Fans of Dragon Ball should mark October 11, 2024, in red on their calendars. On that day, not only will the new anime Dragon Ball Daima be released, but the beat ’em up Dragon Ball: Sparking! Zero will also come out. MeinMMO editor Jasmin Beverungen had the opportunity to preview the game and is excited.
Imagine it’s a beautiful afternoon in 2004. My two younger brothers and I would probably be sitting in front of our GameCube console, taking each other out. Since getting into real fights meant trouble from our parents, we had to settle our disputes in beat ’em ups.
Just a year later, the first Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi was released. Even though we didn’t own a PS2, we visited the neighborhood kids to beat each other up with characters from Dragon Ball.
Unfortunately, in 2007, the third installment marked the last game in the series for a long time. Now, in 2024, a new game from the Budokai Tenkaichi series is coming out with Dragon Ball: Sparking! Zero. I already got to try out the beat ’em up and immediately felt like a kid again, sitting between my brothers and neighborhood kids.
Dragon Ball: Sparking! Zero has aged well during its time
For three hours, I was able to familiarize myself with the controls, fight against the CPU, and create my own battles (no joke, you can do that; more on that later). Even after so many years, the connection to earlier Budokai Tenkaichi parts was noticeable.
- Players choose their team from Dragon Ball characters, each having their own special attacks.
- The fights take place in a large 3D arena, where the environment can now be destroyed.
- When two stronger attacks collide, there is a showdown where the player who is quicker on the buttons (or spinning the joystick) prevails.
The gameplay felt immediately familiar. I knew right away how to dodge enemy attacks or strike from a distance. With the many options the attacks offer, no match plays out like the other. I sweated so much and had so much fun with the fights that I experienced a rollercoaster of emotions like I hadn’t had in beat ’em ups for a long time.
Among the arenas are many familiar locations from the Dragon Ball universe. The places are mostly empty, but it still feels like stepping into an episode of Dragon Ball. The leap in graphics has done wonders for the locations.
Since the characters play so differently, the replay value is particularly high. I was able to try out several characters and found that I preferred some fighters over others. The large characters like Janemba seem overpowering because they cover half the screen. However, I struggled to use them because it was harder to even hit the opponent.
The only downside: The control and the immense selection of different characters can be overwhelming at first. Especially the different variants sometimes seem excessive, as evident with the over 10 available Son Gokus. There are also many combo options that allow the characters to perform different attacks. Mastering them all will take many hours.
The love for detail impresses me as a DB fan
Dragon Ball: Sparking! Zero is something for both veterans and newcomers. In the episode battles, we can experience the story of Dragon Ball from the perspectives of different characters. For instance, we can follow the origins of Frieza or catch up on the chapters from the manga with Goku Black that some may have missed.
This way, fans who last knew Dragon Ball from the afternoon programming on RTL II can catch up on the story. But veterans can also relive the best moments of the characters, should they have favorites.
There are more details that pleased me as a long-time fan. Even in the menu, you can see how much effort the developers put into the game. The menu changes its background when scrolling and shows different scenes. Among them is Master Roshi, leisurely reading his magazine in front of the Kame House, or the Kaioshin, teleporting with Goku to the next menu item.
Exciting is the newly hinted mode, allowing players to create their very own battles. They can design the fights as if they were a standalone episode in the anime. This includes the title of the episode at the beginning or specific conditions under which the CPU transforms into new forms.
I found the mode a bit too complex when trying it out, as I felt overwhelmed by the various options. However, creative fans or those who have always wanted a specific match in the anime will surely find what they are looking for here.
All in all, Dragon Ball: Sparking! Zero is likely to provide a great experience for all fans of beat ’em ups. Additionally, if you are a fan of Dragon Ball, you can’t really go wrong with Sparking! Zero.
On the same day Dragon Ball: Sparking! Zero is released, Dragon Ball Daima will also premiere. The main character of the anime will also be a playable Goku in the beat ’em up. You can find all the information about the new anime in the MeinMMO hub: Dragon Ball Daima: Release, Trailer, Characters, and Story – All the information about the new series of the cult anime
