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The work of Akira Toriyama only grew in popularityespecially in recent years, but Dragon Ball is a name that transcends the multimedia barrier and constantly mixes with the feelings of millions of followers who grew up with different stages of anime and manga.
The phenomenon represented by the adventures of Goku and the Z Warriors spans generations, and the same goes for video games based on the franchise, of which there are truly numerous. Different generations started with different titles on consoles corresponding to their era, not without difficulties, since, for example, NES or Game Boy titles, They have never been officially located outside of Japan.so if you had them, you had to understand what they were saying in the language of the land of the rising sun.
This problem has disappeared in recent console generations, which in turn have served as the setting for many of the franchise’s iconic titles. In recent years, the IP featured Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot, a mix of arena combat and RPG that revisited the adult life story of Goku (and other characters with DLC). At the same time, fans of the saga also received Dragon Ball FighterZ, a classic 2D fighting title that delighted fans of the genre and Dragon Ball.
But among the community’s favorite games the name of Dragon Ball stands out: Budokai Tenkaichia three-part saga which managed to conquer the hearts of fans of Toriyama’s work and whose last part dates back 17 years.
Dragon Ball: Spark Zero! is the direct sequel to the upcoming Budokai Tenkaichi, a work by Spike Chunsoft who knows how to capitalize on fans’ love for the saga by adding just the right new features to make the game shine in modern times with the elements that put the IP at the top.
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Technical section
The game hits the mark in almost every technical section, but perhaps the one that stands out the most is the visuals. On-screen animations and colors they are truly amazing and they benefit from the action that occurs in each of the fights; whether it’s destroying parts of a mountain by throwing ki like there’s no tomorrow or in the animations of the special moves they have each of the game’s 180 characters where spectacular details can be seen even on faces, a clear example of the power of gaming in combination with Unreal Engine 5.
The level of detail is such that the character models also change as they take damage in the fight, both to their bodies and clothing, which always adds to the immersion.
Visually, the game not only excels in battles, but His art also extends to menuseach being an interactive scene from the series with little text and lots of clarity, something vital for a game of these features with so many modes.
The only criticism I can make of this aspect is the abuse of static images in the dialogues before or after the fights and the slides which are shown, in my opinion, excessively to tell parts of the story in a way expeditious.
The game’s sounds are lifted from the anime so often that you’ll feel like you’re interacting with an episode of the series itself; accompanied by music with metallic accents that fits me like a glove, yes, I would have liked to find more melodies from the animated series, especially the classic arcs as happened in Kakarot, but that’s only a detail.
Dragon Ball: Sparking Zero!, see finds localized Spanish in his textsbut IVoices are only available in English and Japanese. Given the scale of the production and the budget, I think they could have made the effort to include a Spanish dub here. The Latin voices, mainly, are very important for the market in this latitude, even the actors who play the characters are very well known and it would have been a success to have them in the game, especially since the English dubbing seems too forced and lack of emotion.
Gameplay
Dragon Ball: Sparking Zero!, inherits many playable features from Budokai Tenkaichi, such as the ability to charge ki and throw energy like there is no tomorrow. The ki energy bar allows you to perform various special movements as it fills up, perform fusions and/or transformations, etc. The controls are very solid and although the first few fights can be a bit complicated to understand Initially, a few games will be enough to feel much more comfortable at the controls.
Not everything is heritage, adds Sparking Zero. skill matters which expand the range of combat possibilities, such as the so-called Revenge Counter which allows interrupt melee attacks counterattack at will.
Although it was already known in detail, the selection team is the largest of all Dragon Ball games created to date, almost every character from the franchise you love will be here, there are only a few absences from the first stage of Dragon Ball, among those I remember at a glance.
The section that fans will undoubtedly enjoy the most is battle episodeswhich will be very familiar to players who have experienced the Budokai Tenkaichi and Kakarot saga. This mode takes players to relive the most iconic fights of all that has been seen so far in Dragon Ball (Z and Super).
The introduction to the mode, as it could not be otherwise, is with Goku, although later we will be able to select other characters between friends and villains to participate in different arcs of the epic. The interface offers us a map similar to the board of a board game from which we can move to access the phases, as we progress in the adventure, logically the possibilities will expand to each episode.
Perhaps the main disadvantage of this mode is the absence of some fairly important fights like Goku vs. Hit or Vegeta vs. Cabba, this may have been a decision to prioritize other arcs, but being the start of the Super Saga in the IP; They could have done a slightly better job of including more iconic fights.
One of the main charms that appear in this mode is the possibility of taking alternative routes by completing certain special objectives in certain battles. These variations in the story add storylines that didn’t happen in the manga or anime, but are more than narratively interesting.
Those who want to take on other single-player modes (although they can also be done online) you can enjoy the different tournaments ranging from the Mythic World Tournament to the Tournament of Power with several additional instances in between.
The Custom Battles mode is also very interesting, as it allows players to create their own combat scenarios which, in turn, can be shared with other users. He the level of customization is extremebeing able to choose things like different camera angles, special conditions that appear mid-combat, and other features of varying importance.
The additional battles provide the opportunity to play out some very fun fights that also didn’t occur in the series’ canon, such as Goku and Cell uniting to defeat Majin Buu.
Online the game works very well with very interesting modes with unique rules that make them particularly fun.
Finally, practice mode is the perfect place to catch up on the main moves of the title, which, as I said before, are numerous.
Duration
The different solo modes, between tournaments and individual episodes, without exaggeration, it may take a total of 26 hours completing everything, including additional paths. A very good number of hours for a game with these characteristics.
Conclusion
A robust and, I dare say, dream delivery for fans of Goku and company. Sparking Zero does everything it sets out to do well and while there are some things to tweak or change, the production seems a wish granted from Shen Long to all fans. Don’t hesitate for a moment to get it.
We thank Bandai Namco for the hardware provided to perform this analysis.
Gabriel Ignacio Fuentes
The good
- The impressive graphics section.
- The revitalization of Budokai Tenkaichi.
- The huge number of characters and their details.
Bad
- The absence of Spanish dubbing with the original voices.
- Some fights that are not in combat mode.
- I would have liked to have a photo mode like in Tekken 8.
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