Dragon Ball: Sparking! ZERO Review — A Knockout Blow!

Let’s set this up simply. I’m not the best fighting gamer. In fact, apart from the usual suspects of popular fighting games, specifically Street Fighter, Tekken, Mortal Kombat and Super Smash Bros., I really don’t invest too much of my time in the genre. However! It should be said that I appreciate what a good fighting game can be. It must have deep and robust fighting gameplay mechanics, a varied and large set of characters to choose from, and some unique and awesome levels in order to take on all your opponents. An addictive gameplay loop that keeps you wanting to come back for more, and Dragon Ball: Sparking! ZERO culminates all of these to deliver one of the best fighters of this generation.

Sparking! ZERO presents itself with such confidence it completely caught me off guard with how polished this game is. It’s a dense game that has so many options, variety, modes, graphical flair, exceptionally deep fighting mechanics and an insanely large roster of over 180 characters. It’s a knockout in the fighting arena, an outstanding game even if at times it can be exceptionally frustrating and very difficult.

Akira Toriyama‘s work has had such a huge influence on today’s culture that you would be hard-pressed to find anyone who doesn’t know much about Dragon Ball Z. Having grown up with the anime as a kid, it became a surreal moment to re-experience the iconic parts of the show that have stayed with me as I’ve grown older.

Single-player is the best place to start initially, and the nostalgia hits you fast and hard across the face. The game centres around the many often-retold stories that are contained in the Dragon Ball universe. From Dragon Ball Z to Super and everything in between. It’s a cultural phenomenon that really sets it apart from other fighting game franchises.

Battles are played out in a 3D arena. The camera stays fixed closely to your character almost cinematically, akin to the show. Graphically speaking, the game looks exactly like it is part of the show, and I’ll be saying this a bit in the review. Sticking close to the source material gives the fans exactly what they have always wanted. To battle it out like the show against many iconic characters. You can start the journey with Goku and also experience other single-player stories featuring Vegeta, Piccolo, or even Frieza.

The fighting itself is where I came undone quickly. It’s hard. Like really hard. It encourages you to play the game by visiting the tutorial area first, and to be fair, that is the best thing to do when you play this game. There is so much to learn, from how to fly, block, parry, counter, use your ki (energy) moves, and so much more. Failing at certain encounters in the single-player mode, I revisited the tutorial multiple times as I couldn’t quite grasp the controls. The first few battles were simple, but after that, even the game recognised that I was getting owned, so it suggested that I go down a difficulty level in order to pass the level. I’m not ashamed to admit that I did. However, be aware that going down a difficulty level can block you out from certain story modes.

I think it’s worth adding that I may find it harder, as my experience with the fighting game genre could be seen as a detriment to the experience. I can counter this by saying that the game is hard because the learning curve is rapid and ever-increasing. I love my hard games, but this one KO’d me hard.

At certain moments in the story mode, you are presented with choices, like an RPG where you can choose to play out scenes differently from the anime. The game then takes you to a conclusion that is completely different from how it was presented in the show. I felt that these moments were done so well that I really loved going back to enjoy these ‘what if’ scenarios.

Other modes on offer include an online mode to battle against other players around the world, local multiplayer, and a shop to buy items, characters, and costumes to unlock. It has its own achievement reward system that allows you to unlock even more items and characters, as well as a customer battle option where you can make and create your own little mini episode of Dragon Ball.

The game is brimming with many modes and unlockables on offer. ‘Tis a dense game! It felt remarkably like Super Smash Bros. in that it just keeps on unlocking new things for you as you progress in the game, almost at the same alarming pace.

For the first few hours, I played the game with the Japanese voice acting, and it sounded great! Characters were well-voiced, and subtitles were displayed at the bottom. After many more hours were sunk in the game, I decided to switch over to the English voiceover, and the all-too-familiar voices of Dragon Ball Z were present. Even with me spamming certain moves in the game, it never bored me to hear Kamehameha for the 100^th time. They are iconic voices that felt so great to hear throughout the journey.

Given that the game plays out in 3D space, I didn’t experience many technical issues apart from when I played the game initially, when it seemed like I was locked out of certain modes. I think it was probably a download issue more than anything. The game is crisp and smooth with no issues or slowdown in quality. At its frenetic peak and lightning pace, the game plays exactly like the anime. When you can pull off the move and combo them all together, you really get to see what this game is capable of, and those moments were rare for me but so impressive.

I genuinely love and appreciate video games as a medium and any of the genres that I play. I always try my hardest to take the most positives out of each opportunity, so when I took them on board this game, I knew my shortcomings in the genre. From the moment it began, what really connected me to it almost instantly was how well-made it was. It shows clearly that this game is made with genuine love and appreciation for the source material.

Dragon Ball: Sparking! ZERO is a delight to play, and I highly recommend that you get this game if you’re a Dragon Ball fan! It’s the game you’ve been waiting for. If you’re not a fan of the series, then I still suggest you play this game. It’s exceptionally well crafted and easy to understand. Just remember, though, that it’s a tough game, but at its core, it’s one of the best fighting games released this year. Choose your fighter.