"Sparking! ZERO" Official Announcement & Pre-Release Discussion Thread

[Anime Kitten]

A friend of mine brought up in interesting point, that the may take the RB2 character models, and animations, touch them up visually, and reused them for this game, Similar to how Smash Ultimate repurpose character models and animations from Smash 4 and(in the case of Snake, Wolf, and Ice Climbers) Brawl to make up it's returning roster.

Goku looks nothing like he does in Raging Blast in the teaser for the game. My understanding is that Spike has recycled the same models for Dragon Ball characters (even as recently as Jump Force) for a few games and his model from the teaser is quite a departure from that recycled model.

I saw this comparison made a few months ago, and there are definitely similarities:

Spoiler:

To me, the shape of the eyes and eyebrows, and even some of the lines on his face look almost exactly the same... but then, the nose looks totally different, so maybe the similarities are superficial, lol

[IntangibleFancy]

I think the actual in-game model looks great, but I think his face as he's transforming looks kind of off until he tilts his head back.

Also, is it safe to say they announced this game way too early? At this point I'm beginning to think they started developing like right before Battle Hour.

[gokugambitoptimus]

I think Tokyo Game Show will be the last chance to see a new trailer or big new info this year

[Bardock God of Time]

I think the actual in-game model looks great, but I think his face as he's transforming looks kind of off until he tilts his head back.

Also, is it safe to say they announced this game way too early? At this point I'm beginning to think they started developing like right before Battle Hour.

I don't even think it's real gameplay, it's a cinematic they made (which the actual game will look similar to) to show that it's in development.

[Thanos]

I think the actual in-game model looks great, but I think his face as he's transforming looks kind of off until he tilts his head back.

Also, is it safe to say they announced this game way too early? At this point I'm beginning to think they started developing like right before Battle Hour.

Traditional animation is similar in that way--the in-between frames tend to look strange if viewed in isolation. I see what you mean, but he looks great when standing still and in motion.

[MCDaveG]

The models are clearly different. Sure, they might have took the old ones and update them in more poly and what not.
But besides replicating an iconic scene (the posture, face and everything), you can see that it is more streamlined and with more detail and feather lines.
The RB model is more oblique overall, while BT4 has sharper lines (thanks to the technical advancement finer details in curves also).
The hair model is completely different, so are the details around his collarbones area.
The eyes are refined as well and bigger (the white background close to the nose).

[IntangibleFancy]

Does that card-game releasing in early 2024 mean we won't get BT4 until 2025-2026?
https://twitter.com/DbsHype/status/1687086610750533632

[Bardock God of Time]

Does that card-game releasing in early 2024 mean we won't get BT4 until 2025-2026?
https://twitter.com/DbsHype/status/1687086610750533632

it's just a mobile/pc game, I don't think those count

[Hellspawn28]

If we don't get it until 2025, what will we get instead in 2024? We get a new game once every two years now.

[miguelnuva1]

If we don't get it until 2025, what will we get instead in 2024? We get a new game once every two years now.

Infinite world HD. A man can dream.

[Scsigs]

If we don't get it until 2025, what will we get instead in 2024? We get a new game once every two years now.

Infinite world HD. A man can dream.

I'd actually love a port of the Budokai HD Collection with 2 & that one included. Or at least with just 2 included. I'm very surprised we haven't gotten that yet.

[MCDaveG]

If we don't get it until 2025, what will we get instead in 2024? We get a new game once every two years now.

Infinite world HD. A man can dream.

I'd actually love a port of the Budokai HD Collection with 2 & that one included. Or at least with just 2 included. I'm very surprised we haven't gotten that yet.

I know it's off topic, but I would love at least the old HD release to be imported to Steam... then we would be able to edit the soundtracks with original Yamamoto work that we were used to and call it a day. I was never much of a fan of Budokai 2, except from that visual progress at a time after B1, but Budokai 3 kinda made the second instalment obsolete IMO, there wasn't much lost.
But we are not in charge...

Seriously, I am anxious about any news from BT4. As much as I am hoping for mindless simulator fun like with BT3, I am worried.
One Piece Burning Blood and Jump Stars are disasters coming from Spike recently and let's be honest, while Dimps did great work with their 2.5 Dragon Ball games and doing good with Street Fighter, their venture into Arena Fighter with Xenoverse is nothing to write home about either.
Yes, I consider BT and RB from Spike to be actually far superior to XV in a sense of playability, options and with RB even visually but Spike Chunsoft went in downward spiral since after Ultimate Tenkaichi (which looks awesome at least).

[Thanos]

Seriously, I am anxious about any news from BT4. As much as I am hoping for mindless simulator fun like with BT3, I am worried.
One Piece Burning Blood and Jump Stars are disasters coming from Spike recently and let's be honest, while Dimps did great work with their 2.5 Dragon Ball games and doing good with Street Fighter, their venture into Arena Fighter with Xenoverse is nothing to write home about either.
Yes, I consider BT and RB from Spike to be actually far superior to XV in a sense of playability, options and with RB even visually but Spike Chunsoft went in downward spiral since after Ultimate Tenkaichi (which looks awesome at least).

The concern is justified, but Tenkaichi was their third go around refining the engine and gameplay--those other examples are one-offs to my understanding. They made it clear in the teaser that they are narrowly focused on this being a follow-up to those three PlayStation 2/Wii games and if they stick to the formula, it's hard to imagine how they can fuck it up too much. I think they will stick to it, since Raging Blast/Ultimate Tenkaichi was them deviating from that formula and the results weren't as good. But, like I said... they clearly want to evoke those specific games and made no mention or reference to the Raging Blast games or anything else so I think there's room for (cautious) optimism there.

[Scsigs]

I know it's off topic, but I would love at least the old HD release to be imported to Steam... then we would be able to edit the soundtracks with original Yamamoto work that we were used to and call it a day. I was never much of a fan of Budokai 2, except from that visual progress at a time after B1, but Budokai 3 kinda made the second installment obsolete IMO, there wasn't much lost.
But we are not in charge...

I grew up with Budokai 2 & played the hell of it with my brother & some of our friends since they never ported Budokai 3 to GameCube & I didn't have a PS2 at the time. Budokai 2 is severally underrated, imo. There were more improvements to the system than just the graphics. Tweaks & additions to the fighting system made it a much more comfortable system. Literally a lot of what made Budokai 3's system great was established in 2. Hell, I'd even say 2's system is better than 3's because while 3 has several good improvements, I hate the Dragon Rush system because it limits the better bigger. attacks behind a stupid rock-paper-scissors struggle system that you can easily lose & more often than not, if you're playing against the AI, that's the case. In Budokai 2, all you need to do is do a combo which has its own skill & frustrations, but is much easier to pull off with practice & memorization. Budokai 2 also has Tiencha, which they didn't bring back for 3 for some reason, even though they recycled a lot of everything else.
And then there's the story modes. Dragon World, imo, is more entertaining than Dragon Universe. Dragon Universe is fine for what it is, but it's clear the devs put it there for content requirements. Dragon World is a series of what-ifs that have some pretty entertaining interactions between some of the characters. I also don't mind the board game aesthetic.
Budokai 2, I think, has aged pretty well when we think of people's complaints about other games in the franchise. Graphics? Holds up really well. Combat? Really fun. Story mode? Doesn't 100% rehash the DBZ story like a lot of other games. Instead, it puts different spins on them, even if they don't make sense half the time & could've been better done. Not to mention it's pretty easy to unlock a lot of skills & characters (if you're not playing the PS2 version where there was a glitch that would allow you to get all the capsules in the shop if you held down L2+R2 when entering & leaving, that is), even if some of them are pretty obtuse &. you'd definitely need a guide to know about them.
IMO, Budokai 3 still has an edge for some improvements to the combat & other things, but Budokai 2 stands on its own. I admit the soundtrack is also great & it'd be a shame if they remaster the games again & include 2 in it, but I'd still like that over not having an HD version of 2.

[MCDaveG]

I know it's off topic, but I would love at least the old HD release to be imported to Steam... then we would be able to edit the soundtracks with original Yamamoto work that we were used to and call it a day. I was never much of a fan of Budokai 2, except from that visual progress at a time after B1, but Budokai 3 kinda made the second installment obsolete IMO, there wasn't much lost.
But we are not in charge...

I grew up with Budokai 2 & played the hell of it with my brother & some of our friends since they never ported Budokai 3 to GameCube & I didn't have a PS2 at the time. Budokai 2 is severally underrated, imo. There were more improvements to the system than just the graphics. Tweaks & additions to the fighting system made it a much more comfortable system. Literally a lot of what made Budokai 3's system great was established in 2. Hell, I'd even say 2's system is better than 3's because while 3 has several good improvements, I hate the Dragon Rush system because it limits the better bigger. attacks behind a stupid rock-paper-scissors struggle system that you can easily lose & more often than not, if you're playing against the AI, that's the case. In Budokai 2, all you need to do is do a combo which has its own skill & frustrations, but is much easier to pull off with practice & memorization. Budokai 2 also has Tiencha, which they didn't bring back for 3 for some reason, even though they recycled a lot of everything else.
And then there's the story modes. Dragon World, imo, is more entertaining than Dragon Universe. Dragon Universe is fine for what it is, but it's clear the devs put it there for content requirements. Dragon World is a series of what-ifs that have some pretty entertaining interactions between some of the characters. I also don't mind the board game aesthetic.
Budokai 2, I think, has aged pretty well when we think of people's complaints about other games in the franchise. Graphics? Holds up really well. Combat? Really fun. Story mode? Doesn't 100% rehash the DBZ story like a lot of other games. Instead, it puts different spins on them, even if they don't make sense half the time & could've been better done. Not to mention it's pretty easy to unlock a lot of skills & characters (if you're not playing the PS2 version where there was a glitch that would allow you to get all the capsules in the shop if you held down L2+R2 when entering & leaving, that is), even if some of them are pretty obtuse &. you'd definitely need a guide to know about them.
IMO, Budokai 3 still has an edge for some improvements to the combat & other things, but Budokai 2 stands on its own. I admit the soundtrack is also great & it'd be a shame if they remaster the games again & include 2 in it, but I'd still like that over not having an HD version of 2.

Fair enough, I respect the nostalgia. 100 people, 100 tastes.
I did like the Dragon Rush visually, but I know that many people criticise it for it's almost RNG results and breaking the pace from actual combat.
I can see the appeal in what ifs back then, but it is something I am sick about nowadays.
Probably the only entertaining what if stories in games for me were Supersonic Warriors, as there were some spins on the lore like Piccolo merging with King Piccolo and BT3 of course. Devilman against Mecha Freeza was my favorite and the writing wasn't blatantly bad as it usually is.
But in general, most of these original stories are all the Z cast, tossed into same world at same time because of some dimension or time circumstances, commenting on how the world is different and fighting each other with generic wrestling lines inbetween just to milk the cast first and tossing story nonsense on it second.
That's why I don't really enjoy story modes Shin Budokai games, Legends and Dokkan and pretty much the main story in World Mission.
Dragon Universe for me was more fun than the tweaked classic story in Xenoverse and yeah, I kinda hated that tabletop story mode in Budokai 2 coming from Budokai 1 (with Chala opening and everything).

Personally, I wouldn't mind the story in BT4 to be the same classic one, with some visual flair and better dramaturgy than in BT3 (Just two character models standing and chatting, because that was the limitation back then). Toss in some fun what ifs and then it is the versus mode where it lies at for me, to have some oldschool non-competitive fun with action figures

And this is a huge wish, but please, include the classic Shunsuke Kikuchi soundtrack plus Sumitomo for Super. Or, be it original one emulating the feel of the TV show, but no more synth rock. I am kinda tired of that, unless it is straightforward hard rock like in Guilty Gear, but it's soundtrack and rock/metal references are huge part of the GG's DNA.
The same way, the DB's unique cinematic score is part of Dragon Ball DNA for me.

[Bardock God of Time]

Sonny Strait just did a voice acting session for a video game - he voiced 3 different characters, he said it involved lots of screaming

https://twitter.com/Yab0iPride/status/1 ... 7521730560

Krillin, Bardock and General Blue confirmed?

[miguelnuva1]

Sonny Strait just did a voice acting session for a video game - he voiced 3 different characters, he said it involved lots of screaming

https://twitter.com/Yab0iPride/status/1 ... 7521730560

Krillin, Bardock and General Blue confirmed?

Perhaps but could also be

Kuririn
Z Bardock
Minus Bardock

This is Tenkaichi.

[IntangibleFancy]

I heard about General Blue having a chance at making it in. It might not be Minus Bardock because he said 3 very distinct characters. It could be Giru for an attack or as an NPC in storymode, but If it is blue then I'm both worried and hopeful.

I'm hopeful because that might mean more Super content has a shot of making it in.
But I'm worried too since a huge roster combined with Bandai's normal development process could mean there won't be a lot of high quality visuals or features. I'm also worried that they'll just be bringing back characters from BT3 and the amount of Super and GT characters will still be a toss-up.

[Bardock God of Time]

I heard about General Blue having a chance at making it in. It might not be Minus Bardock because he said 3 very distinct characters. It could be Giru for an attack or as an NPC in storymode, but If it is blue then I'm both worried and hopeful.

I'm hopeful because that might mean more Super content has a shot of making it in.
But I'm worried too since a huge roster combined with Bandai's normal development process could mean there won't be a lot of high quality visuals or features. I'm also worried that they'll just be bringing back characters from BT3 and the amount of Super and GT characters will still be a toss-up.

either way we'll be getting years of dlc for this game

I'd like the majority of BT3's characters to come back and some raging blast 2 characters like ssj3 vegeta/broly, hatchiyack and tarble

I'd be fine with some characters getting replaced too - Kid Chichi getting replaced by Teen Chichi

[Hellspawn28]

DBZ and DBS/DB- Bardock as seperate characters would be dumb. They are almost the same thing.