It’s a secret that I’ve kept for several weeks now: yes, I was able to play Dragon Ball Sparking Zero. It was somewhere in Paris, well before the start of Summer Games Fest and this E3 period in which we are still in real life. A preview in sneak peek preview mode to do a few fights for a few hours and thus take control of the gameplay. We were also entitled to a complete presentation to explain all the content and what awaits us in this episode that we have been waiting for since 2007, still at the time of the PS2, remember, it was already a long time ago 17 years old, and yet, I remember my test of Budokai Tenkaichi 3 as if it were yesterday… And the icing on the crystal ball, I was able to capture my own gameplay, and yes! So the images you’re going to see are me playing, and it’s me mainly discovering the game and damn, how good was it!
First thing to know before getting into the hard part is the release date. It was announced during the Summer Games Fest, but I prefer to remind it all the same: it will be October 11, 2024, that is to say in 4 short months. And until then, Bandai Namco will have plenty of time to show us the game again, notably at Japan Expo where it will certainly be playable for the public. In the meantime, I can already give you some information on the game modes, and in particular the “Episode Battle” mode which is in a way the Story mode, but revisited. It will be a question of reliving the greatest moments of the Dragon Ball franchise, from the Z arc to Super, but with a little twist, since certain actions or decisions in the game will take you towards unknown paths, and which are not not in the original story. This means that we will be entitled to events exclusive to the game, never seen before. For example, during the classic fight with Raditz, we all know that Goku loses his life for the first time by sacrificing himself. He holds Raditz behind his back while Piccolo swings his Makankōsappō which pierces Raditz but also Goku. We know the story, nothing new, except that this time, it will be possible to switch to subjective view and therefore see the scene through the eyes of Son Goku, which is quite original and rather welcome.
WHAT IF?
But precisely, Dragon Ball Sparking Zero will allow history to be rewritten in “What if” mode, since an alternative version brings into play Krillin and Kamé Senin, or rather Awesome Turtle, who will immobilize Raditz with a Lighting Suprise Attack and thus allowing Piccolo to swing his ray and thus knock down Raditz. In this version, Goku does not die, which is obviously interesting for the rest of the events. Will this have a definitive impact on the whole story, Bandai Namco has been a little unclear, but yes, by changing the course of history, the events we knew will be rewritten. So obviously, it’s not something totally innovative since in Budokai Tenkaichi, there was already this “What if Saga” section except that it was not as developed. On the other hand, be aware that it will be possible to choose between 8 characters in this Episode Battle mode, Goku and Vegeta obviously being included. Bandai Namco has also specified that it is Son Goku who will have the longest Story mode of the 8 fighters, the latter obviously being the hero, the central character.
The 2nd mode that was presented to us, but it is the Custom Battle, which is also a 1 Player mode but which will allow you to create, play and share your own battles. Basically, the idea for the developers was to shape their own fights with established rules and objectives and then offer them to the players. Fights which also include specific scenarios and which also allow for cutscenes in these special fights. As you can see, you can really configure everything, whether it’s the cuts, the choice of characters, their poses, their expressions and even adding or removing effects, without forgetting the music to choose. We mess around a bit and it gives this result. Obviously, we can then share our own scenarios with the whole world and benefit from those of others as well. This is very clever on the part of the developers because it allows them to multiply original ideas without spending the slightest costec.
THE SENSATIONS OF YESTERDAY
Before moving on to the details of the battle system, I will still tell you some good news: split screen is confirmed in Sparking Zero. A screen split in two vertically to enjoy the best possible offline experience, sitting quietly, peacefully, in the cool, on the sofa with your friend visiting the house. Like in the PS2 days. What a pleasure nonetheless. Concerning the gameplay, and as you noticed in the various official videos, Spike Chunsoft decided to use the same formula as 17 years ago. And a bit like 2K Games with TopSpin 2K25, the idea was precisely not to disturb fans too much who don’t want major upheavals in the game systems, but to rediscover their sensations of yesteryear, with some new features and readjustments. it must. And very sincerely, despite the time that separates the two episodes, Budokai Tenkaichi 3 and this Sparking Zero, the automatisms returned quite quickly.
Sparking Zero in fact uses this system linked to the Ki bar, which you can recharge yourself by concentrating your energy, or when you give or receive blows, it starts to increase on its own. The whole game will revolve around the management of this Ki bar, which will give access to the powers of each character, but also to their different movements. Because yes, certain animations consume Ki, such as moving in rapid flight, throwing simple bursts of energy and of course triggering the most spectacular and devastating attacks. And as in previous episodes, when the Ki bar is completely empty, we then find ourselves stunned for a few seconds. Conversely, if you have time to fully charge your Ki, you switch to Sparking mode, giving you access to new powers, including a special fury. In this Sparking state, the Ki gauge will be enveloped in an electric purple aura. Under his character’s icon, we see a number, that corresponds to the skill count and this is managed by another gauge, in the form of a curve which increases automatically but at its own pace. It’s impossible to act on it, but this skill count allows your character to transform, merge or have access to specific attacks too. So yes, real-time transformations are possible during battles, but as you know, out of the 164 fighters at launch, there are a lot of duplicates. For example, in the demo I played, there were 11 Son Goku and 13 Vegeta, each version offering imposed transformation states. When we move on to the character in question, we have information on the possibilities of transformations. Indeed, some versions of Goku only give access to a single transformation, while others can offer 3 different transformations. And of course, just to make each of his transformations interesting, the combat techniques differ depending on the version. There is not an ultimate version of Goku who starts in normal and ends in Ultra Instinct mode with all the possible metamorphosis stages and having his full range of moves. Everything is fragmented and it’s like that for all the other characters. Well some, not all.
THE KING OF BRAWLERS
Otherwise, the big new feature of this Sparking Zero is the possibility of creating your team of fighters. In the proposed demo, we could choose a team of 3 characters, but in the final version, we can go up to 5. And of course, it is possible to swap characters on the fly, to take advantage of all of the features. your crew, but also adapt your strategy depending on the fighter you are facing. If it’s Broly who shows up and you have Hercules Mr. Satan in your hands, it’s better to choose another character if you want to get by. Because yes, out of the 164 characters, there will be “waste” in the sense that certain protagonists do not start on the same equal footing. It was already like that in the previous Budokai Tenkaichi, it hasn’t changed in Sparking Zero. It’s quite consistent with the lore and if some people wonder why put these weak fighters in the roster, I will tell you that it’s for fun, because of course, we know that the players will always rotate with the same characters, especially in online confrontations.
Still, it was a great pleasure to rediscover the sensations of yesteryear, brought up to date, especially since the game is even more spectacular. The game is lively, the movements and possibilities are extremely numerous and with its configuration and its proposal, it automatically becomes the Dragon Ball game most faithful to the anime. The fact of moving freely, rushing like a missile towards your opponent that you have ejected at the other end of the map, the teleports, the mind-boggling attacks with crazy staging, the scenery that explodes everywhere, the visual effects which have multiplied, it’s really crazy. The game runs at an ultra-stable 60 frames per second and it’s an incredible pleasure to have this fluidity. In terms of resolution, it will be 4K for the PC, PS5 and Xbox Series versions.
In terms of graphics, the game is pretty overall, with a decent but not exceptional DA. For example, I much prefer the pencil stroke that was offered with Dragon Ball FighterZ, which I find finer and more faithful. Overall, Sparking Zero is not really a next gen rendering when you look closely. You just need to look at the textures or the modeling of certain elements of the decor to see that we are on a game from the PS4 generation instead. Even the character animations could have improved in fluidity, but I imagine that the developers aimed more at the fluidity of the actions than at ultra-realistic rendering. It’s a choice and it won’t change the fact that Sparking Zero should establish itself as the ultimate Dragon Ball game, more mainstream, more general public than FighterZ in any case. And I think I don’t even need to convince you any further after this hands-on preview.
I remind you that it arrives on October 11 on PC, PS5 and Xbox Series.
