There are plenty Dragon Ballgames in circulation. Think about Xenoverse, Kakarot in The Breakers. But none of them could match the chaotic, yet epic battles Dragon Ball is so famous for. The only game that came close to that was real Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi. That roughly translates to The Strongest Under Heaven Martial Arts Tournament. As Westerners, we apparently thought this sounded a bit better. In Japan this series is called Dragon Ball Z: Sparking! and now part four has been released: Dragon Ball Sparking! ZEROfor convenience, ignore the ZERO at the end. After getting a taste of it a few months ago, we have now been able to play the full game. Read on to see whether our findings from back then still hold up.
Fortunately, it doesn’t really matter what it’s called, as long as it plays well. And man! Does that do it. Right from the start, even in the tutorials, you immediately feel supreme when you do a number of moves with Goku, Gohan or Frieza. It immediately struck a chord with us, as its predecessor did so beautifully in 2007 on the PlayStation 2. The controls remained intact and it didn’t take long before the muscle memory was working excellently again. Let us make a comment on this right away; We could use the fact that we could still remember something. The game is very difficult and unforgiving.
We would like to tell you right away that it is best to go through the tutorials first. There are quite a few and they start quite simply with blocking, hitting and charging your KI. You will soon pick up the more difficult techniques, timed ‘blocks’ and reflecting powerful laser beams. And finally, you can master the most complicated moves and combos. Think of teleporting, switching characters and then throwing a super move on your opponent’s egg. Like it’s nothing. We can assure you, it is not. The tutorials are there for a reason, use them. If you do not ensure that you master the various techniques down to the last detail, the opponent will not only roll over you, but he or she will also collapse a mountain on you at the same time.
After the normal training you can view and go through the other sections with teacher Piccolo. Once you think you’ve mastered the different attack techniques, it’s time to dive in. And there is a lot, a lot. In addition to training, you can immediately enter into a battle against the CPU or against each other in Battle. There is even an option to let the CPU play against itself. Handy if you need to have your hands free for something else, or want to see the different techniques in action.
The tutorials are fun, but the main part of the game is the Episode Battles. Here you play parts from the iconic Manga series with various main characters. But instead of replaying them exactly, there is a “what if” element. This means that an outcome is not fixed. If something happened in the series, it doesn’t necessarily mean it will happen now. Play as Goku, Vegeta, Gohan, Piccolo, Frieza or Goku Black and embark on an epic journey, where it doesn’t matter whether you win or lose as the journey changes depending on the outcome. So you have a lot of paths you can take and that greatly increases the replayability of the game.
You can also sink your teeth into a game of World Tournament. Here you fight in a scheme with eight characters each time one-on-one in a world championship. The humor also seeps through here: when your opponent Broly shouts ‘Kakarot’, Goten gives a very witty answer ‘Kakarot? Can you eat that?’ We had quite a laugh at the specific one Dragon Ball-humor. In addition to the normal settings, the championship can also be completely customized to your liking via the various options. You can set all the rules yourself, but there are also a number of pre-selected games to play.
If you’re tired of that, it might be time for different challenges, assignments and missions. You get that from Zen-Oh and Whis. Those two blue guys have a whole host of assignments that, if you complete them, treat you to various rewards. This ranges from Zeni (in-game money) to trophies for your PlayStation account. The things you need to do for him are also quite diverse. From successfully executing combos of fifty hits to playing for x number of minutes with a certain character. No lofty goals, but nice treats for when you have nothing to do and are a collector. You receive most assignments automatically when you play the game. So make sure you check in here every now and then to collect your rewards.
You don’t earn that Zeni for fun. In Kame House, the home of Android 18, you have the opportunity to spend your hard-earned Zenis in the shop. You can buy drinks here that will give you an advantage in the heat of battle. Consider a shorter charging time for special attacks, faster charging of your KI meter or less need for the latter meter when performing a super move. If you don’t need that, you can also buy new characters. These characters also have different outfits that you can dress them up with and finally you can also purchase new background music and voices. There are also various cards for sale, with which you can present your account online. With Master Roshi you can fill in this card completely according to your wishes, such as your favorite character, your title and even your favorite music, background and place to fight.
Don’t feel like fighting for a moment? Then you can admire your characters in the Gallery. Here you will find the encyclopedia, where you will find all the statistics. How many times have you played with Goku? How long do those games last? What moves does he have at his disposal? You can’t think of anything crazy and you will find it there. At Data you can see your progress in general and Mr. Satan is more than happy to show you your saved replays at the Theater.
As you can read, there is really a lot to do Dragon Ball Sparking! ZERO and you spend a long time completing assignments, with which you can earn in-game money to purchase various power-ups, characters and music, among other things. The training is extensive, but you will also spend hours perfecting your technique. You really need that, because the game is not easy. There is a high learning curve, with the AI sometimes being unnecessarily difficult and unrelenting and other times quite easy. In addition, you can replay various episodes from the Manga series, where the outcome is not certain. This game is a lot of fun for the fans, because it encompasses everything Dragon Ball is so far. The fact that the AI is not always consistent and the game is really difficult means that it does not get five stars from us.
Dragon Ball Sparking! ZERO can be played from October 11 on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S and PC. The early access is already available.
