Since the official Dragon Ball Sparking Zero (Budokai Tenkaichi 4) announcement in March of last year, many, including us die-hard Dragon Ball fans, have been agonisingly feeding on breadcrumbs with short character teasers and gameplay previews. While we already knew Dragon Ball Sparking Zero would feature the most character roster in the franchise gaming history, there are still lingering concerns regarding the game’s features.
Fortunately, most queries have been dealt with in the latest Summer Game Fest when Bandai dropped a short but telling trailer regarding Dragon Ball Sparking Zero’s release date and features. In the trailer, many details caught the people’s eyes, such as the confirmation of Ultra Instinct Goku and Full Power Jiren.
However, there was one thing which really ignited the spirits of the fans, which was the story mode and the possibility of What Ifs. Furthermore, with the latest Dragon Ball Sparking Zero gameplay showcase by invited participants, we caught glimpses of the classic yet revamped mode we adore so much.
Latest Dragon Ball Sparking Zero Gameplay Showcase a New Story Mode
As mentioned above, many content creators were invited to a brief 30-minute trial and have since flooded pages with their released videos about the game’s features. While most videos were about combat mechanics like in-game transformation, fusion and beam struggles, the developers did share brief glimpses of the game’s story mode.
Episode Battle
According to Bandai, Dragon Ball Sparking Zero does not have an exclusive story mode with the traditional classification of Saiyan Saga to Super Saga, but an “Episode Battle” feature which allows you to relive a character’s story from the start of Z to the end of the Tournament of Power.
From our understanding, Episode Battle will tell the story through images and animated cutscenes while retaining the classic story-telling during combat from the Tenkaichi/Sparking series. According to content creators, we will have access to eight characters like Goku and Vegeta at launch.
As for why it is a brilliant new addition, players can decide whether to progress the scene via Canon (Following the original storyline) or What If (Alternate storyline).
Related: Legendary Dragon Ball Creator Akira Toriyama Passes Away at Age 68
Canon Version
Taking the picture above as an example, if you select to work with Piccolo, the scene would play out like the original plot, with Goku and Piccolo struggling to defeat Raditz, which forces Piccolo to unleash his new technique. After Gohan preoccupied Raditz’s attention, Goku grabbed hold of his older brother, allowing Piccolo to end their lives.
In addition, there is a new first-person view, which you can select in specific scenes, such as Goku’s POV to Piccolo’s Special Beam Cannon. Furthermore, the Canon Version has different cutscenes depending on your performance in combat, as you can trigger different cutscenes if you defeat your opponent within the allocated time. It is a totally separate scenario from the What If Version.
Also Read: Persona 5 Tactica Is Canon or Not?
What If Version
The What If Saga was one of the best features in the previous series, and Dragon Ball Sparking Zero has expanded on it immensely. Tracing back to the picture above, if you select Go it alone, Piccolo will leave the Kame House alone, leading to Goku travelling to battle Raditz with Krillin after exchanging a conversation with Bulma and Master Roshi.
In the middle of your combat with Raditz, you can hear the newly added conversation between Goku, Krillin and Piccolo as they figure out how to defeat the Saiyan. After failing to defeat Raditz in the allocated time, a unique What If cutscene triggers with Krillin, Master Roshi and Piccolo teaming up to kill Raditz.
While the scene still shows Raditz killed by Piccolo’s Special Beam Cannon, it leaves the question of how Goku’s story proceeds from here. Does it affect the entire Episode Battle moving forward, or does it serve as a standalone? If Goku did not die and train with King Kai, how would Goku defeat Nappa and Vegeta?
Maybe it’s a trigger to unlocking the scene of Krillin dying to Great Ape Vegeta and Goku turning Super Saiyan. Only time will tell as we still lack a definitive answer, but the inclusion of What Ifs is definitely the thing players are most hyped out about.
Dragon Ball Sparking Zero Will Shatter All Power Levels
Besides the revamped story mode, the developers shared a new Custom Battle mode where players can create original scenes and share them with the community to experience. According to Bandai, it is called Edit Mode, where players can select characters with pre-battle and post-battle cutscenes to make their own original battle.
Lastly, there are Bonus Battles where the developers provide an out-of-the-norm original battle with different victory conditions and event cutscenes.
Thus, with only two game modes revealed, Dragon Ball Sparking Zero has already succeeded in breaking my scouter, and it will not be a surprise to see the game continue shattering the power levels we set before its release. For continuous Dragon Ball Spaking Zero content, follow our Twitter page for timely updates.
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