DRAGON BALL: Sparking! ZERO Review

When Dragon Ball Sparking! Zero launched last year on non-Nintendo platforms. I was taken aback at how much time had passed since the last entry in this series. I was a teenager still in school!

With the launch of Nintendo Switch 2, a flurry of ports are coming to the updated console and handheld system, including Sparking Zero. I’m glad to say that Switch 2 is a great way to play this action-packed 3D brawler filled with content, if you can forgive some of the performance issues.

For starters, Sparking Zero looks crisp on Switch 2, and its charming and faithful art style bursts with colour on screen. The graphics look noticeably better in docked mode. In handheld mode, the aliasing around character models is glaringly obvious and somewhat distracting.

However, the high kinetic gameplay helps hide some of these visual blemishes. When you’re immersed in the moment-to-moment gameplay, you notice the jagged lines less. Furthermore, the Switch 2 version is capped at 30fps, which is disappointing compared to its other console counterparts, but it’s ultimately understandable in order to get it stable on the handheld.

Captured on Nintendo Switch 2 (Docked)

The camera work makes the gameplay feel even more cinematic. When it comes to firing off special attacks like Trunks’s Burning Attack, the camera zooms in, often mimicking similar angles to those of the anime, making it feel authentic to the source material. Most of the voice acting here is matched from what I remember from the TV show as well, fueling these nostalgic feelings further.

Sparking Zero’s biggest selling point is its absolutely stellar roster. It has more than 180 different characters spanning from every corner of the Dragon Ball universe, even the non-canon movies. Whether you started with the original Dragon Ball or started tuning in with Super, you’re bound to find your favourite here.

Some of them are amusing clones, as there are 19 different versions of Goku, but each one has a distinctive move set that reflects where that particular Goku was at the time during the anime. Despite the repetition, they all require slightly different approaches to play and feel distinguishable from each other.

Captured on Nintendo Switch 2 (Docked)

Even still, there are dozens of characters to choose from that prevent fighting and gameplay from ever feeling stale. To accommodate such a huge roster, every character uses the same controls to move, fly, and charge their ki. However, there are a few nuances within the kinds of characters, such as androids like Android 18 not being able to charge ki, but it gradually rises automatically during battle. Giant characters, such as Great Ape Baby, can’t be grabbed. These differences help further differentiate the cast from one another, even though the controls are universal.

Sparking Zero’s main meat comes in its Episode Battles, which go through the story of Dragon Ball. Instead of playing out every single battle ever, there are eight playable characters with different paths telling a more condensed version of the story. Each path focuses on the most important and iconic moments, such as Super Saiyan Goku’s first fight against Full Power Frieza on Planet Namek. While having to go through eight different characters can be tiring, Episode Battles do a good enough job covering the biggest battles in the series.

But what makes Episode Battles interesting is the ability to go off branching narratives. For example, during the Cell arc in the anime, Piccolo fights Cell (1st form) off while Goku and Gohan wait for Trunks and Vegeta. However, Sparking Zero gives you the option to choose the opposite. By having Goku fight Cell instead (and winning), this prevents the Cell Games from ever happening, and now Goku gets to live happily ever after together with the Androids.

Captured on Nintendo Switch 2 (Handheld/Undocked)

This doesn’t happen with every single major plot point, so it doesn’t lose its novelty. I was always pleasantly surprised and excited whenever these options popped up on my screen.

Another way of getting branching events is satisfying certain hidden conditions in specific battles. For example, when Vegeta and Trunks spar in the Hyperbolic Time Chamber in Vegeta’s story route, defeating Trunks unlocks an entirely new path where the father and son duo manage to defeat Perfect Cell during the Cell Games, mirroring the canon events of the anime where Goku and Gohan did so instead. These were surprising, yet satisfying ways of unlocking more what-if scenarios.

Unfortunately, Sparking Zero doesn’t actually tell you what these conditions are, which is rather annoying. On the bright side, since it took a little over a year for the game to come to Switch and Switch 2, you can easily find this information online, although I wish the game were clearer about it.

Captured on Nintendo Switch 2 (Docked)

Additionally, this is where Switch 2’s performance takes a bit of a dip. During the comic-book style cutscenes, panels would change and there’d be a noticeable lag, especially transitioning into a battle. Although that’s not a huge issue once you get into the fight itself, as performance is nearly flawless there, where it matters the most.

This is the case for both handheld and docked mode. The performance issues also spill over into the menus. Whenever I would browse the main menus looking at game modes, like Episode Battle or the Shop, it would start to chug.

As you participate in battles, you’ll earn in-game currency Zeni that you can spend to unlock new characters and costumes. Thankfully, I didn’t feel like I was being nickel-and-dimed. I earned Zeni at a steady rate and the progression in acquiring unlockables felt natural. While there are microtransactions, I never felt the need to go out of my way to purchase them, which I appreciated.

Captured on Nintendo Switch 2 (Handheld/Undocked)

Sparking Zero also has a custom battle mode, where you can engineer battles like you’re playing out some sort of Dragon Ball fantasy. There’s an option to add dialogue to give your scenarios some narrative flavour, but overall this mode feels more like an afterthought than anything else. It wasn’t compelling enough like the Episode Battles, so I didn’t spend much time with it.

On the flip side, the online battle system is robust. Performance was practically perfect here, and I didn’t experience any connection drops during the matches I played.

Sparking Zero smartly balances online fights, too. You and your opponent have 15 DP, and each character costs a certain amount. While you can have a total of five characters on your team, the more powerful ones like Vegito Blue cost a whopping 10 DP, meaning that you only have 5 DP leftover for weaker characters like Master Roshi, Cell Jr, or even base form Early Goku to put on your team.

Captured on Nintendo Switch 2 (Handheld/Undocked)

To add an extra layer of strategy, many characters can transform during battle. So you could pick Goku (Z- End) in his base form, who costs 5 DP, but eventually transform him up to Super Saiyan 3, making him more powerful as the battle goes on. Your Goku might be a bit beat up by that time, but that lets you bypass Super Saiyan 3 Goku’s more expensive 7 DP cost to use him right off the bat.

This prevents you and your opponent from strolling into fights with high-powered characters, and you actually have to think about your team composition. If your Vegito Blue falls in battle, the rest of your team might not be able to pick up the slack.

Conclusion

Dragon Ball Sparking! Zero delivers a commendable 3D brawler experience even if some visual and performance issues persist. The immense roster is sure to please any Dragon Ball fan, no matter what age or era they entered the franchise. The branching narratives in Episode Battles and the online play are fun staples to the game, and it feels right at home on Switch 2.