Dragon Ball: Sparking! ZERO Review

Player(s): 1-2
Extra Features: Online/local multiplayer (2 players)

Dragon Ball Sparking Zero is an arena fighter developed by Spike Chunsoft. Sparking Zero is the latest game in the Budokai series of Dragon Ball games. I haven’t played a Budokai game since the first game so my memory of them is very vague. I remember not liking the first game all that much so I never did try any of the sequels. Sparking Zero has improved greatly upon what I remember however. The overall look of the game is truly a sight to behold and the combat has a good feel to it. It’s definitely been a while since the last arena fighter for a Dragonball game. We’ve had RPGs and one traditional fighter, but the main arena fighters were with other anime franchises. Even though I was never truly a fan of arena fighter Dragon Ball games, it’s a good change of pace to play one again. Sparking Zero is a very solid arena fighter.

From the get-go, this game has one hell of a roster (it’s around 180 total fighters). We’re talking, every DBZ character you can think of from the TV series to the movies and beyond into other Dragon Ball TV series - Lord Slug, Garlic Jr, every version of Cell, Turles, etc. It has TONS of character outfits and different versions of characters. About half of the roster is unlocked from playing single player content. Each fighter has their own skills and super skills. The game plays a lot like other Budokai games. There is a tutorial that goes over all the different techniques from the basics to the more advanced forms of gameplay. The game has your usual training mode as well. The gameplay is overall easy to pick up and play but hard to master. There is so much timing that you have to learn. It’s the type of game where you can spam moves, but a skilled player will be able to pick you apart based on game knowledge and timing.

The game has a counter meter that builds up as you fight. At any point during a combo you can counter your opponent to use up a bit of the meter. The opponent can counter back with proper timing though. Each fighter has a standard combo that is done by pressing the attack button multiple times. There are also grabs, projectile ki attacks and skills. Skills can be used after powering your ki to a certain level. Just like other DB games, there is a power button where you can stay in place and charge your ki. You stay locked-on to your opponent and have various forms of movement. You can jump, fly and hover. Just like other DB games, you have a dash that will carry you forward and toward your opponent to close the distance quickly.

Console graphics have truly gotten to the point where they can show off DB destruction very well. You can destroy hills and even sections of the ground while fighting your opponents. Big ki attacks that are launched at your opponent can create craters in the ground. Fights can also go underwater if there is a lake nearby. The animations in this game are super smooth also. Explosions of ki blast litter the screen with all sort of eye candy. It’s very noticeable that there is no slow down also. I didn’t notice any slow down while playing the game even through some of the most intense battles that I got into.

I also have to give props to the main menu design of this game. Each time you switch to a new menu, it shows Goku go to meet up with different characters from the DB universe. It has some great interactions. It can get a bit annoying when you want to switch to a certain mode or pull up some certain setting quickly but it’s still nice to see the developers go all out even with menus.

For single player content, the game has episode battle. This is a mission-based story mode. You start out playing as Goku and then unlock other characters after getting past chapter 1 with Goku. The episode battle follows your standard DB story through the various arcs of the anime/manga. Unlike other games that go full on into the story, Sparking Zero decides to summarize with only key points. I actually favor this style since DB story has been retold time and again so there is really no need to go all out with a detailed story of what we already know. The summaries lead up to a fight that you play and finish in order to progress. You’ll unlock characters and money to use in the shop during this mode and also level up your player level.

Besides Goku, you can play as Vegeta, Gohan, Piccolo, Frieza and Goku Black. The episode battles eventually intersect with an arc from another character and you get to see the side story of what the current character was doing at certain times. Each character has multiple chapters to go through. Some chapters are kind of brief since the character might not have had much involvement during a certain arc, such as Piccolo’s first chapter. The ability to play as multiple characters (including villains) is a nice overall touch to the single player experience. Episode battle is the majority of single player content in the game for the most part.

There is also a tournament mode where you can enter certain types of tournaments (offline or online). While playing, you can meet certain challenges in order to get extra money. You must go to a certain listing on the main menu to collect your reward. The shop has different abilities that you can purchase and equip to your character. There are also unlockable characters, outfits, voice overs, background music, strategy items and different player cards to unlock as well. You can also customize each character based on outfits, CPU settings, emotes, fusion and their background music.

With such an expansive roster, this game is easily the best of the Budokai games. It also plays well and it certainly looks fantastic. The only true flaw is that it is somewhat lacking in single player content compared to other DB games. It also has some character balance issues, which is kind of common in games like this. Unlike the past few DB games, this is more of one that you buy for playing against a friend or online rather than single player. Overall, Dragon Ball Sparking Zero receives a high recommendation from me.

The Good:
+ The game looks absolutely beautiful (so much eye candy and smooth animations)
+ Nice backgrounds and stage destruction
+ Tons of characters to unlock (incredibly impressive roster)

The Bad:
- Somewhat lacking in single player content
- Character balance at times