It’s a big week for releases, with multiple big titles launching in the next few days. There’s the Silent Hill 2 remake, which has received extensive critical acclaim, even with the immense pressure on Bloober Team (to say nothing of Konami, given its reputation).
Of course, we can’t forget Diablo 4’s Vessel of Hatred, the first paid expansion for the action looter RPG, which continues the story, adds the Spiritborn class, throws in some Mercenaries to hire, and features brand-new end-game activities. If that weren’t enough, Steel City Interactive’s Undisputed looks to fill the gap left by EA Sports’ Fight Night series with over 70 licensed fighters and multiple real-world championships to earn.
That’s not even considering the rest of the month with MechWarrior 5: Clans, Unknown 9: Awakening, Sonic X Shadow Generations, Life Is Strange: Double Exposure, Horizon Zero Dawn Remastered and of course, Dragon Age: The Veilguard, coming up. And yet, despite all those big names, there’s one title garnering extensive attention, not just on social media but in pre-order sales. It’s currently number 1 on Steam’s Top Sellers chart, beating out all the aforementioned big names (and many others).
We’re talking about Dragon Ball: Sparking! ZERO. The successor to Bandai Namco’s Budokai Tenkaichi series and the first console title in the franchise since 2007. Such is the hype that it isn’t just shaping up to be one of the biggest game launches of the year but also a must-play, whether you’re a fan of the games, manga and anime or relatively new to the whole thing.
To understand why, we need to look back on Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 3. Hailed as the best in the series, it offered a massive character roster and an array of modes. Despite the limited hardware of the PlayStation 2 and Nintendo Wii, the presentation is off the charts. It recreated not just the art style, but important moments from the series in excellent detail, reproducing famous stages and backing them with an outstanding score.
However, it’s also important to understand how it captured the feel of Dragon Ball. In a series like this, there’s a clear pecking order of the strongest, with some disruptions here and there, but each character is beloved in their own way. Thus, it isn’t necessarily about creating balance but providing fans with the best possible reproduction of Dragon Ball. Think less “power fantasy” and more “Dragon Ball fantasy,” and even compared to games like Dragon Ball FighterZ or Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot – both good titles in their respective genres – Budokai Tenkaichi 3 excelled.
The freedom to fly around in a stage, wreaking destruction, dashing towards your opponent while throwing them into the environment, then teleporting to their location for a sick combo before firing a massive Ki blast – it’s all here. The thrill of clashing Ki blasts, as players try to overwhelm their opponent or transform mid-battle for a power-up like in the show, was awe-inspiring to witness back in the day. It also didn’t hurt that the gameplay is tight and responsive, with mechanics that are easy to pick up but require strategy to execute and master.
With Sparking! ZERO, Spike Chunsoft isn’t just setting out to build on everything that made its predecessor great but to push the limits of recreating that perfect Dragon Ball fantasy. The roster features 182 characters with characters from across every arc and even the movies. That includes different fusions and transformations alongside their versions at various points in the series, augmented further by a base Vegeta or Goku from Dragon Ball Super. We’ll explain why that’s significant in a bit, but for now, this is the biggest roster in the series yet.
The complexities of Budokai Tenkaichi 3’s gameplay are present and accounted for, with Spike Chunsoft dialing up the fidelity thanks to current-gen hardware. Everything, from the stages and characters to the environmental destruction looks better than ever. The destruction was so overwhelming that the developer had to make compromises with its local split-screen, with only the Hyperbolic Time Chamber available as a stage. At least players can experience it in all its glory through online play and single-player, so silver linings.
Speaking of single-player, there’s much to be excited about in Episode Battle. There are eight characters whose stories you can follow, so Goku can proceed from the Raditz saga to the Tournament of Power, which is something we’ve yet to see in Dragon Ball fighting games. You can also experience the stories of Goku Black and Future Trunks, which means playing through that saga and witnessing its hype moments for the first time, that too, from multiple perspectives.
Even more intriguing is the branches that can result from different decisions. How will things change if Vegeta stomps out Goku and friends during the saga instead of barely escaping with his life? What kind of branches can we expect if Trunks fails to defeat Goku Black and Zamasu? What will Jiren do if he wins the Tournament of Power, and how will that affect all the other universes? Sure, none of it is canon, but the possibilities are still exciting.
Aside from Episode Battle, Custom Battle is an exciting new addition. It allows players to set up their dream matches that would otherwise be impossible and script them extensively, from conversations and camera angles to different endings, depending on the outcome. However, the best part is you can share your creations with others online. Whether you’re seeking a challenging fight or want to try out different scenarios or see how they play out, there’s a lot to like about this (and it’s something that I hope Spike Chunsoft expands on further in the future).
Finally, there’s the so-called Ranked Mode, which leverages the fact that some characters are wildly overpowered compared to others. Assigning different Destruction Points and capping players at 15, the mode adds some much-needed strategy to team-building. If you choose a character that can transform mid-battle, you can effectively bring in lower-point fighters and raise their fighting power, thus leaving room for a bigger team.
Of course, if you want to destroy your opponent out of the gate with a transformation and fusion on your team, that’s also possible. It’s an excellent way to add some modicum of balance while still retaining the identity of each character (and hopefully circumventing any potential nerfs).
While the jury is out on how much different Dragon Ball: Sparking! ZERO’s gameplay will feel like its predecessor, it’s reassuring to not fix what isn’t broken. Instead, Spike Chunsoft is exploring different directions while giving it all the over-the-top destruction and hype moments that truly make Dragon Ball great.
Dragon Ball: Sparking! ZERO is out on October 11th for Xbox Series X/S, PS5, and PC, with Deluxe and Ultimate Edition owners gaining access on October 8th (or 7th, depending on your region). It may seem far-fetched that a new title in the series could generate this level of excitement, but it only reinforces the connection of long-time fans with the anime/manga.
Note: The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of, and should not be attributed to, GamingBolt as an organization.
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