Even though the Dragon Ball manga existed way back in 1984, it wasn't until the year 2000 that I was introduced to the popular franchise. This is because Dragon Ball Z started to air in New Zealand on Cartoon Network before TV3 got the broadcast rights to show it on free TV a few months later.
Since that time, there have been TONS of Dragon Ball video games released for several console generations. The last two games in the series were Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot in 2020 and the disappointing multiplayer-only game Dragon Ball: The Breakers in 2022.
2024 sees the first true next-gen experience because Bandai Namco has released Dragon Ball: Sparking ZERO for PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S. It goes without saying that Sparking ZERO is arguably the best-looking Dragon Ball game I have ever played. It gives the excellent Dragon Ball FighterZ game a run for its money when it comes to high-quality visuals.
I grew up watching Dragon Ball Z in standard definition because HD televisions weren't a common thing in the early '00s. It is truly an amazing experience seeing the likes of Goku and Vegeta fighting it out in gorgeous 4K on the PS5. Not to mention the bright Ki blasts (laser blasts) the characters do, like the Kamehameha waves truly light up the screen!
If there is one thing I have to criticize about Dragon Ball games in general, it is that most of them like to recycle the same Dragon Ball Z storylines over and over again. Out of all the Dragon Ball video games I've played in the past two decades, I think only Dragon Ball FighterZ included an all-new and original storyline.
Dragon Ball: Sparking ZERO includes a single-player campaign that is divided into different character arcs. Fans of the game can get to play several characters such as Goku, Vegeta, Piccolo, Gohan, Future Trunks, Jiren, and even Frieza and Goku Black.
While Dragon Ball: Sparking ZERO still includes the repetitive Dragon Ball Z storylines, I'm happy to report that some of the characters get to experience fights that occurred in the newer Dragon Ball Super manga/anime. I remember watching the Dragon Ball Super anime religiously from 2015 until 2018, and I'm glad it's in the game.
To make the story mode a little more interesting, players are able to somewhat alter the story in some episodes simply by making different decisions that didn't happen in the actual manga/anime. These new alternate storylines are cool and offer some replay value if you want to see a different outcome.
I will say that the game's single-player campaign has varying levels of difficulty depending on the opponent that you are facing. The character Vegeta arguably has the easiest story, mainly because he didn't need to win every fight because he didn't win all the time in the actual manga/anime.
On the other hand, I had a tough time beating Goku's campaign because he's featured a lot and has several different opponents. The opponent I struggled with early on was trying to defeat Great Ape Vegeta. He kept spamming attacks, and he's also very huge, so he's hard to attack like a normal opponent. You truly need to understand the gameplay in order to come out on top during tough fights!
Speaking of gameplay, Dragon Ball: Sparking ZERO isn't like a normal fighting game where your characters are always facing one another, like in Tekken 8 or Mortal Kombat 1. Due to the fact that most characters in the game can fly, the stages in the game are quite huge, and you can literally fly to the other side to avoid any damage from your opponents.
The cool thing about Dragon Ball: Sparking ZERO is that all characters have at least five unique special moves. In order to use the special moves, you will have to fill the Ki meter by holding down the R2 (Right Trigger) button. Four of the special moves can be done easily, while the last one is a character's ultimate finisher.
If you are able to execute the ultimate finisher correctly, you will do LOTS of damage to your opponent. However, your opponent will be able to avoid finishers if they see it coming. When you play Goku, he has tons of different finishers, such as the Kamehameha wave, Spirit Bomb, and many more.
There are many versions of Goku and Vegeta that you can play in this game, and all of them have different special moves. For example, the normal Goku will have simplistic moves compared to the more powerful Super Saiyan versions of the character. Not everyone has different versions of themselves, as characters like Videl, Pan, and more just have one character slot in the game.
While Dragon Ball: Sparking ZERO is a near-perfect game for fans of the anime/manga, there are a few niggling flaws I encountered. As I mentioned before, some of the boss fights in the story campaign feel very unfair. The Great Ape Vegeta boss is the hardest character in the entire story mode, and he appears very early in Goku's campaign.
Not to mention, I don't think Dragon Ball: Sparking ZERO is a good game if you want to play it competitively. This is because the roster isn't perfectly balanced like in other fighting games. There is an obvious bias towards the Saiyan characters because Goku and Vegeta are far more powerful than most other fighters in this game.
Human characters like Mr. Satan and Videl are much noticeably weaker than everyone else, although this does make sense because they weren't strong in the anime/manga either.
Despite some minor flaws, Dragon Ball: Sparking ZERO is still a cracking game. The graphics are amazing, and the gameplay is as fast and hectic as it should be. The addition of Dragon Ball Super story arcs is a welcome change since replaying the old Dragon Ball Z stories can be tiring. This is still a game that all Dragon Ball games should pick up and play.
Verdict: 8.5/10
