izigame.me

"The power comes in response to a need, Not a desire."


Introduction

From the first moment I watched Dragonball Z as a child, I was enamoured by the characters and world. And by a story of how being different doesn't exclude you, how passion can push you to greater heights and how being beaten only makes you stronger. These have echoed within me, and ever since, Dragonball and all of its iterations have held a foundation within my life, so when I heard there was a new Budokai Tenkaichi game coming out, suffice to say I was overwhelmingly excited to get my hands on it. But did it live up to the hype, or was it fated to never see a power level over 9000?


🟩 Positives
🟥 Negatives


🟩 An enormous repertoire of 180+ fighters that range across multiple eras, series' and iterations.
🟩 The original storylines from the series, with special "What if" challenges for those daring enough to attempt them.
🟩 Frenetic and skill-based combat that will test your abilities and understanding of mechanics from the very moment you start.
🟩 A genuinely impressive visual take on the anime style that only helps diversify the world and uniquely identify your favourite characters.
🟥 Some of the campaign characters aren't delivered an equal portion of the storyline even if they are canonically a part of more, which is a little disappointing.
🟥 Dialogue during the campaign takes a while to transition to the next scene, you can skip it but sometimes the sequences are about to transition mid-skip and you end up skipping the new scene.



Story

I don't think I have to spend too long here, as the game essentially delivers the standard Dragonball Z storyline and onwards for 7 characters.
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3346751528
The "What If" challenges do offer arcs to the plot but don't significantly alter the plot and are more often just there to add difficulty to the campaign.
The dialogue is well-written, and the campaign proceeds at a reasonable pace.

Gameplay Analysis

Break through...THE LIMIT!
The bread and butter of Dragonball Sparking! Zero is combat, but you might be surprised by how deep it is. There's a decent skill gap to cross to hold your ground in any major conflict, and the range of techniques and skills you can utilise can be a little overwhelming when starting.
It's more complex than simply spamming attacks or throwing your opponent and hitting them with big energy blasts. You will need to be able to manoeuvre the rather sizable battlefields using movement skills such as steps and dashes, and further improving your understanding of how they work to cross even greater distances more easily.
The actual fighting mechanics are also largely more complex than the standard Dragonball game, by employing guards, counters, and properly chaining combos and ki blasts will greatly determine your success rate.
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3346754698
On top of the abundance of techniques above, you will also have to gain some mastery over skills your characters can use, such as larger-scale energy blasts and character-specific techniques that can help turn the tide of battle.
Accessories largely change combat functionality by adding extra layers to the already considerable repertoire where combining these can turn battles in your favour, but understanding what they do and how they blend is tricky, to say the least.
I recommend heading to the "Battle Training" section before you get into the game to get some good foundational experience before you set up bad habits.
I am the hope of the universe. I am the answer to all living things that cry out for peace.
There is an enormous catalogue of characters in this game, and a majority of them feel unique (quite a lot are Goku iterations, so not all). Not all are available to play with from the start, so you will have to spend some time grinding out in-game currencies to unlock them, which can be time-consuming, but it makes them feel worthwhile.
Each character has its nuances and can take some time to learn, not only to play but also to fight against. Have some patience, play around with combos and learn the mechanics at your own pace.

Audio and Visual

The art and visual style of Sparking! Zero is astounding, delivering a crisp and stunning take on the anime aesthetic. The world is astoundingly well-detailed, and combined with the destructive effects you can cause upon it, the immersion level is high. Every character has been lovingly integrated into this game to be astoundingly unique, from how they stand and move to how they fight and throw ki-blasts.
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3346752749
The audio style is of similarly high quality, a lot of the original voice actors have returned to voice for the game, (I played with English dub as it's what I'm used to) and each animation comes with a vibrant array of audio effects to make your attacks all feel truly impactful.

Performance and Specifications

I had no issues running this game on Ultra settings at 2560 x 1440 resolution, and I also didn't notice any graphical or performance bugs during my current play time.
RAM: Kingston Fury Beast 64GB 6000MHZ DDR5
CPU: Intel Core i9 14900K 24 Core
GPU: MSI Gaming X GeForce RTX 4090 24GB

Final Thoughts - Flawless

Review chart here.
While there are some areas I would have improved upon if I were involved in the development to further improve some quality of life aspects and the story-telling experience, I still believe this is hands down the best Dragonball game I have ever played, by far surpassing even the legendary Budokai Tenkaichi 3, and probably even takes the crown for best fighting game I've ever played. The animations, story-telling, art style, skill gap for combat and just about every aspect of this game are astounding, and I am genuinely excited to play even more of this incredible title. I understand that there may be a caveat here that you need to be a Dragonball fan to enjoy it quite as much as I did, but I also think this is probably a great entry point for non-fans to get into the series.
On your journey to becoming the ultimate fighter, stop in at Hell, Purgatory and Paradise to understand what it's like to be at the peak.