Review cover Dragon Ball: Sparking! Zero GBAtemp review
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Product Information:

  • Release Date (NA): October 11, 2024
  • Release Date (EU): October 11, 2024
  • Publisher: Bandai Namco Entertainment
  • Developer: Spike Chunsoft
  • Genres: Fighting
  • Also For: PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S

Game Features:

Single player
Local Multiplayer
Online Multiplayer
Co-operative
After 17 years, the Dragon Ball: Budokai Tenkaichi franchise makes its return with Dragon Ball: Sparking! Zero. Has the wait been worth it?

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We’ve had Dragon Ball games released in recent years but none in the beloved Dragon Ball Budokai Tenkaichi franchise. After a period of dormancy since 2007 (!), the fourth entry will finally launch this week and it brings some changes to the series.

Most prominently, the naming convention has been standardised in every region. The Japanese versions were titled Dragon Ball: Sparking!, which is now carried in localised versions as well. While the game packs the anime-esque, cel-shaded aesthetic, as a current-gen title, it has been developed on Unreal Engine 5. This entry also features the most expansive roster of characters, with over 180 fighters and introduces some new game modes. We’ll take a look at how this fighting game series’ revival holds up in this review.

An Unreal Engine 5 game with the look of an anime

Dragon Ball games have always strived to look like the anime and this has never been truer than in Dragon Ball: Sparking! Zero. Developed using Unreal Engine 5, the game looks gorgeous with intricate character and environmental details. The cel-shaded aesthetics further accentuate the anime look and authentically replicate the late Akira Toriyama’s designs.

Developer Spike Chunsoft has done a terrific job at keeping the game faithful to the source. The locales, animation, saga-accurate outfits and having most (if not all) of the original voice actors reprise their role, immerse the player in the Dragon Ball universe. The outcome feels like playing through the battles of the iconic anime; and this is no exaggeration. You can play as your favourite character, even fringe ones, across various Dragon Ball sagas to reenact iconic moments or to pit them against enemies of your choosing in diverse, open arenas.

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In Episode Battles, Dragon Ball: Sparking! Zero covers the whole of the Dragon Ball Z saga and Dragon Ball Super saga up to the Tournament of Power. These battles allow you to take on the role of a fighter, both good and villain, and play through their iconic face-offs. However, this mode won’t help much as a starting point in the DBZ series as there is much more to the story than the game lets on. So it’s better to read the manga or watch the anime before jumping into this game, if you haven’t done so already.

Dragon Ball: Sparking! Zero brings back the “what if” alternate scenarios to the classic stories. During the Episode Battles, you are sometimes provided a choice to continue in the canonical way or diverge from it. Your choices can lead to different outcomes, such as Goku surviving his battle against Raditz, and these bring nice twists to the established plot and make the experience more engaging.

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Despite the stunning looks of the game and the immersive approach, I was unfortunately distracted by the experience on PC more often than I would have lived. I would experience performance drops, with sluggish character movement in combat and some awkward pauses in cutscenes and between conversations. Other players have also been complaining about such issues and I hope that the developers address these in the planned Day 1 patch.

Fight in your own way across Dragon Ball sagas

As a new entry in the Sparking!/Budokai Tenkaichi series, Dragon Ball: Sparking! Zero is a combat-focused game. It puts you in the shoes of iconic characters to fight classic battles, custom ones or face off against other players.

There is some depth to the combat mechanics that pose a rather steep learning curve to master. As each battle emulates the complex, fast-paced encounters of the anime, you’ll have to juggle with varied attack movesets, combos, counters and layered movement. There are further strategic elements to combat as you have to pay attention to your Ki gauge and Skill count. It can be challenging to get a grip of things and the game could have done a better job of easing players in. 

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Once you do find your way with the controls, encounters are satisfying. By chaining combos, charging up your ki and employing your character’s skills, you can execute powerful and iconic moves against your opponent. With faithful animation, free-roaming battle arenas and destructible environments, you can fight in your own way in an immersive fashion. Enemies also offer a fair challenge, and you can also test your mettle with fellow players online or locally.

However, over the course of battles, some actions and animations feel repetitive. This is especially the case in Episode Battles as you play as a single character in their respective arc across multiple encounters. 

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Dragon Ball: Sparking! Zero further mixes things up by allowing you to create your own battles in Custom Battle. This mode lets you edit encounters from the characters and setting to the battle condition and event scenes. You can further share your custom creation online, provided that you’ve completed it yourself. This is pure fanservice material and allows you to run wild (within reason) with your Dragon Ball combat fantasy. 

There’s also an element of RPG involved in this title. With Zen-Oh’s Orders, you can complete challenges (akin to quests) and earn items. You can shop for items to buff your character stats and you can also summon Shenron, Porunga and Super Shenron to make a wish to unlock characters or gain more Zeni. This added layer of variety is welcome.

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Dragon Ball: Sparking! Zero - fanservice above all

Dragon Ball: Sparking! Zero marks a triumphant return of the Sparking!/Budokai Tenkaichi series. Its expansive, authentic fighter roster and immersive presentation does real fanservice and Spike Chunsoft has gone the extra mile to appeal to fans of Dragon Ball. The experience might be bogged down by some performance issues and a steep learning curve, but if you stick to it, it will prove worth the wait for fans of the franchise.

DRAGON BALL: Sparking! ZERO - IGNITE THE SPARK Trailer

Verdict

What We Liked ...
  • Impressive roster of characters
  • Immersive combat that feel like playing an anime episode
  • Fun alternative scenarios and Custom Battles
  • Filled with fanservice material
What We Didn't Like ...
  • Learning curve to master combat actions
  • Repetitive actions and animations
  • Some performance issues on PC
8
Gameplay
There is a steep learning curve to the mechanics but once mastered, combat feels satisfying and the custom episodes and alternate storylines add a layer of welcome diversity.
9
Presentation
Dragon Ball: Sparking! Zero strikes as an authentic Dragon Ball game that’s full of fanservice material to make players feel like they are playing through an anime episode while having the customisation options to make the experience feel more personal.
7
Lasting Appeal
As a fighting game, Dragon Ball: Sparking! Zero offers a surprising amount of variety that make encounters look and feel personal; but the experience is bogged down by some performance issues and repetitive actions and animations.
7.8
out of 10

Overall

Dragon Ball: Sparking! Zero marks a triumphant return of the Sparking!/Budokai Tenkaichi series with an expansive roster and immersive anime-like presentation that will delight fans of the series.
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but the game would have been better if Toriyama were still alive.
Exactly how? I don't think he has any input when it comes to DBZ games
>Repetitive actions and animations

have you not played a DB Tenkaichi Budokai/Sparking game in your life?
I see it as mindless & fun button-mashing. And tbf the fighting system was surprisingly deep in the BT games, with various combos & counter attacks and you can make fights as boring or as creative as you want.
 
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I'll wait for the Nintendo version with HOPEFULLY some motion controls. Aside from this game, I would love to see another open world DBZ game similar to Kakatot. I love walking around the cities in Kakatot! Would love to have a game with a fully connected Earth like BOTW.
 
I'll wait for the Nintendo version with HOPEFULLY some motion controls. Aside from this game, I would love to see another open world DBZ game similar to Kakatot. I love walking around the cities in Kakatot! Would love to have a game with a fully connected Earth like BOTW.

LOL if you think Nintendo is going back to motion controls after practically killing them off in the switch, I have a bridge to sell you.

They're done with motion controls
 
LOL if you think Nintendo is going back to motion controls after practically killing them off in the switch, I have a bridge to sell you.

They're done with motion controls

Tell that to ARMS and Ring Fit. Just because motion isn't a focus it does not mean that the play style is gone. Budokai Tenkaichi 3 was fucking amazing because I can physically do a Kamehameha or a Destructo Disc and just be in the moment!
 
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I want to play it with my real wiimote + nunchuck like on BT3, I would love a mod to adapt the controls for it :wub:
 
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I hope you need to unlock character in this game, hate this trend in modern fighting game where every character is unlocked
 
7.8 doesn't justify a pre-order that steep. I'm glad I waited. Also because I'm up to my ears in work and need as few distractions as possible.
 
I found the game surprisingly optimized on PC, I'm running a mobile quadro t1000 (a little worse than a 1650) and with some tweaking I got a pleasing result that ran at 60, with dips from time to time. That said framerate drops do result in literal slowdown and there's no option to change the FPS cap, you have to go digging around in the ini for that and it has some side effects.
As for the gameplay I think it can get pretty deep for 2 people that want to play the game as good as they can, there's a lot of offensive and defensive options, some similar to others but you generally just find the one thing that works for you when playing solo and run with it so ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
For BT fans this is like BT3 but faster. If I had to give my only real complaints it's that visual and haptic feedback is a bit worse thanks to the game speed and zoomed out camera, and the worse hit-stop when you get blocked or need to perform a counter. in BT3 for example the controller would do a heavy rumble when such a thing happened but in this game nothing happens. The other thing is I feel like a lot of the beam attacks have been turned cinematic, and some of the cinematic ultimates are quite long so when you're spamming in story mode it gets kind of old and feels slower in those moments. other wise it's excellent, a worthy successor to BT3
 
for me it's a 10/10 but i'm an OG DBZ fan so this has been 15 years in the making lol
I am a OG Dragonball and Dragonball Z fan. I always feel OG dragonball gets left out.

I'll wait for the Nintendo version with HOPEFULLY some motion controls. Aside from this game, I would love to see another open world DBZ game similar to Kakatot. I love walking around the cities in Kakatot! Would love to have a game with a fully connected Earth like BOTW.
I do wish we get a nintendo version

I'm sticking with bt3 and the bt4 mod since I can't play sparking zero
I have not heard of the BT4 mod
 
I dont own any of the budokai tenkaichis and most of the reception towards this one has been very positive.

I mildly like Dragonball, so I'll pick this one up when it's cheaper :)
 
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Game is good, really feels like a worthy successor of BT3. I never watched Super but am shocked by how bad its new character designs are, and by how its story is just mere fanfiction.

My main gripe with this game is gonna sound ridiculous, but it's the menus. They are so badly designed and such a laggy slog to go through. Who thought it was a good idea to have those camera movements each and every time you move the cursor ? The character selection screen is the worst, headaches are guaranteed if you want to take a look at the roster.

There's another things that bugs me quite a lot as I progress through story mode : the French translation is abysmal, it almost looks like an unedited IA translation.
 
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Review cover
Product Information:
  • Release Date (NA): October 11, 2024
  • Release Date (EU): October 11, 2024
  • Publisher: Bandai Namco Entertainment
  • Developer: Spike Chunsoft
  • Genres: Fighting
  • Also For: PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S
Game Features:
Single player
Local Multiplayer
Online Multiplayer
Co-operative

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