Dragon Ball: Sparking! Zero Review: Budokai Tenkaichi Reborn

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Our verdict:

Dragon Ball: Sparking! Zero’s gorgeous graphics, its ludicrously large character roster, and gameplay are just the tip of the iceberg. With comprehensive modes to create your custom battles and an excellent mission mode accompanying it, almost all aspects of the iconic franchise are covered, making it essential for any fan of the Dragon Ball franchise.

Pros

  • An incredible roster of characters
  • Deep and satisfying combat
  • Breathtakingly anime-accurate visuals
  • Custom Missions are a joy to create & share

Cons

  • Shorter mission mode length for every character not named Goku
  • Missing OG Dragon Ball plot
  • Optional music packs should have been included in the standard release

Dragon Ball: Sparking! Zero at a Glance

Category Our Rating (out of 10) Comment
Graphics 10 Sparking! Zero is a visual feast, with incredible scenes recreated with care, and effects that run at a lower framerate to give an accurate anime look.
Gameplay 7 Don’t expect depth on the level of hardcore fighters, but the title has a high skill ceiling, for those willing to master it.
Story 8 You don’t just get a retread of the Dragon Ball Z and Super plotlines here, but fanservice-tier “What if” scenarios are included which are well worth unlocking.
Replayability 9 There are heaps of characters to unlock and even more to discover beneath that. Whether you’re looking for a single-player-only experience, or want to test your mettle in ranked, Sparking Zero will keep you entertained for hundreds of hours.
Overall 8.5 It’s not quite a home run for Dragon Ball: Sparking Zero, but its heaps of fanservice, satisfying action, and sheer amount of content make it the most accomplished Dragon Ball title this side of Xenoverse 2.

Historically speaking, Dragon Ball games usually go one of two ways: Either you get a game that simply retells a story you’re already familiar with passable combat (2020’s Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot comes to mind here), or it goes wildly off the rails with competitive combat and dozens of characters (Like Xenoverse 2 or FighterZ), which meant that when Dragon Ball Sparking! Zero was announced, there was a lot of hope riding on the game.

The title is a soft reboot of the mid-00s Budokai Tenkaichi series, which is well-beloved by fans and hasn’t had a new release for almost twenty years. With that legacy on its back, alongside heaps of new content from Dragon Ball Super to stuff in, Sparking! Zero had much to live up to.

With hours of battle-hardened experience under my belt, Sparking! Zero is the Dragon Ball game that most fans have been waiting for: It has high-octane combat that’s easy to understand, hundreds of playable characters from Goku (lots and lots of Gokus) to characters that only appear in a scene or two in the original anime, and gives you the space to smash them together like gorgeously-rendered 4K action figures.

What more do you really want? Well, Bandai and the Spike Chunsoft team ensured there’s plenty for any fan. Our full Dragon Ball: Sparking! Zero review has all the details.

Relive Legendary Battles

Sparking! Zero is divided into several modes, with “Episode Battle” allowing you to take control of one of Dragon Ball’s principal characters, and run through their stories, with non-canon branching paths if you can withstand their unlock conditions. These are presented with a simple overworld format, and cutscenes that pepper the plot in between.

While running through the canon story is satisfying in itself, the real meat of the game lies in unlocking alternate routes by making different decisions about the canon characters. This can result in “Sparking! Episodes,” which can only be described as pure fan service.

The presentation of Dragon Ball Sparking! Zero is on point
The presentation of Dragon Ball Sparking! Zero is on point. Source: Sayem Ahmed via Techopedia

As an example, one scenario makes Goku go Super Saiyan after Vegeta decimates the Z Fighters on Earth, which results in a climactic battle between Super Saiyan Goku and Super Saiyan Vegeta on Planet Namek, with Vegeta having already bested Frieza in combat.

These alternate routes are peppered within each character’s Episode Battle mode, with fairly tough unlock conditions and significant difficulty spikes, but the scenes themselves are worth their weight in gold.

Dragon Ball: Sparking! Zero battles get incredibly intense
Dragon Ball: Sparking! Zero battles get incredibly intense. Source: Sayem Ahmed via Techopedia

Sadly, every character that isn’t Goku has a slightly more compressed scenario. While I’ve spent 12 hours going through Goku’s routes, completing every scene in Vegeta’s route only took three hours.

It would be nice to have seen every character get the same treatment, but just keep your expectations in check. There’s also the noticeable omission of the original Dragon Ball plot, with scenarios created for most elements from Z and beyond.

Over 9,000 Possibilities

Baked into Sparking! Zero’s modes is the “Custom Battle”, where you can craft and direct cutscenes with your favorite characters, and set up specific events to happen mid-battle. Think of it like Mario Maker but for Dragon Ball battles and cutscenes.

The tools are surprisingly in-depth, and while you can’t fully customize elements like dialogue (most of it is locked behind customized phrases), it still offers a wide toolset to offer those who want to create battles and scenarios that you’ve only ever dreamed of up until now.

The World Library of Dragon Ball Sparking! Zero gives you many battles
The World Library of Dragon Ball Sparking! Zero gives you many battles. Source: Sayem Ahmed via Techopedia

Furthermore, you can share these with other players, and there are already thousands of creations to dive into, with a browser to flick through what other players have created. After all, who doesn’t want to see the Mr Satan take on the biggest baddies of Universe 7 and beyond?

Break the Limit

Sparking! Zero’s combat is focused on 1v1 brawls in large arenas. You fight in a fully 3D space with plenty of room to throw fits into. Here, you control your character’s movement, skills, Ki, and Sparking Meters, which allow you to enter a super-powerful mode or use skills.

Balancing all of these elements results in a fighter that feels more like controlling a tank than a martial artist, but there is some finesse in here. The addition of multiple types of movement, strikes, counters, and modes allows you to find depth if you want it. But, simply put, mashing can also get you most of the way there if you don’t want to invest in it.

For those wanting to master the combat, the speed of it means that you’ll need to put significant time into the game’s training mode, which breaks down all of the moves available to you.

This isn’t as accomplished as the tutorialization found in titles like Tekken or Street Fighter and needs work to be effective. It can be difficult to contextualize when and why to use each move, which is a huge missed opportunity from the developer, especially with a fanbase hungry for competitive play.

It’s not the most in-depth 3D fighter out there, with Gundam Extreme Versus still taking the crown for the perfect balance between speed and balance. But, it’s hard to deny just how fun it feels to take control of your favorite Dragon Ball characters. Flashy attacks are given picture-perfect treatment, and it feels unbelievably fun to zip around with a team of your favorites.

The combat of Dragon Ball: Sparking! Zero isn't as deep as a legacy fighter, but it is still satisfying
The combat of Dragon Ball: Sparking! Zero isn’t as deep as a legacy fighter, but it is still satisfying. Source: Sayem Ahmed via Techopedia

There’s an online lobby system that works well, with both ranked and unranked modes. In my testing of the PC version, I encountered no issues with lag or connectivity.

The Bottom Line

Dragon Ball: Sparking! Zero has so much more to offer: Every menu is meticulously designed, and its character encyclopedia even has a fully-voiced running commentary from side characters. But, it’s not quite perfect.

I purchased two music packs that add in iconic tracks from the series’ history, and considering the lofty price of $14.99 each, it feels like they should be included in the game, considering how much they can impact the Episode Battles.

But, it’s suffice to say that the title lives up to the legacy of Akira Toriyama’s most famous work and the Budokai Tenkaichi series. Should Bandai continue to iterate upon the groundwork laid by this new title, we might be close to the perfect Dragon Ball game. But until then, Sparking! Zero can keep you entertained for hundreds of hours with its gigantic roster, and near-endless replayability.

The Dragon Ball: Sparking! Zero release date is October 11, 2024. Early access has been available to those who pre-ordered the Deluxe and Ultimate Editions. You can get the game on PC via Steam or download it digitally via the Xbox Marketplace or PlayStation Store for Xbox Series X/S and PS5, respectively.

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Sayem Ahmed
Gaming Writer
Sayem Ahmed
Gaming Writer

Sayem Ahmed is a writer and editor with over a decade of experience in the world of gaming and tech. He previously led Dexerto's Tech vertical and has even written two official books on smash-hit Elden Ring. As well as Techopedia, he has also contributed to publications such as Eurogamer, IGN, VG247, and many more, covering everything from news, to reviews, interviews, and features. Sayem is based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, and often spends too much time thinking about action figures, heavy metal, and fictional wizards.