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Fans of the Dragon Ball franchise have reason to be excited as DRAGON BALL: Sparking! ZERO, the latest entry in the Budokai Tenkaichi series, approaches its release. In a recent hands-on preview, we delve deeper into the game’s offerings, exploring the Episode Battle, Custom Battle Mode, and the much-anticipated Split-Screen Battle feature.
Episode Battle
DRAGON BALL: Sparking! ZERO offers an Episode Battle mode, a single-player experience where players can relive key moments from the Dragon Ball series. At launch, eight playable characters will be available, with the preview showcasing Goku, Goku Black, and Frieza’s episodes. These episodes span from Dragon Ball Z’s Raditz arc to Dragon Ball Super’s Tournament of Power.
Each episode allows players to experience stories from different character perspectives. Goku’s episode, for instance, begins with the iconic Raditz confrontation and progresses through the Vegeta Saga. Goku Black’s story adapts the “Future” Trunks Saga, while Frieza’s episode covers his quest for the Dragon Balls on Planet Namek. A standout feature is the ability to alter the narrative through battle outcomes and player choices.
For example, in Goku’s episode, players can choose whether to team up with Piccolo against Raditz or face the threat alone, potentially leading to alternative scenarios.
While some cutscenes may appear slightly stiff due to limited animation beyond facial expressions and wind-blown hair, the solid voice acting compensates, delivering an engaging narrative experience. This mode promises to captivate both longtime fans looking to relive classic moments and newcomers seeking an introduction to the franchise’s iconic storylines.
Custom Battle Mode
The Custom Battle Mode in DRAGON BALL: Sparking! ZERO is a playground for creativity, offering extensive customization options for players to craft unique scenarios. This mode allows fans to bring their dream battles to life, such as pitting SSB Gogeta against SS4 Gogeta, or creating entirely new storylines.
The depth of customization is impressive. Players can set various conditions and triggers, such as forcing specific attacks when a character’s health drops below a certain threshold, initiating dialogue at timed intervals, or triggering cutscenes based on battle outcomes. The system supports both one-time checks and continuous conditions, adding layers of complexity to custom scenarios.
For instance, players can create a scenario where they must constantly deal damage to an enemy within specific time frames, or risk facing a powerful finishing move. The difficulty can be further adjusted by modifying opponent difficulty or choosing characters with challenging attack patterns. Customization extends beyond battle mechanics to visual and audio elements. Players can adjust camera cuts, character poses, facial expressions, special effects, captions, background music, and even design custom title screens for their battles.
A sharing feature allows players to upload their custom battles for others to experience, fostering a community of creative scenario designers. As a safeguard against impossible challenges, creators must complete their own scenarios before uploading them. This mode promises significant replay value and creative potential, allowing fans to explore “what-if” scenarios or create entirely new storylines within the Dragon Ball universe.
Split-Screen Battle
In response to long-standing fan requests, DRAGON BALL: Sparking! ZERO includes a local split-screen multiplayer option. However, this feature comes with some limitations due to technical constraints.
The split-screen mode is exclusively available in the Hyperbolic Time Chamber stage. According to the development team, this compromise was necessary to maintain the game’s visual fidelity and performance on current-gen consoles. The Hyperbolic Time Chamber, being a stage without destructible environments, allowed the team to implement split-screen gameplay without sacrificing core visual elements like Ki effects, weather changes, and environmental destruction in other stages.
Players will notice some restrictions in this mode. There’s a slight delay when selecting characters, with players having to choose their fighters one at a time rather than simultaneously. While this may be a minor inconvenience, it doesn’t significantly detract from the overall experience of playing local matches with friends and family.
Despite these limitations, the inclusion of local multiplayer addresses a long-standing desire from the fan community. It offers players the opportunity to engage in head-to-head battles in the same room, rekindling the spirit of classic couch co-op gaming.
Conclusion
Based on this preview, DRAGON BALL Sparking ZERO is shaping up to be an exciting addition to the Dragon Ball video game lineup, appealing to both longtime fans and newcomers to the franchise. The game successfully balances nostalgia with innovation, offering a mix of familiar storylines and new gameplay experiences.
Although the split-screen feature has some limitations, its inclusion addresses a long-standing fan request. Despite that, our hands-on DRAGON BALL Sparking ZERO preview reveals a game that’s set to ignite the fighting genre with its blend of nostalgic storytelling and innovative battle mechanics. With its mix of nostalgia and new features, DRAGON BALL: Sparking! ZERO appears to be a promising addition to the series.
As DRAGON BALL: Sparking! ZERO approaches its October 11, 2024 release date for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC via Steam, anticipation continues to build. After our hands on the game, its positioned to offer a robust package that celebrates the Dragon Ball legacy while pushing the series forward with new features and gameplay possibilities.
Fans of the Dragon Ball franchise have reason to be excited, especially with what the DRAGON BALL Sparking ZERO preview brings to the table. It promises to be not just a trip down memory lane, but a new chapter in Dragon Ball gaming that could set the stage for future innovations in the series.
