DRAGON BALL: Sparking! ZERO review – Krillin in the name of

It feels like we’re living in a new Golden (Frieza) Age of Dragon Ball games lately, as between titles like XenoVerse, FighterZ, and Kakarot, the franchise is putting new spins on a very familiar story. Enter DRAGON BALL: Sparking! ZERO, the first entry in the Budokai Tenkaichi series in a long time. That said, it’s a game that is also releasing during arguably one of the best eras of fighting games, as between Tekken 8, Mortal Kombat 1, and the superb Street Fighter 6, it has its work cut out for it.

So what’s the solution? A game that packs a punch in the fan-service department, as Sparking! ZERO keeps things old-school and delivers what is easily the best-looking Dragon Ball experience to date. While it doesn’t offer much in terms of innovation, it’s still another excellent DB game in its own right.

Like its predecessors, Sparking! ZERO is a 3D arena-fighter in which Earth’s mightiest mortals and gods from other dimensions can take a crack at dentistry by delivering punches strong to shatter mountains and Saiyan teeth. The Budokai Tenkaichi legacy lives on in Sparking! ZERO, as it’s a fast-paced game full of ki-blasting and instant teleportation action thanks to fighters trading blows with each other in destructible environments. All the hallmarks are there, from a unified set of controls for all characters to unique special attacks, all wrapped up in a graphical treat for the eyes.

There is some nuance here to each character when you really dig deep into their individual special abilities–you’re going to want to spend some time in Dragon Ball 101 tutorials if you want to feel like a Turtle School graduate–and having the freedom to wage slugfests on the land, in the air, and under the ocean never gets old. An interesting new wrinkle here is the Skill Point system, as successful attacks charge a meter that gradually fills up. Once you have enough skill points during a battle, you can start using them in interesting ways, like instantly charging your Ki bar to maximum or powerful transformations to maximize your offensive output. Skill points can also be used to pull off Revenge Counters on enemies or several other countermeasures, so the system has some tactical depth to keep track of.

Sparking! ZERO also feels like a wake-up call for my Dragon Ball muscle memory, as pulling off certain moves required quite a bit of finger-dexterity despite them having seemingly simple inputs. In other fighting games this wouldn’t be too much of an issue, but considering just how energetic fights can get in Sparking! ZERO, it’s worth mentioning that you’re going to need reaction speeds bordering on Instant Transmission to really pull off some of the flashiest attacks. Anyone who has barely survived the Great Saiyan Ape Vegeta fight from early in Goku’s campaign mode can easily attest to this.

That old-school approach extends to other aspects of Sparking! ZERO’s design, as there are just too many menus to navigate through to do anything. At least the pseudo-microtransactions aren’t a pain, as just about everything in the game can be purchased with Zeni, a native currency that’s earned at a steady clip as you progress through the campaign or check various achievements off your to-do list.

And you’ll have a ton of these goals to pursue–and naturally complete–as you take part in Sparking! ZERO’s marquee mode called Episode Battles. Sure, any Dragon Ball fan is intimately familiar with storylines like Vegeta’s arrival on Earth, Goku having the mother of all Super Saiyan meltdowns against Frieza, and Majin Buu being an adorable blob of genocidal bubblegum, but there’s also a healthy mix of Dragon Ball Super content thrown in as well.

What’s really cool is how developer Spike ChunSoft has deviated from the script, allowing players to experience “What If?” scenarios that drastically alter the outcomes of several story arcs. Custom battles are also another nice touch, as you’re essentially given a toybox in which to craft your own stories, although there are limits to just how much of the Dragon Ball mythos you can rewrite. Still, at least I could give my boy Yamcha the moment of glory that was long overdue for him.

Multiplayer is also more rock-solid than Goku’s pecs, as it was easy enough to boot up several online games and the lag experienced was minimal. The online modes available to players are as standard as can be–DP Battles with five-person teams is pretty great though–and it’s always a cerebrally rewarding test of skill to see how you fare against a flesh-and-blood opponent. Although, I’ve been beaten so brutally in the matches by people who have spent every waking hour of their life mastering Sparking! ZERO since launch, that I fear that not even the Dragon Ball can resurrect me from those beatdowns.

All of this classic action is presented by some of the finest visuals to ever grace a Dragon Ball game. You’ve got signature Super Saiyan auras pulsating with cracks of lightning, energy attacks that rip through planets, and characters who look they were torn straight from the anime series. While there are a handful of instances where the animation could be spruced up, on the whole, Sparking Zero goes over 9,000 on its presentation and throws a haymaker at your eyeballs.

It’s also a game with an absurdly stacked roster: 180 characters pulled from every era of Dragon Ball. From the anime adaptations to the original video animations, you’ll find your favourite character ready to rumble, although there are some cop-outs with multiple versions of certain brawlers. Are 19 Gokus too many bad dads? The jury is still out on that one.

Released on 7 October, DRAGON BALL: Sparking! ZERO is out now for PC, PS5 and Xbox Series consoles.