I clocked four hours of playthrough time which this Dragon Ball Sparking Zero review is based upon.
Before we get into the thick of things, there are two types of game modes in Dragon Ball Sparking Zero you should be aware of. First is its story mode, called Episode Battles, where you experience famous battles from the anime through a particular character’s point of view, protagonist or villain. I personally enjoy being villainous.
There are eight different characters in total in this single player mode — Goku, Vegeta, Gohan, Piccolo, Future Trunks, Frieza, Goku Black, and Jiren.
Its PVP and PVE modes are termed Custom Battles where you can customize many things from the opening scene animation, ending scene animation, dialogue, background music, win conditions, pose, expressions, and more.
If you would like to jump straight into it, the developers have already prepared original battle situations under Bonus Battles. Otherwise, Edit Mode grants you freedom of customization.
I got the chance to get a feel of the Episode Battles and Custom Battles in this Dragon Ball Sparking Zero review — here’s what fans can expect.
Dragon Ball Sparking Zero review: the ultimate mother of all Dragon Ball games
It was teased from the start that the Dragon Ball Sparking Zero roster has an enormous cast — what you may not know is that this is the biggest one yet with a total of 182 characters spanning Dragon Ball GT and Dragon Ball Movies.
Episode Battles don’t dive deep into the lore, for fans are already all too familiar with these compelling characters and their emotional growth journeys. After a quick summary, you’re plunged right into the middle of the action.
I tried Goku, Goku Black, and Frieza’s episodes and trust me when I say that you’ll need to work hard to claim victory to overcome these challenges. I admit I didn’t manage to beat Vegeta — in hindsight, I should’ve used the environment a lot better and been more patient with timing instead of trying to bulldoze my way through. I guess that’s real-life character development for you.
Seeing that I’m not a very good action battle player, I didn’t fare that much better in PVP mode. However, my fellow media friend and I quickly discovered the game also stays true to each character’s power level — I locked in Goku’s Ultra Instinct white-hair Super Saiyan form and won. What a great Super Saiyan strategy.
That said, we still had fun unlocking their ultimate moves, enjoying the fabulous voice acting and animations up-close.
More laughs were heard when we were in Edit Mode. There’s an incredible number of options under each section, so much so that we got dizzy scrolling. Like the series, you now have the creativity to blend your own concoction of action and humor, pitting characters against each other across timelines and universes, and selecting the most ridiculous dialogue combos. I’m most looking forward to fan creations posted on social media after the game launches!
Dragon Ball Sparking Zero releases on October 11, 2024 on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X | S, and Steam on PC.
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