DRAGON BALL: Sparking! ZERO Producer Jun Furutani Breaks Down Game’s Key Features

We had the opportunity to interview, Jun Furutani, the producer of DRAGON BALL: Sparking! ZERO, who shared valuable insights into the game’s development process and key features. The upcoming title aims to deliver an immersive Dragon Ball experience, staying true to the franchise’s essence while introducing new elements.

Character Immersion and Design Philosophy

Furutani emphasized that the team’s primary focus was to put players in the shoes of the characters. This approach guided their decision-making process for cutscenes, character development, and overall game design. The goal was to create scenarios that feel authentic to the Dragon Ball universe, allowing players to imagine themselves as their favorite characters.

“One of the most important things when it comes to this Dragon Ball franchise is to become that character yourself,” Furutani explained.

“Just think about if you’re, let’s say, imagining a scenario of Gojeeta versus Vegeta, for example. So like which of the strongest characters might win. And that becomes sort of like even the North Star metric, let’s say, or the decision-making point to decide on the situations, the cut scenes, as well as the character development as well.”

This philosophy extends to every aspect of the game, ensuring that players can fully immerse themselves in the Dragon Ball world and experience the power and personality of each character.

Combat System and Multiplayer Focus

When discussing the combat system, Furutani highlighted the game’s emphasis on player-versus-player gameplay, distinguishing it from other titles like Dragon Ball: Kakarot. The team aimed to create a system that allows for intricate combinations and actions, tailored for competitive play between human opponents.

“Because you mentioned about the similarity to Kakarot, so just to elaborate, Kakarot is obviously against the CPU, against the computer players, versus Sparking Zero makes sure that it can be also player to player game, meaning that you can really focus on the combination of the actions that each character can make, and then the combinations, and then play against each other,” Furutani stated.

This focus on multiplayer combat adds a new dimension to the Dragon Ball gaming experience, allowing fans to test their skills against each other in ways that previous titles may not have fully explored.

Character Selection and Balancing

The roster includes characters from various Dragon Ball series, including Dragon Ball Super. Furutani explained that while there’s no strict criteria for character inclusion, they considered factors such as popularity and the characters’ abilities at different stages of the series. Notably, the game prioritizes staying true to character strengths rather than strictly balancing for competitive play, as seen in more esports-oriented titles like Dragon Ball FighterZ.

“We do take into account the fact that this is a Dragon Ball Sparking Zero series, so we took into account previous games’ characters, as well as the fact that which combo or which attacking options that Goku in the early, mid, and late stages can use as well,” Furutani elaborated.

He added, “Meanwhile, Sparking Zero, as I mentioned before, one of the core guiding principles when designing this game was to stay true to the characters. And that can also be implied to the battle mode as well.”

The DRAGON BALL Sparking ZERO interview highlighted the development team’s commitment to balancing authentic character representations with innovative gameplay mechanics. This approach means that while some characters may be more powerful than others, it reflects their strength in the series, providing a more authentic Dragon Ball experience.

Custom Battle Mode

The DRAGON BALL Sparking ZERO interview revealed exciting details about the game’s Custom Battle Mode, which allows players to create unique scenarios beyond the original series. While initially conceptualized with extensive customization options, the final implementation offers a more streamlined yet still robust set of choices. This mode allows players to create unique scenarios and matchups not seen in the original series, encouraging creativity and replayability.

Furutani described the development process: “We wanted to make sure that every possible combination that you can have that each user has these unique preferences, and we wanted to give the world to every user that are core fans to this game. Having said that, obviously there are limitations, as you can imagine, when developing this game as well.”

He continued, “So, it’s not like we had individual selection of the combination, but it’s more that we started with very large options, while still making sure that we can serve the users and that they can choose whatever combinations that they want.”

Story Mode and Character Perspectives

The story mode offers multiple perspectives, allowing players to experience the narrative as both heroes and villains. Furutani expressed that this design choice aims to immerse players in each character’s point of view, replicating the challenges and emotions felt in the anime series.

“Regarding the story mode, you mentioned that there’s obviously choices you can make with heroes and villains as well. That is obviously intentional. You can play Frieza, you can play Jiren, and you can play Goku Black as well as opposed to just being able to play Goku,” Furutani explained.

He further elaborated on the experience they’re aiming for: “Let’s say you’re playing as Goku, you want to experience what the characters felt and what the characters might have felt in the anime as well as that you can experience that in the game. One of the first enemies is Raditz. Raditz is a character that I really like. You might have felt that it was very hard to overcome even as you go through this story mode. That’s by intention, that’s by design to make the players feel that you are actually overcoming an obstacle just like Goku would feel when he was trying to defeat Raditz as well.”

Local vs. Online Multiplayer

While the game does offer local multiplayer, Furutani noted that the primary focus has been on online multiplayer. Currently, local play is limited to a single stage, with no official comment on potential future expansions.

“The emphasis of this game has been on the online multiplayer so the focus has been more towards that,” Furutani stated. “Obviously while we do allow local multiplayer option, at this moment, we cannot really comment officially to say that there will be more stages added into the future as the focus is a bit more on the online multiplayer mode.”

Producer’s Personal Hopes

Furutani shared his excitement for the Custom Battle Mode, encouraging players to let their imaginations run wild. He hopes to see fans create unique scenarios that go beyond the established Dragon Ball canon, fully utilizing the mode’s potential for creativity.

“Personally, for me, I think back to when I was a child and I was watching the anime. I let his imaginations go round and round,” Furutani reminisced. “I think about two scenarios. One was, how cool would it be if Goku beat Freeza, Majin Buu, and all the enemies? So how I would prefer or how I would appreciate if the players would choose is to let the players’ imaginations go wild and choose the players and the villains that they want to defeat, imagining that they are Goku or some other characters as well.”

He concluded with an encouraging message to players: “Again, the whole point of this custom battle mode is so that you create a situation that did not exist in the anime franchise or in other games as well. So I would love it if players create a customization that is not necessarily within the franchise, but something new as well.”

DRAGON BALL: Sparking! ZERO appears to be shaping up as a title that aims to balance nostalgia with innovation, offering Dragon Ball fans a new way to engage with their favorite characters and create their own epic battles. For fans eagerly awaiting the release of DRAGON BALL Sparking ZERO there are valuable insights from the in-depth interview with the game’s producer. Especially, with its focus on character authenticity, multiplayer combat, and creative customization, the game promises to deliver a fresh experience while staying true to the spirit of the beloved franchise.

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