REVIEW – It’s been a year and a half since it was announced that the Budokai Tenkaichi sub-franchise would continue in Dragon Ball, and since BT3 (Japanese name: Sparking! Meteor…) was released in 2007, a decade and a half has passed and a lot has changed in the gaming industry. Spike Chunsoft has returned to the brand (Spike originally developed the franchise…) and has done so in a worthy manner; this game has become one of the gems of the year.

It’s no exaggeration: this game deserves a high score and is a near-perfect title for Dragon Ball fans.

The art of fighting with speed and style

DBSZ (shortening until the end) is a great game because it perfectly captures the style of the older BT episodes, with fast, dynamic fighting. The characters (of which there are many, and more can be unlocked, and there will probably be a release expansion in the future) move very fast, and of course destroy the environment. They also get dirty, and while it’s not quite the same animation style as on the PS2 (it’s more like Dragon Ball Super: Broly), it’s all very well rendered in 3D. The Skill Count bar loads faster compared to the older Blast Stock, so you can use skills, transformations and ultimate moves much more often. Revenge Counter and Perception are also included, so there’s a lot more depth even compared to BT3. But there is a downside: you have to learn to fight. The basics are easy to learn, but the more advanced techniques take time. Timing plays an incredibly important role in combat, and you can’t be impatient, even if the AI sometimes goes from being punishing to being completely incomprehensible.

It doesn’t happen very often, but it’s almost certain to happen to everyone at least once. It has also been mentioned that there are a lot of characters in the game, and this is no coincidence, as the roster is 182 strong, and that isn’t a typo. We will either unlock the ones that are not yet available or buy them from the in-game shop with the easily obtainable currency. Anyone with more than a cursory knowledge of the characters will even discover easter eggs (hints between certain characters), and it shows that this is a game made from passion. The developers know their stuff, and it’s not just a product born out of necessity. Some characters are missing (e.g. King Piccolo or Super 17), others only appear as skill buffs (e.g. Goku Super Saiyan Blue Kaioken) instead of standalone characters. It’s likely that many of the missing characters will be filled in with the DLC, so if there’s someone fans were expecting that isn’t there, they’ll almost certainly be added after the fact. Of course, this won’t be a negative for everyone, as there really is a huge amount to choose from. For a layman, this is absolutely fine, because at first you probably won’t even realize how much Spike Chunsoft has filled the DBSZ roster…

Historically, it’s also quite extensive

The whole story is told from the perspective of eight different characters. The concept is good, but the execution is a bit weak, as it’s mostly done with standstill image. There are some scenes in DBSZ, but only a few. If we can get past that, the story mode can be described as very entertaining, and thanks to the graphics and shading, we can absolutely feel like we are reliving episodes of anime by reliving the fights we see in the story lines. But that’s not the only reason why the story is great, as there are also “what if” events that offer an alternative to the original events. These branching storylines greatly increase the replayability of the game, and it is highly recommended that you explore every route.

If that’s not enough, there is also the custom battle mode where you can experience many pre-designed battles and get absolutely creative with what happens, and no joke: but hours of gameplay will definitely go into it. The music and sound effects are absolutely spot on, and you can’t complain about the character voices. Maybe the dialog can be unintelligible or incomprehensible in certain fights in custom battle mode, but since this isn’t really considered a fundamental part of the gameplay, it’s worth saying that the guys tried, and it’s there as an unexpected but still nice plus. And there’s really nothing wrong with that.

A fan’s dream

Dragon Ball: Sparking! Zero gets a 9/10. Yes, such a high rating. It’s creative, it looks great, it offers alternative storylines, and it was able to expand the gameplay of Budokai Tenkaichi even further. The watermarks in the pictures and videos can be a little annoying, but that’s just nitpicking at this point. For anyone who likes Dragon Ball, this is definitely a 9.5/10. It will hold its own among fighting games. The older generation will still nod in agreement at the sight of the three letters: DBZ…

-V-

Publisher: Bandai Namco

Developer: Spike Chunsoft

Style: Fighting game, Adventure game

Release: October 11, 2024.