- Spike Chunsoft’s Dragon Ball Sparking Zero has become a standout anime adaptation, delivering peak fan service with a massive roster of 182 characters from across the Dragon Ball series.
- The story mode also features What If scenarios, while Custom Battles lets players create and share personalized battles, offering fresh storylines and endless replayability.
- The Tenkaichi formula is better than ever, and the visuals perfectly replicate Toriyama’s original work, making Dragon Ball Sparking Zero feel more than just a video game.
While Spike Chunsoft has always been the one to promote fan service in their video games, their last title, Jump Force, wasn’t the best of arena fighters and faced incredible backlash. This is why Dragon Ball Sparking Zero’s developer wasn’t first revealed with the game’s announcement.
Spike Chunsoft did an incredible job nonetheless, and Dragon Ball Sparking Zero has easily become the best Dragon Ball video game ever.
The developers truly showcased their love and knowledge of the Dragon Ball world with this video game, and everything about the game is peak fan service for Dragon Ball and anime fans.
Why It Matters: Video game adaptations of anime aren’t always great; most of the time, publishers use the brand name for money. However, Dragon Ball Sparking Zero is a different case and shows every bit of reason why the manga and anime adaptation are special in the first place.
Insane Roster Of Characters
Dragon Ball Sparking Zero has a roster of a whopping 182 characters, which is insane, even more so considering this is just from the base game, excluding DLC characters.
Even setting apart variants of the character, Spike Chunsoft put in some real effort to record different voice line character models and attacks for all these characters. The best part about the game is that it features characters from the base Dragon Ball anime, Dragon Ball Z, Dragon Ball Super, Dragon Ball GT, and even the latest Dragon Ball Daima anime.
No Dragon Ball game has ever done that, and the character interactions in this game are something that we Dragon Ball fans have wished for years. Each interaction is unique, and it’s nice to see characters that haven’t interacted before talk to each other, such as Bardock with Goku or Future Gohan with Goten.
The possibilities are infinite, and the interaction is unique each time, adding a sense of lore and what-if possibilities in the battles, making them even more exciting.
Not Your Average Dragon Ball Story
Talking about What If cases, the story mode features scenarios triggered by only completing certain objectives and missions, triggering a brand new storyline for Dragon Ball fans to discover.
The game’s visuals are a sight to behold. The art style perfectly encapsulates Toriyama’s artwork in the Manga, and combined with the insane particle effects, Dragon Ball Sparking Zero looks so good that they could just make CGI anime using the game, adapt the rest of Dragon Ball Super chapters, and I’ll be glad.
Spike Chunsoft’s dedication to the game is surprising, considering how everyone said that every new Dragon Ball game is just a reskin of previous games. Still, the developers revived the Budokai Tenkaichi series with a bang that feels entirely fresh.
Sparking Zero Is Creativity At It’s Peak
The best part about the game is Custom Battles. This mode allows players to develop their very own What If stories with different outcomes. There are existing battles created by the developers that each feature unique team-ups against characters.
Or else, you can choose to create your own battles, too, with unlimited creativity in what can be done. In a way, you’re making your own Dragon Ball story. What if Goku was trapped in the Hyperbolic Chamber for 10,000 years? What if Cabba defeated Gojeta SSJ4? Anything is possible with Custom Battles.
You can also set it to trigger some unique effects after certain conditions are met as side objectives. There are just so many customizable options for these bonus battles that players won’t be able to digest at first glance.
After creating, you can upload these battles to the Sparking Zero server for other players to browse and play from. This allows for a whole new creativity level, especially for Abriged creators, who can make some funny custom battles that will contribute to the game’s longevity for years to come.
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[News Reporter]
Shaheer is currently pursuing a Business degree while also working as a part-time Content Writer. With his deep passion for both writing and video games, he has seamlessly transitioned into a role as a Journalist. Over the past two years, Shaheer has contributed as a freelancer to various websites and landed positions on acclaimed platforms like Gamerant. Currently, his role at Tech4gamers is as a Features Writer, but he also covers News occasionally. Shaheer’s favorite gaming franchises are Assassin’s Creed and the God of War series.
Get In Touch: shaheer@old.tech4gamers.com