Dragon Ball fans have been graced with a brand new gameplay trailer for Dragon Ball Sparking Zero. The franchise has finally returned to its Budokai Tenkaichi roots while delivering a fresh experience in 2024.
Across the three minute gameplay battle between Goku and Vegeta, we see the iconic characters fight it out in a mountain area. The new mechanics like Short Dash and Skill Count will make the battles in Dragon Ball Sparking Zero even more electrifying. No release date yet on the project, but it’s launching on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and Steam.
Amazing Gameplay of Dragon Ball Sparking Zero
Based on the demonstration, Dragon Ball Sparking Zero looks like the old Budokai Tenkaichi games from the PS2 days, with beautiful graphics and crisp sound effects.
However, under the hood, there’s a ton of new gameplay mechanics to enjoy. Producer, Jun Furutani, explained the team wanted Sparking Zero to have the same essence as the Budokai Tenkaichi games. Although this is a sequel to that series, it is an evolution too.
The first change was in making the speed much faster in Dragon Ball Sparking Zero. Characters will be zooming and dashing across the screen more often because of the introduction of the Short Dash. This will give players a way to get in close or dash away depending on the situation.
The next mechanic Furutani talks about is Skill Count. This is an action that will build up as the fight continues. You can use the Skill Count to counter your opponent’s attacks in two different ways.
First is the Revenge Counter, which is reserved for up-close attacks. If you’re caught in a combo, you can use two Skill Counts to perform a Revenge Counter, which will absorb the attack and stun the opponent while knocking them back.
The second is Super Perception. Instead of up-close attacks, this is for long-range ki blast attacks. Just like with the Revenge Counter, it uses two Skill Counts. Both of these abilities through the Skill Count are supposed to keep the high-speed action going to emulate the Dragon Ball anime.
The final new mechanic shown is Vanishing Assaults. Using a full ki bar, you can use this to instantly get close to your opponent and attack. It’s a new mid-range option to keep the other player guessing.
Dragon Ball Sparking Zero is Worthy as Budokai Tenkaichi 4
Furutani reiterates that this is a sequel to the Budokai Tenkaichi series as well as an evolution. With the amount of new mechanics introduced while keeping the same overall gameplay style, this is what fans have wanted for years now.
Here’s to hoping the game releases by the end of this year or early 2025. Bandai Namco has yet to officially announce a release date for Dragon Ball Sparking Zero, but it’s likely to not rush development.
What do you think of the new Dragon Ball Sparking Zero gameplay? Excited about the new mechanics? Let us know what you think in the comments!
