As someone who spent most of his childhood glued to the original Budokai Tenkaichi trilogy and who still considers them to be the best Dragon Ball games of all time (sorry FighterZ), Dragon Ball: Sparking Zero instantly shot to the top of my most-anticipated list when it was first revealed back in 2023.

While it’s true that there’s no shortage of great Dragon Ball games thanks to the likes of Xenoverse, Kakarot, and The Breakers, none of them have ever captured DBZ’s intense battles and show as much love for the series as Budokai Tenkaichi did. There’s a lot of pressure on Sparking Zero, which is Budokai Tenkaichi 4 in all but name, to live up to those high expectations.

Even though Sparking Zero looks like everything I could possibly want from a new Budokai Tenkaichi game, what truly matters is if it plays like them, or if it will pull a Raging Blast and just superficially resemble them. After getting the chance to go hands-on with Sparking Zero at Summer Game Fest’s Play Days, I’m happy to report that it not only captures the classic Budokai Tenkaichi magic but also improves on it in some notable ways.

The gameplay part of my preview focused exclusively on the versus mode, where I was given 25 minutes to play as whoever I wanted. Since I have great taste, my first match had me playing as Gohan, Dragon Ball’s inarguable best character, and going up against Beerus, who seemed like the perfect sparring partner, since he made his debut in the series with Sparking Zero.

Within seconds of starting the match, it was clear just how closely Sparking Zero is following in the footsteps of its predecessors. The basic controls and abilities are just as you remember them, and I quickly got back in the groove and started pulling off combos that I’d mastered more than a decade ago. I didn’t quite get the hang of teleporting behind enemies, but I sucked at it back in 2007 as well, so I’ll just say it’s more proof of how well things have been translated.

While Sparking Zero certainly feels like more of a sequel to Budokai Tenkaichi than Raging Blast did, it did feel a little slower than I remember the PS2 games being. Despite the speed being the biggest concern from the community, it’s a very minor difference overall and I’m sure skilled players will figure out advanced techniques that speed things up.

It’s more than just a sequel to a 17-year-old game, though. Sparking Zintroduces several new mechanics, like a new dash that can be performed in any direction, which makes dodging projectile attacks a lot easier and more dynamic. I wasn’t quite skilled enough to get the hang of knocking beams away, but I did at least do plenty of Sonic Swaying, since it’s now mapped to a single button.

My time with Sparking Zero also showed how much attention has been paid to the little details, such as ki charging more slowly when you’re in the water.

Outside the new mechanics, the biggest improvement that Sparking Zero makes to the formula is how much more cinematic it is. All of the cool new effects like hair flowing realistically as you charge your ki and how entering Sparking mode changes the weather, have been shown off plenty in the trailers, but I still couldn’t stop myself from grinning like an idiot whenever I saw it happen. I hate to use the word “epic”, but Sparking Zero manages to capture that epic feel in a way the PS2 games simply couldn’t.

Although I could only go hands-on with versus mode during my preview, I was able to get a glimpse of two of Sparking Zero’s other modes thanks to an in-depth presentation. The first I saw was Episode Battle, which lets you play through the story of eight different characters. Only Goku and Vegeta have been confirmed to have Episode Battles so far, but I bet Sparking Zero’s cover art gives us a good idea of who else is getting one.

Goku’s campaign fittingly starts at the very beginning of Dragon Ball Z and has him going up against Raditz to try and rescue Gohan, a scenario that diehard fans know like the back of their hands. What sets Episode Battle apart from just being a standard retelling of the Dragon Ball story, though, is that it naturally weaves in the beloved what-if battles by letting players choose what they want to do at key moments, which can lead to some pretty big story changes.

For example, if Goku chooses to go it alone against Raditz, he’s joined by Master Roshi and Krillin, who manage to take down the spiky Saiyan without a Special Beam Cannon going through Goku’s chest. What-if battles have always been one of the best parts of Dragon Ball games, and it seems like they’re being taken to the next level here.

My presentation also revealed that you can choose to enter a first-person view during cutscenes, for some reason. It’s a strange addition, but if you want to see what it’s like to watch Krillin die, it’s there.

Sparking Zero’s other big new mode is Custom Battle, and it lets players create their custom matches (including setting up the intro cutscenes with some basic dialogue) and share them online. I sadly didn’t get to see too much of it and don’t really know how far it can be taken, but it seems like it could be a fun addition if the community latches on to it. I’m not sure if I want it over more properly developed story mode content, but I’m intrigued to see more of it nonetheless.

The biggest worry that fans have is whether the old Budokai Tenkaichi magic could be captured again. But, from my far-too-short 25 minutes with it, it is clear that Sparking Zero has it, and it’s better than ever.

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Dragon Ball: Sparking! Zero

Fighting Action Systems 4.5/5 12 9.7/10 OpenCritic Reviews Top Critic Avg: 82/100 Critics Rec: 85% Released October 11, 2024 ESRB T For Teen Due To Mild Language, Mild Suggestive Themes, Violence Developer(s) Spike Chunsoft Publisher(s) Namco Bandai Engine proprietary engine
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Considered part to the Budokai Tenkachi series, Dragon Ball: Sparking! Zero is an in-development arena fighter developed by Spike Chunsoft and published by Namco Bandai. 

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