Dragon Ball: Sparking! Zero is exactly the game nostalgic Budokai Tenkaichi fans want. With a massive cast of characters and representation for every major Dragon Ball series, it’s an all-out brawler that features plenty of fan service, and even more beyond.
While GamesHub has already previewed the game once, a second preview has illuminated much more, particularly in the inclusion of the game’s special Episode Battles, which form the bulk of the “campaign” mode. As revealed, these episodes chart canon and non-canon courses through Dragon Ball history. To start, you pick a character, and then you’ll set them on an initially familiar story path.
In the case of Goku, your tale begins with a fighting encounter with Raditz – and the unfolding of decidedly non-canon story, should your battle end in defeat. In these Episode Battles, you seemingly create splintered timelines if you don’t win the canon battles, with these leading you through various devastating events, like an oncoming apocalypse.
Certain battles are lynchpins in these events, however – so you can’t get away with losing every battle. One of these lynchpins caused such frustration in my preview session that both players gave up on the fight, to explore other parts of Sparking! Zero. To snitch on myself – I was one of the ones who gave up.
The drama began with losing the fight to Raditz. As a result, Yamcha died a horrible death (unfortunately, the meme made it much funnier than it should’ve been) and all manner of beasties came out of the woodwork. Eventually, my path led me back to Vegeta – Goku’s perfect opposite.
Read: Dragon Ball: Sparking! Zero preview – Bottled lightning
Now, the Vegeta fight wasn’t overly difficult. Using Sparking! Zero‘s combination of charge ups and powerful attacks, I was able to spam-Spirit Bomb him into submission, and then finish him off with a final Kamehameha. Hah! Take that Vegeta.
And then the thing around his waist, that I mistook for a silly belt, uncurled. I had forgotten the cardinal rule of Dragon Ball: if it’s got a tail, some shit is about to go down. So of course, smug in my victory, I immediately had the smile wiped off my face as Vegeta transformed into Great Ape Vegeta.
In Great Ape form, Vegeta felt unstoppable. After a brief amount of story, the battle kicked off, and the Great Ape immediately blasted me with a power attack. He didn’t even need to charge up.
By the time I’d recovered, he was leaping at me, and preparing to unleash another blast. With Dragon Ball: Sparking! Zero‘s verticality, you need to “push forward” to hit enemies, flying across the battlefield while dodging and weaving through attacks. Great Ape Vegeta left no room for this ballet, which meant the only way to keep myself alive was blocking, counter-attacking, and hoping for the best.
With little time to charge up power, getting the Ape close to defeat was an exercise in luck. I know there’s a way to defeat him, because I got very close – but he’s absolutely terrifying in battle, and presents a real obstacle to traditional tactics. That’s the way he should feel, as one of the most powerful characters in the game, but it didn’t help the frustration in my preview session.
As I mentioned, I had to give up, for timing reasons. My preview partner did the same – with a frustrated grumble about just how powerful the Great Ape was. For those looking to experience the real fun of Dragon Ball, with a view for accuracy of power scaling, this is the first fight you’ll want to jump into first.
Great Ape Vegeta is totally devastating, and he makes for a very compelling challenge in the Sparking! Zero Episode Battles. One day, I’ll get you, Great Ape. One day. Perhaps when Dragon Ball: Sparking! Zero heads to launch for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC on 11 October 2024.
When the full game launches, I’m heading straight back to that battlefield, in the attempt to change my fate, charged with the knowledge of his flex-worthy tactics.
