God knows I’m a huge fan of the Dragon Ball series. Yes, even GT over time ended up finding a warm place in my little heart, a path that Dragon Ball Super will undoubtedly end up taking one of these days. In the meantime, Bandaï Namco is playing with our memories by proposing an heir to the Sparking family! (Budokaï Tenkaichi in Europe), who had not seen an episode since 2007. The wait was great.
Owari da!
Can we say that the Dragon Ball License is doing well? Voted the best manga of all time by the Japanese, feature films that fill theaters, a manga that – despite its length and inconsistencies – manages to prolong the adventure, card games that are a hit, a new animated series and video games… let’s talk about it!
Between the indestructible open worlds never offered, yes, we can say that recent Dragon Ball games are popular. Then along comes Sparking! Zero, the spiritual heir of Budokaï Tenkaïchi 3, and with him, a cohort of fantasies linked to the Unreal Engine 5, the promises of titanic battles and a mysterious “What If…” mode.
Well, the promise has largely been kept.
From the first minutes in the arena, Sparking! Zero is striking in its dynamism. The game follows the formula of previous Budokai Tenkaichi, with an accessible handling, but reserves a depth that will delight the most dedicated fans. The combat system, simple at first glance, quickly reveals itself to be a complex dance of combos, dodging and counterattacks. The addition of high or low guard for example is rather unexpected (in the frenzy of combat, you are already happy when you activate the guard), while the Ki drains really quickly and constantly needs to be recharged. Melee is really highlighted, with its array of counters, dodges and quick or heavy strikes. The balance between accessibility and advanced mastery is arguably one of this title’s greatest successes.
The controls are numerous but quite intuitive, allowing new players to launch into battle without difficulty, but the subtleties of the attacks and sequences offer experienced players plenty of room to improve and become truly formidable. I still have trouble with the timing of the guard and the possibility of getting out of a big sequence, but I detect accessible possibilities, that’s a good point.
The recharge of Ki, for example, occurs gradually and slowly during the fight, but reaching the maximum charge level allows you to enter “Sparking” mode. This mode grants access to devastating special attacks, like Combo Blasts, which are only available in this maximum power state.
One of the most impressive aspects of the game is how fluid the action is, even when everything seems to explode on screen, at the expense of a loss of readability. If you find yourself against an exploding mountain, the dust will prevent you from seeing what your opponent is preparing, but a good Ki recharge will sweep all that from your sight thanks to the wind it gives off. A truly immersive little detail that Sparking is full of! Zero.
The dynamic camera follows the movements of the fighters without ever (or almost) being faulty and without losing sight of the essential: the heart of the action. Despite the overabundant visual effects and spectacular animations, every moment remains clear and readable, which is a feat in such a fast-paced and intense game.
The feeling of complete control, even in the most complete chaos, is truly satisfying. Whether you’re launching an ultimate attack or defending against an opposing combo, the precision of the controls and the clarity of the animations make each movement a pleasant experience. It’s also Nice to have a power scale and a certain respect for character levels, since a character like Videl for example will be less comfortable with Ki, but can become devastating in melee… if you play with the right equipment.
Each character has several possibilities: they generally have 2 special attacks (often a “Blast” attack and another chain attack) and an ultimate attack which depend on Ki, as well as two signature movements (aura explosion, meditation , Taiyôken, Kaïoken… as well as the direct activation of Sparking mode for some and transformations) which have their own gauge that fills itself.
In addition, in addition to the various pursuits and projections, we also have teleported dodges behind the opponent’s back – to be activated with precise timing and Ki – or counters. These are fun to use, because a counter allows you to dodge a physical blow and hit your opponent to regain the upper hand, but activating this counter with very precise timing allows you to dodge all your attacks before counterattacking, Ultra-Instinct way. Always very fun and impressive to place.
You can also deflect kikohas, return charged kikohas and even – more difficult – deflect Blasts that come at you in the face with a small key combination. Everything is done for show – sometimes to the detriment of readability.
The number of playable characters in Sparking! Zero is simply impressive. Initially announced at 164 characters, the roster was expanded to over 180 with the addition of Dragon Ball GT characters. This diversity includes not only the basic forms, but also the multiple transformations that each character can take on, adding an extra layer of strategy and variety to the gameplay.
Each fighter has their own unique traits and skills, allowing players to experiment with different team combinations to find the one that best suits their playstyle. The ability to choose up to five characters to build their team, while also selecting the members of the opposing team, opens the door to fights with truly diversified strategies. You can also customize – via capsules to collect from the store – each form of a character to benefit from bonuses or penalties on each transformation. A similar system was implemented on Raging Blast 2 (and it was more than great, we could also configure each special attack), and I find it less advanced and less flexible on this Sparking! Zero.
Fortunately, teams are limited to a maximum number of points which prevents you from choosing a totally cracked team, but if you cannot necessarily integrate a Gogeta into your team, it is entirely possible to obtain it by merging during the fight . It’s up to you to manage your possibilities correctly.
The story mode, which dives back into iconic narrative arcs such as the episode with Goku and Raditz, is back for fans of the saga. The key scenes are recreated with fidelity in a rather disappointing staging, often based on still images, but which sometimes introduce interactive elements which allow choices to be made, often slightly influencing the course of events, sometimes in a more significant and unleashing another offshoot of Story Mode. What would have happened for example if Goku had not sacrificed himself against Raditz for example? Battles in Story Mode are also often locked to conditions, which can prevent you from using your ultimate attack or end only on the condition of launching a specific attack (which will be linked to your knowledge of the series).
Little icing on the cake: certain cutscenes will allow you to take the first person view of the main character rather than that of the scene. It’s quite impressive in iconic scenes like the fight against Vegeta Oozaru or during the conclusion of the Tournament of Power. Nice addition then.
On the other hand, we unlock a lot of content arbitrarily, and it is difficult for us to identify the rewards and the conditions to obtain them. So, those in a hurry will go and unlock the characters in the game’s store, while the others will buy the capsules to spruce up their characters and play the different game modes to unlock the rest.
The game therefore offers a summary of key moments rather than an in-depth narration of the history of Dragon Ball. I admit that I expected better, we missed some iconic moments like the transformation into SSJ or that of Gohan into SSJ2 with a staging worthy of the name. I admit that I ended up skipping these narrative moments to quickly concentrate on the fights. We can console ourselves with the staging during the fights themselves, which are rather successful.
It is therefore possible for us to relive the main fights of the same character (Goku, Piccolo, Vegeta… or even Black or Jiren) on a game board. This is where we realize that Goku has not damn much about Namek or against Cell…
What if…?
But that’s not all: the game also introduces a mode for creating personalized battles. This one is a real gold mine for creative fans if they accept the somewhat messy editor. It allows you to design your own fights, small scenes and entry narrations, to choose the conditions, the arenas, the music, and even to create a thumbnail to illustrate everything, as if you were preparing a YouTube video . This feature adds a new dimension to replayability, transforming each fight into a unique, personalized experience that can be shared online.
If I found this mode very unpleasant to use for my part (especially in the search for preconstructed thematic sentences…), there is a way to have a lot of fun and I can’t wait to see what the game community will make available.
Visually, Dragon Ball Sparking! Zero is flawless about the Dragon Ball universe. The decorations are destructible and change throughout the confrontations and react to the charging of ki, which intensifies the immersion and gives the impression of participating in a real episode of the series.
The detailed environments and character outfits that degrade as the battles progress add a realistic touch that dives even deeper into these titanic battles.
Attention to detail is omnipresent: each movement, each effect of light or particle has been designed to offer a sensation of power and energy. You really feel the impact of each hit, which makes the gaming experience even more intense. A training mode (also not very ergonomic in my opinion) will introduce you to all the facets of Sparking! Zero, from the most basic to the most advanced, so don’t miss it!
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