Being Weak is Fun in Dragon Ball: Sparking! ZERO 

Another Dragon Ball fighting game is coming out alongside Dragon Ball, just like clockwork! Spark: Not at all. From the surface, it seems like not much has changed for someone like myself who is new to the Dragon Ball fighting game franchise. However, I was able to learn how to use some of the new controller and fighting systems and comprehend the changes with a little assistance from the Tokyo Game Show 2024 crew.To say that my first thought was to play as Goku—one of my favorite fictional characters—would be a lie. But I wanted something new and different after employing him and winning a few bouts. And who better to test these new technologies than Mr. Satan, one of the weakest characters in Dragon Ball?

Image courtesy of Bandai Namco

©バードスタジオ／集英社・東映アニメーション ©Bandai Namco Entertainment Inc

 Choosing a control scheme was perhaps the first and most important decision I had to make before letting the AI opponent, Vegeta in this case, defeat me as Mr. Satan. Fortunately, the options were limited to "Standard" and "Classic." It appeared as though there was no distinction between the two at first glance. It seemed as though the controller's buttons for the physical attack, ki blast, jump, block, and vertical movements were merely assigned alternative functions.However, a staff member at Bandai-Namco advised that players could play with "Standard," which uses previous Dragon Ball fighting game controls (like Meteor), or use the "Classic" settings, which offer a more straightforward control scheme. The staff worker also advised me to think about using the "Classic" controls as a beginner Dragon Ball fighting game player because they are meant to be a little simpler for new players to understand.

How to use the brand-new "Battle Assist" feature in Sparking: Zero was my second major decision. Again, without much context, it can be a little perplexing to simply stare at the screen. I saw that there were numerous settings for how characters block, counter, combo, dash, and other effects at the top of the screen under the categories for "auto," "semi-auto," and "custom." Even though it was somewhat confusing, the employee assisted me in navigating the alternatives once more.  My second big choice was how to use Sparking: Zero's brand-new "Battle Assist" feature. Again, staring at the screen can be a little confusing in the absence of much context. Upon closer inspection, I discovered that the "auto," "semi-auto," and "custom" categories at the top of the screen had multiple settings for how characters block, counter, combo, dash, and other effects. The clerk again helped me to navigate the options, despite the fact that it was a little confusing. 

Still, this begs an intriguing query. Why not just play on "auto" and refrain from making any decisions? To be honest, it's a fair question, however throughout my time playing the game, it seemed like there were some bugs in the system. This meant that I had to press or hold the guard button even if I was under assault. Alternatively, even with reduced commands, I still had to input them if I wanted to execute a combination or ultimate strike. So, while not as much as experienced players, new players still need to enter commands.

I had to make the most important decision after figuring out Sparking: Zero's control schemes and "Battle Assist" feature: which Dragon Ball character to play as. To put it mildly, the lineup that was shown off at the Tokyo Game Show was outstanding and featured both new and beloved franchise characters. Goku, Vegeta, Cell, Broly (from Dragon Ball Z and Dragon Ball Super: Broly), and Bergamo are a few of these. However, as I already stated, I was searching for an experience that was distinct from my typical Goku-based gaming.

 

 

                                        Image courtesy of Bandai Namco

©バードスタジオ／集英社・東映アニメーション ©Bandai Namco Entertainment Inc

 

As I went through the roster once more, a novel and unique thought occurred to me: might I love Sparking: Zero, the character with the least strength? When I went through the roster, Mr. Satan, Vedel, and Guldo were the three choices for weakest character. Mr. Satan was the obvious one to put my theory to the test out of all of them.

To say that Mr. Satan lacks sparking—zero—is to put it mildly. He can't fly in this game like he could in the previous ones, and when he does, he will slowly drop to the earth. Additionally, he doesn't have any kind of ki blast—instead, he will throw a rock slowly. His specials are corny and his physical strikes don't deal much damage. Mr. Satan satisfies your assumptions of him and has a charmingly weak character. .. But for some reason, I was smiling even though I was losing every time I deployed Mr. Satan against the AI. If only because Mr. Satan is funny, I think I enjoyed playing the weakest character on the roster more than the strongest. And now I want to have that enjoyment with the entire cast of unlikable Dragon Ball characters.

Dragon Ball! You can have fun in Sparking: Zero whether you choose to master the controls, disable the fight assistance, or just let the AI defeat Mr. Satan. More often than not, this makes the game more informal, which is probably a good thing. And sometimes all you want is a laid-back, enjoyable experience, like the one I enjoyed at Tokyo Game Show 2024.