way to search for the best user-created fights just now. Finding quality content is currently a pursuit of trial and error. Hopefully, that will be an added feature down the line as the good stuff is genuinely excellent and provides plenty of inspiration.
Dragon All
There is also a solid online mode, which see you battling it out with mates, or the world, to see who really is the best. Though if you’re having a hard time, there is a very good training mode where you’ll learn all the ropes from the basics to more advanced techniques.
The combat itself does the main job very well. Sparking! Zero nails that Dragon Ball feel and vibe to a tee, You start off on the ground swinging left and right hooks, only to burst into the air seconds later , darting around before unleashing an all-mighty Kamehameha.
Dragon Haul
Dragon Ball: Sparking! Zero also features a roster of an eye watering 182 playable characters (transformations included) from Dragon Ball Super, Dragon Ball Super: Broly, Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero and Dragon Ball Daima to name just a few. Plus, of course, Dragon Ball Z. Each fighters handles that little bit differently too, adding a bit of variety to the combat.
Plus, if that wasn’t enough in the way of fighters, there are plans for more in the pipeline, as well as DLC too. So, odds are if you can think of them in a Dragon Ball series, they are here or will be.
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Dragon Ball: Sparking! Zero is a solid brawler that feeds on its source material with no end of joy. The game also delivers that Dragon Ball feast for the eyes when in combat. However, it is let down by a few little points around the story mode, as well as a rough edge or two.
These are not enough to impact the fun I had with the game, reliving epic battles and untold tales. Sure, the hardcore may feel different about it, but for everyone else…there is a brilliant brawler here waiting for its next fight.