After a fifteen year hiatus, the sequel to the legendaryDRAGON BALL Z: BUDOKAI TENKAICHIis coming withDRAGON BALL: Sparking! ZEROfeaturing aerial, three-dimensional one-on-one battles in combat. The latest game will be exclusive to current-generation consoles (PlayStation 5, Xbox Series S/X) and PC via Steam as it releases on October 11. With a giant roster slated, an Episode Battle and a slew of customization including Custom Battles,Sparking! ZEROwill encompass everything that a DRAGON BALL fan could want in a video game. We recently attended a hands-on preview event to experience whatSparking! ZEROhas to offer.
The New Generation Arena Fighter
Sparking! ZEROis characterized as a 3D fighter, but that’s shortchanging what the gameplay will be. With both aerial and ground fights being offered with virtually no limits on different levels, the game offers more of a four-dimensional experience. With being on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S and PC, and much like Bandai Namco’sTekken 8,Sparking! ZEROwill run on the Unreal 5 Engine. The high speed of the battles and the arenas the battles take part in will stay true to the anime. Using the cel-shaded graphics, the game is arguably better looking than the anime with clean and colorful visuals that maintain at a high frame rate.
DRAGON BALL: Sparking! ZERO Will Include DRAGON BALL GT Characters
Bandai Namco has officially unveiled the inclusion of Dragon Ball GT characters with the upcoming DRAGON BALL: Sparking! ZERO.
There are a lot of graphical effects and quick cutscenes during battle to up the tension in the action. Environments will respond to actions in battle that will feature fully-destructible objects. The battles can even be taken underwater in certain arenas. There are twelve stages to fight in general and all are fully free-roaming. Some objects will be indestructible that can be used for cover.Sparking! ZEROwill further offer two control schemes with a classic setup that mirrors the previous game’s scheme and a standard scheme for newcomers to help get acclimated to the action.
Game Modes and Battle Setup
There will be three main ways to play the game, but both online and offline will be available for players. The traditional Battle Mode will allow players to take any available fighter in the roster against human or AI opponents on any of the stages.Sparking! ZEROwill also feature a Custom Battle mode that allows players to create battles using the available roster, stage and unique items. While this has been in the game in the past, there will be a robust choice of options for truly unique experiences. The most desirable match-ups in the history of DRAGON BALL are possible here. For accessibility purposes, three editing methods are available with Normal, Simple and Copy.
The most desirable match-ups in the history of DRAGON BALL are possible here.
Normal in Custom Battle will require the most time commitment for editing options while Simple offers a base that can be built on. Characters, Battle Environment, Title Screen and Thumbnail can be edited with deeper personalizations including fight name, music, cutscene and effect settings. The Episode Battle will allow fans to relive some of the most iconic battles from the Anime. Players can play some “what-if” scenarios and change the course of the story with some cutscenes in first person. Lastly, the Shop allows for Zeni earned in Battle to purchase customizables or unlock new characters. A training mode will also be available in the game.
During each match, players will be presented with an HP Gauge and a Ki Gauge, which will be the focus of attention. Stringing light attacks and supercharging the Ki gauge will open up more powerful moves for each individual character to pull off. Changes to the environment and weather will also provide cues to how the characters is doing during a match. Having to strategically place the character to charge the Ki Meter to unleash a higher level attack provides something completely different in a fighting game. If playing with multiple characters, they can be swapped out during battle. Also, specific fight pairings will trigger unique interactions during a match.
Massive Amount of Characters
Bandai Namco recently revealed that DRAGON BALL GT characters would be joining the roster along with the previously announced characters from the iconic Android Saga and Cell Saga from DRAGON BALL Z and the main protagonists of the Buu Saga, Ultimate Gohan and Super Buu. Characters were previously up to 163 at that point and these are not just pallete swaps. This roster will showcase the passion to the franchise from the developers at Spike Chunsoft.
Characters will offer higher level Saiyan forms, unique ultimates and fusions to help create different variation in powers. We asked producer Jun Furutani on why lesser-powered characters would be used and he mentioned that he would prefer players use less powerful characters because they offer something different to the experience. With the Custom Battles, players can choose to swap between multiple less powerful characters against one OP and some are giant. Characters are also unlockable within the game.
Early Impressions
DRAGON BALL: Sparking! ZEROwill differ from other fighting games with just the wide open environments and the combination of land, air and sea combat. With the monumental amount of fighting characters available, the DRAGON BALL fan base will be able to craft the battles of their dreams while reliving classic battles. The colorful visuals running on the Unreal 5 Engine will have fans believing they are in the Anime, itself. The devs have seemingly showed their passion for the long running DRAGON BALL franchise with what is being offered inSparking! ZERO.
DRAGON BALL: Sparking! ZEROis available in four different versions. The Standard Edition will include the base game; the Deluxe Edition includes the base game, Season Pass (DLC 1-3), Season Pass Bonus - Summon Shenron and 3-Day Early Access; the Ultimate Edition includes the base game, Ultimate Upgrade Pack that includes Goku (Super) Costume with Power Pole, Emote Voice Set, 2 Player Card Backgrounds and 1 Customization Item, an Ultimate Edition Bonus featuring Summon Super Shenron, Season Pass (DLC 1-3), Season Pass Bonus - Summon Shenron and 3-Day Early Access. The Premium Edition will include the base game, Ultimate Edition upgrade Pack Voucher Code, Lenticular Card, DRAGON BALL: Sparking! ZERO Exclusive Diorama, Exclusive Cards, Steelbook and Metallic Bookmark.
