Summary
- Dragon Ball: Sparking Zero was already my most-anticipated game, but it's gone even further with its stacked roster.
- I got to try loads of the new fighters out in a recent preview and couldn't believe how much love was put into them.
- Custom Battle and Episode Battle are also exciting modes, even if creating scenarios usually isn't for me.
I’ve spent half of my adult l🍌ife waiting for a new Budokai Tenkaichi g🍨ame, so from the moment that Dragon Ball: Sparking Zero was f🌌irst revealed as the long-a💙waited fourth entry in the series, I was pretty sure that I was going to love it. Getting to briefly go hands-on with it at Summer Game Fest and Gaꦓmescom only made me more c🔴onf🐼ident in that opinion, but there was still some room for doubt.
Even though what I played felt like a perfect evolution of the series, there was a lot I didn’t know about its modes, charac🧔ters, and more, leaving me wondering how far my lifelong obsession with the series would take it. After playing three hours of during a recent preview and walking away with an aching jaw from grinning like an idiot the whole time, those worries have finally been put to rest.
I Can’t Believe How Much Dragon Ball𒅌: Sparking Zero Has Improved Since Summer Game Fest
It's only 💧been two months since I last played Sparking Zero, but it's already seen some big changes.
There’s no better place to start gushing than with Sparking Zero’s brain-meltingly stacked roster of 182 characters, 18 more than the already-huge 164 total we’ve been clinging onto for the last year. This includes some notable fighters who have recently been revealed, including 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:nearly everyone from Dragon Ball GT (168澳洲幸运5开奖网:sorry Super 17, maybe next time) and, most shocking of all, villains from the movies like Turles, Cooler, and even Lord bloody Slug.
Dragon Ball’s kid version of Goku is also in Sparking Zero and one of my favourite additions thanks to how he uses his Nimbus to dash around. He’s sadly the only OG character🐈, but I imagine more are coming in the future.
The Roster To End All Rosters
Sparking Zero’s suite of characters was already wish-fulfilling when they added brand-newꦡ fighters like Beerus, 🎉Whis, Ultra Instinct Goku, and Goku Black, but Spike Chunsoft has gone above and beyond to represent every facet of the series. The first thing I did was leap iꦓnto a versus match and try out as many of the new fighters as possible, from Super Saiyan 4 Goku and Uub to Bardock and Cabba.
Every character I got to play felt distinct from the rest and thoughtfully adapted. Baby Vegeta gets the names of his moves wrong. Super Saiyan 4 Gogeta does his little tap on the shoulder as a counter. I can’t believe that Sparking Zero not only has one of gaming’s biggest rosters but also makes them all feel unique from one another. Even the many forms of Goku and Vegeta have unique moves and combos depending on their form. I barely scratched the surface o♋f what’s on offer here, but I still couldn’t be happier with what I saw.
This hands-on preview was also the first time I got to properlꩲy try out Sparking Zero without being on a painfully short time limit, so I really got to sink my teeth into the combat. It feels very much like the older Budokai Tenkaic🎐hi games (and is now as fast-paced as them), but the new techniques like dashing and pushing away energy blasts make it more satisfying and in-depth than ever. The only thing that feels a li༒ttle uneven right now is the camera, which struggles to keep up with the action from time to time in smaller arenas.
Episode Battle Shines When It Focuses On Super
Although I could have just spent the whole time in versus battles and still would have left with tears in my eyes and jaw ache, I also got to check out a few of the main modes in Sparking Zero,𒅌 something I didn’t get to do the last two times I played. The first of these is Episode Battle, which is this game’s take on the story mode.
The Episode Battles on offer in my playthrough included Goku, Goku Black, and Frieza, but a few other characters like Piccolo💮 and J♈iren also have their own campaigns.
I’d already seen a lot of Goku’s, which was the first one I checked out, though I didn’t ge꧃t further than the fight with Vegeta, but Goku Black’s mission was entirely new to me. What I played recounted the events and battles of his time in Super, which included fights against Super Saiyan Blue Goku and Vegeta, as well as one where I became Fused Zamasu and 𒉰fought Trunks.
Getting to finally play through Super’s story (and listen to Zamasu’s stupidly long monologues) instead of just Z and GT is a treat on its own, but my main 🎀takeaway from the mode is how challenging it was. It reminded me a lot of Budokai Tenkaichi 🔯2 and is nowhere near the cakewalk I assumed it would be. As someone who beat MUI Goku as Krillin, I can’t believe how many times I failed as Fused Zamasu against Vegito.
Goku Black sadly didn’t have any what-if scenarios from what I played of the mode, but it was still a great time that felt fresh thanks to focusing on Su🌠per. I do worry that the canon꧋ Z sections are going to be a bit of a familiar drag, but that’s a problem that’s faced every Dragon Ball game, and I’d rather they were included than not since the game is aiming to be the definitive experience.
Each Episode Battle varies in length depending on the character, so 🐟Goku’s will be a lot longer than🌱 Piccolo’s.
Custom Battle Isn't For Me, But Fans Will Love It
The final game mode I tried out was the one I was most sceptical of - Custom Battle. This new addition to the series lets players make their own sce🌠narios and share them for everyone else to see, which is an interesting prospect for such a fan-focused series. It’s not one that appealed to me when it was revealed, as I don’t usually get too into creation mechanics in games.
What I saw was pretty impressive, though, and has a surprising amount of depth. You can choose the characters, intro and outro cutscenes, songs that play during battle, interactions that happen if certain requirements are met, and a whole lot more. There’s a lot more here than I expected and I can see it being a big hit with players that carry the game on long🍌 after it’s released. I still don’t think it’s for me, but I’m more interested than I was before.
There’s also a ꦉsimpler version of the creator that does a lot of the legwork for you, ༒which is much more my speed.
Even if Custom Battle remains a bit of a question mark for me overall, Dragon Ball: Sparking Zero does so much right and goes so much further beyond what I expected that I’m nothing but excited about its launch in a f꧅ew weeks - this is the Dragon Ball game we’ve all been waiting for.
ཧ A🧜stro Bot Is A Reminder That Video Game Challenge Is Subjective
The "game for kids" hides plenty of c♋hallenge off the beaten path.
