Dragon Ball Z: Sparking Zero is a massive step up | Hands-on preview

In gestation since its announcement in 2023, fresh off the back of the Dragon Ball FighterZ World Tour Finals, we are on the cusp of having the first new Dragon Ball Z Budokai Tenkaichi game for a staggering 14 years. Has it really been that long? Taking direct inspiration from the original publishing title of the debut Tenkaichi game in 2005, Dragon Ball Z: Sparking Zero sees the return of the anime-inspired arena combat fans know and love, harnessing the power of modern consoles which promise to make it the biggest and best instalment the franchise has ever seen.

The small section of the game that was made available to play was able to make a big impression. Dragon Ball Z: Sparking Zero is a massive step up from the last time we saw a Tenkaichi game in action, and whilst the implementation of the series in video game form has never exactly been too shabby thanks to its anime origins, this one looks utterly gorgeous.

For the uninitiated, the premise of the series is a playable 3D recreation of the dramatic battles that play out in the source material. Beloved characters fly through the air, dash, leap, and sashay in balletic fashion whilst pummelling ten bells out of each other, throwing all manner of fireballs and projectiles, bonkers Super Saiyan transformations, and unleashing crazy attacks capable of causing carnage on an unprecedented scale, including environmental destruction in arenas drawn from the rich history of the Manga and anime.

I was able to play a limited version of Sparking Zero that involved a one on one tear up between mainstays Son Goku and Vegeta, with a selection of stunning stages available including the desert-like Gizard Wasteland with its monolithic, ochre plateaus, and the West City urban area. Action is fast paced and intuitive with the basic controls simple to master, and the combat engine featuring returning mechanics along with some new additions:

• Skill Count – A number that rises as you execute moves during the battle and is then spent to trigger special abilities.
• Short Dash – A technique that lets you move at lightning speed. This change opens up more possibilities such as dodging an opponent’s attack with a short dash, unleashing a charged attack or even a Ki Blast while moving, or linking to a dragon dash to pull off a huge move in one go.
• Revenge Counter – A technique that lets you strike back while absorbing an opponent’s attack. It is an action that enables high-speed attack and defence as seen in the original story where characters can launch an attack even while being hit.
• Super Perception – A counter command that lets you counterattack in anticipation of various attacks, even Ki Wave types of blast.
• Vanishing Assaults – A technique that lets you approach an opponent instantly and pounce.

It plays fluidly and is great fun – it reminded me of the sort of game you would have been playing during the Dreamcast-era with a distinct arcade feel that I have not experienced since Nintendo’s banging tie-in with Dragon Ball Z: Sparking Zero creators Namco Bandai Pokken Tournament.

The full game features a ton of different modes as well as a frankly astonishing number of playable characters, meaning you could ostensibly play it for about fifteen years and still not manage to best it with all 164 of them.

Dragon Ball Z: Sparking Zero will hit PlayStation 5, Xbox Series S/X and Steam on October 10th 2024, and I cannot wait to have some fun with it and play out some crazy living, breathing anime action.