The reason there have been so many Dragonball games over the years and yet very few actual decent ones, is that most of those games have completely missed the point of a DB game, on what a game based on the iconic franchise should really be all about. Instead they experimented with different blend of genres to mixed results like how the relatively successful Xenoverse series had tried to merge the usual combat mechanics of a fighting game with the progression system typically found in a Role Playing Game, or how the more faithful Kakarot aimed to be a full blown Dragonball simulator instead. But in between all of that, they largely missed the core of what a Dragonball game is supposed to be about--and that's one of the reasons why the upcoming Dragon Ball: Sparking Zero could turn out to be one of the greatest games in the history of the series.
Cause unlike those previous games, Dragonball: Sparking Zero seems to understand what truly makes a great DB game and more importantly, what it is that really makes anyone want to play a Dragonball title in the first place. And it's all because they want to experience what it's like to play as the beloved characters they grew up watching, to have complete freedom over their full powersets and basically get the feel of boundless power fantasy that Dragonball is an embodiment of. I doubt anyone actually wants to play a DB game cause they want to create and build up their own character from scratch in that Universe or to experience yet another re-telling of the all-familiar show but with a different twist.
And that's really as simple as it is--as simple as Dragonball is. I for one, would want to play a DB game simply cause I would get the chance to control one of my favorite characters from the show, to experience all the outrageous and spectacular displays of action that's possible in the form of fights that closely resembled everything I loved from the anime. And that's why Shin Budokai: Another Road remains one of my favorite and most played games of all time where I had spent countless hours in it's Arcade mode playing as my favorite characters from the series and experiencing it's robust and deep gameplay mechanics that's as fun as it is replayable. Seriously, if you're a fan of the anime I'd strongly recommend you to play it, it's easily one of the very best games based on DB ever made.
And looking at the trailers along with all the released Gameplay footage so far, it really seems that the upcoming Dragonball: Sparking Zero has managed to get the very essence of a Dragonball game down to a T. After years of genre-blending, experimental games that had sought to kind of re-invent the whole experience of the familiar DB gameplay (and not turning out as expected), Sparking Zero is putting the fighting experience at the front and center again which is exactly what Dragonball is all about and always has been.
So far, it seems to be on the right track--a no-frills Dragonball game where the focus is mainly on the combat experience as that's what matters most in any videogame based on the legendary anime series. And if it manages to be even half as fun and replayable as Shin Budokai: Another Road with gameplay mechanics that's fairly deep and enjoyable, it's a definite win for me. Honestly, that's all it needs to be as there hasn't been a truly great DB game in many years (Xenoverse's combat felt really shallow and repetitive which shows that it failed where it mattered most) and Sparking Zero surely looks promising enough to fill that void.
And there's not really much to be said about the visuals except that Sparking Zero has completely nailed the look and feel of a DB game in terms of being faithful to it's anime roots while still having all the bells and whistles to make it visually relevant in 2024. So between the gameplay, presentation and everything else, here's hoping that Sparking Zero delivers where the Xenoverse series failed--at being a true-to-form Dragonball title that makes the combat experience great again.
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