Released on Oct. 8, 2024 “Dragon Ball: Sparking! Zero” instantly became one of the best-selling fighting games of the last decade.  

“Sparking! Zero” takes an interesting approach to game balance, basing it off lore, meaning not every character is equal. They make this work by introducing a point system called destruction points and assigning characters point values based on their power. To make a team of five or less, players are allotted points to choose from characters with values ranging from one being the weakest, to nine being the strongest. 

Gameplay mainly revolves around timing-based teleports called the vanish system, keeping the combat simple yet skilled.  

Adapting an anime into 3D will always be a challenge. “Sparking! Zero” nails the look of the original anime and translates it flawlessly; the game is beautiful. 

The game’s “Hero of Justice” add-on introduced five new characters, including Gohan, who can now harness the power of his new form introduced in 2022’s “Dragonball Super: Superhero.” Piccolo returns with his new orange form, and two new androids, Gamma 1 and Gamma 2 and a giant character, Cell Max, are added to the roster. “Sparking! Zero” has a massive roster of characters, and the addition of the DLC brings the count to 193 characters, which is unheard of when it comes to fighting games. 

This roster can lead to some characters being quite similar. Essentially, every character is mechanically similar, which is a positive and negative in the sense that every character can be played by anyone willing to learn the game. Sadly, this also means there is a slight lack in variety between most characters. 

“Sparking! Zero” is a game that any fan of “Dragon Ball” or fighting games will find enjoyable. With dozens of hours’ worth of story content based on both “Dragon Ball Z” and “Dragon Ball Super,” it is sure to keep you entertained and engaged.