Dragon Ball: Sparking! Zero [PlayStation 5] | REVIEW

We’ve seen plenty of Dragon Ball video games over the last few years, but there hasn’t been a new Budokai Tenkaichi title since 2007. Dragon Ball: Sparking! Zero has been seventeen-years in the waiting then, and whilst it has ditched the Budokai Tenkaichi tagline and embraced the Japanese version’s ‘Sparking!’ in the title, it offers everything fans could’ve possibly wanted.

Check out some screenshots down below:

For those unfamiliar with the Budokai Tenkaichi series, Dragon Ball: Sparking! Zero is an arena fighter where there’s a focus on fast-paced combat, bombastic moves, unbalanced characters (in a good way), and non-stop action. There’s a LOT going on at any given moment, and with players encouraged to shift between offensive and defensive play, keep on top of their opponent’s actions to get the jump on them, fight up-close and from afar, and build energy in order to perform super attacks, there’s plenty to take in before you can even start to think about racking up those victories.

Fortunately, the Training mode will take you through a lot of the ins-and-outs of the game, with it giving lessons on all of the different mechanics on offer. You can probably expect to spend a couple of hours in Training mode before you’ll start to actually get good at the game, and even then, I found myself coming back to it time and time again just to double-check some of the mechanics to ensure I was on top of everything. Don’t get me wrong, the opening tutorial alone will get you started, but if you really want to get the most out of Dragon Ball: Sparking! Zero, you’ll have to put the hours in and educate yourself on every gameplay mechanic.

But when you do start to get good at the game? It’s an absolute blast to play, with Dragon Ball: Sparking! Zero offering the most authentic Dragon Ball battling that I’ve seen. Players will unleash flurries of close-range combos and damage enemies from afar with Ki Blasts, whilst they’ll also build up over-the-top super attacks that deal massive damage and even cause destruction in their surroundings. Sure, you’ll have to charge up your Ki Energy in order to perform these attacks, but with your opponent in the same boat, there are plenty of opportune moments to do this. There’s also a lot of free rein when it comes to movement, with full-directional traversal on offer where players will dash out of the way of incoming attacks or set themselves up to gain positional advantage over their foes.

There are other mechanics in play too, such as Sparking Mode that increases the efficiency of your attacks when you fill your Ki Energy, the Rush Attacks that can build into Rush Chain Combos that put your opponent on the defensive, the transformations that see characters take a more powerful form,  the devastating ultimate attacks, or the tag system that sees you switching up with other characters on your team. That’s just scratching the surface too, with things like the distance between the player and their opponent, or the objects in the environment that can provide cover also playing into each battle.

“Dragon Ball: Sparking! Zero has a steep learning curve that’ll take a few hours to get to grips with, but its exhilarating combat and gorgeous visuals make the time investment worthwhile.”

If I’m being honest, it can all be a little bit overwhelming, so don’t be surprised if you find yourself all over the place in the early hours of play. I’ll admit, I’m not a fighting game aficionado, but I’ve often found success through button-mashing and figuring things out along the way – that’s not something you can do in Dragon Ball: Sparking! Zero (trust me, I tried). There’s a real learning curve to the gameplay, and if you don’t figure out how to take advantage of each mechanic or balance out your approach in combat, it’s easy to find yourself facing defeat time and time again.

But when everything does click into place? It’s a ton of fun, with the strategic yet action-packed showdowns offering some of the most rewarding combat I’ve seen in any fighting game.

Want to know my favourite thing about Dragon Ball: Sparking! Zero? It has an absolutely MASSIVE roster, with over 180 characters available in total. They’re not all available from the get-go though, with players unlocking them as they progress through the game or via purchase in the in-game store, but that adds a rewarding sense of progression where you’re drip-fed new characters to play as. Of course, a lot of these are varied forms of the same character, but given the depth of Dragon Ball lore, it’s great to see so many fan favourite varieties in the roster.

I’ve spent almost all of my time with Dragon Ball: Sparking! Zero in the game’s single player modes so far, with Episode Battle standing out as the highlight. This sees players playing out some of the iconic battles from across Dragon Ball Z and Dragon Ball Super, with each sequence fleshed out with cutscenes that re-tell the story. There are also instances where the events of these battles can be changed, giving players a look at how the lore of Dragon Ball might have differed if some battles had a different outcome. It’s a really cool idea that gives Dragon Ball veterans something unique to be a part of, especially since the core story has already been re-told plenty of times across other video games in the franchise.

You’ve also got Custom Battles and Bonus Battles that give specific victory conditions to try and achieve, which forces players to take a different approach to the gameplay. Whilst it’s not as interesting as seeing the story unfold in Episode Battle, it’s still enjoyable and will keep players hooked in (especially when partaking in dream Dragon Ball battle scenarios with iconic characters that never duked it out before). There’s also a Tournament Mode, which lets you play out the familiar showcases from across the Dragon Ball series or even create your own. There’s something about the Cell Games that I’ll always love, so it’s a treat to partake in them in Dragon Ball: Sparking! Zero.

Check out some screenshots down below:

When it comes to multiplayer, players can either face off against one-another in split-screen action or in online Ranked Battles and Tournaments, so there are plenty of options available. Honestly? I haven’t spent much time online – in fact, I’ve had four fights, and I got pummelled every time. Like I said, there’s a learning curve to Dragon Ball: Sparking! Zero, and whilst I’ve found success in single player, more experienced players online are giving me some real beatings right now. It hasn’t put me off playing multiplayer (I’m actually practicing more than ever as a means to get that first victory), but this is where the learning curve of the experience will become most apparent.

Everything comes together nicely to make for not only an exhilarating Dragon Ball experience, but also a slick and action-packed fighting game. There are a lot of things I haven’t touched upon in this review too, both across the combat and outside of it, with Dragon Ball: Sparking! Zero easily one of the more fleshed out and comprehensive Dragon Ball titles I’ve ever played.

It’s jaw droppingly gorgeous too, with the anime-stylings of the Dragon Ball series wonderfully re-created here. Everything is rich in colour and expertly re-created, whilst the devastating detail of your more powerful attacks is perfectly captured to make each showdown feel more dramatic and eventful than ever. It’s just stunning throughout, with no detail spared when it comes to making sure that Dragon Ball: Sparking! Zero is the most authentic video game adaptation across the franchise.

Developer: Spike Chunsoft
Publisher: Bandai Namco
Platform(s): PlayStation 5 (Reviewed), Xbox Series X|S, PC
Website: https://dragonballsparkingzero.com/