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

[MCDaveG]

Does anyone notice a weird issue in which after the second time (and so on) you boot Sparking Zero the Bandai Namco and Spike Chunsoft splash screens don't appear? Or is the game programmed that way? I have the PS5 version of Sparking Zero and this happens to me every time I boot the game from the second time onwards.

If you play on Play Station, some games shorten the intros or skip them entirely if you turn on the same game repeatedly. Nice quality of life gimmick, when I remember Arkham Knight and sitting almost one minute through the dramatic company intros showcase. When you switch to different game than it will revert to full boot-up intro.

[MCDaveG]

Yikes

I mean It's probably still fine for what kind of game this is. But the hype was so unreal and so constant, that the numbers that it got on the first day of sales were ridiculous. So the drop off seems a lot worse than it probably actually. The numbers sound about right for an anime battle arena.

I have hard time to get any online play, waiting for minutes and turning it off because I can’t stand that constant beeping sound. Do you guys know by any chance, what are the prime times to play online? Like weekend evenings or night/mornings? I am connecting with worldwide settings, even giving up on people with good connections and nothing… I don’t care about ranks but was thinking to get the Platinum trophy

On the topic of DLC, I am bit dissapointed… Sure, the characters look awesome, it’s eleven of them, but that’s pretty much it. What we get as extra is one Piccolo costume and 3 Custom Battles… wow. At least the stage from the movie would be nice.
As I have sucked the game dry through playthrough, it seriously doesn’t have much engaging content left and tournament fun died out fast, with doing repetitive stuff to get titles from Zeno. Oh boy, that doesn’t really motivate me to play anymore.
I haven’t bought the DLC/Season Pass yet and I am not sure about it at this moment as I can have full more wholesome game for that price, or more in Deals… or 3 costumes in Mortal Kombat 1, which is actually one of those games that does it even worse
But will wait until the DLC release if they won’t surprise us with some more updates and add-ons (like orange gi for Teen Gohan etc.)
That’s quite lackluster and I won’t get my hopes up as I expect less than more with the companies nowadays.

[Jord]

The way they count characters feels a bit disingenuous to me. 11 Characters to me is something different than 4 characters with different forms. It's marketing, I know, but it irks me. Especially since most of the different "characters" in SZ don't play that much different from the other forms, with the obvious exception of the giant characters of course.

[miguelnuva1]

The way they count characters feels a bit disingenuous to me. 11 Characters to me is something different than 4 characters with different forms. It's marketing, I know, but it irks me. Especially since most of the different "characters" in SZ don't play that much different from the other forms, with the obvious exception of the giant characters of course.

They've counted the characters like that since the first game. Not really disingenuous if you've been doing it.

[DarkPrince_92]

DLC Pack 1 Gameplay: https://youtu.be/MbI5Ps6w6SQ?si=GMb2wBaLfgZP7W63

These characters look great so far. Still wish we got a stage or two, or some costumes for the base game.

Also, new patch notes:

[Yuji]

Cape disappearing when transforming is cool, I like that transformations can affect your outfit too. Cape not being included as a separate outfit if you select SS/Ultimate/Beast in the select screen is lame. Game is severely lacking in customization compared to Raging Blast.

[Cold Skin]

From what I'm experiencing myself, there seems to be a glitch right now that makes it impossible to select a title screen picture in custom battles, as the selection is empty and therefore locked on showing Namek by default. When trying to filter, the game considers there is zero result even with all filters off (not even considering that the Namek picture currently displayed actually exists).

"Selfie" preset 3D angle was added in a new version ajusted for giants (aptly named "Selfie (Giant)". It's greyed-out and can't be selected if your character is not a giant.

For those who don't understand what to do in the "Unleash the Beast" bonus battle, you have 25 seconds to reach two transformation gauges and manually transform, otherwise you lose (you can stop your efforts and retry as soon as Goku says something along the lines of "are you okay?" / "are you alright?").
Therefore, it is partly luck-based, I would advice that you use your rush special move repeatedly on Goku hoping he parries and immediately keep charging your ki so that he combos you as much as possible. Your health should be restored when transforming anyway, so keep on giving him occasions to block your rush special moves and to hit you as much as possible!

[Jord]

The way they count characters feels a bit disingenuous to me. 11 Characters to me is something different than 4 characters with different forms. It's marketing, I know, but it irks me. Especially since most of the different "characters" in SZ don't play that much different from the other forms, with the obvious exception of the giant characters of course.

They've counted the characters like that since the first game. Not really disingenuous if you've been doing it.

I found it misleading back then. People that follow the Dragon Ball games know how they count characters but to other people, it sounds misleading. Especially since in it's definition, a character is different than a form. SSJ1 Gohan isn't a different character than SSJ2 Gohan. It's still the same character, Gohan.

[DarkPrince_92]

Characters in Street Fighter or characters in other fighting games were always separated:

Ryu
Ken (American Ryu)
Sakura (female Ryu)
Dan (Goofy Ryu)
Akuma (Negatvie Ryu)
Evil Ryu (goes without saying...)

etc...

Even if it's a different form SSJ Goku and SSJ2 Goku don't fight exactly the same. In terms of a fighting game, that counts as two characters.

[Koitsukai]

Right, Beast Gohan and SS Gohan aren't the same characters in a fighting game. One has a certain move, the other has others... UI Goku and SSG Goku have different moves and abilities.
Goku is Goku, yes, but SS3 Goku ain't autododging and SSG Goku is not creating any genki dama. Remove the names, the designs and you are talking about models with different programming.

It's not like every Goku model has access to every ability and transformation and skill available for Goku ever, Kid Goku can't use Kaioken... if that were the case, then yes, it would be disingenous to give us 10 Gokus that can all do the same but look slightly different.
You can't use the definition of fictional characters for videogame characters, it doesn't work that way.

[Jord]

Characters in Street Fighter or characters in other fighting games were always separated:

Ryu
Ken (American Ryu)
Sakura (female Ryu)
Dan (Goofy Ryu)
Akuma (Negatvie Ryu)
Evil Ryu (goes without saying...)

etc...

Even if it's a different form SSJ Goku and SSJ2 Goku don't fight exactly the same. In terms of a fighting game, that counts as two characters.

With the possible exception of Evil Ryu, those are different characters with different designs, back stories, variations on move sets. theme songs etc.

[Koitsukai]

They really missed the chance to add Broly's SH outfit, that black upper spandex. They would've had to create Goten and Trunks, so I guess I understand not doing it for characters that barely did a thing, but for Broly it was just putting him a shirt on. Come on!
And also, Vegeta's Buu arc outfit for DBS Vegeta. Was that so hard?

[kemuri07]

Characters in Street Fighter or characters in other fighting games were always separated:

Ryu
Ken (American Ryu)
Sakura (female Ryu)
Dan (Goofy Ryu)
Akuma (Negatvie Ryu)
Evil Ryu (goes without saying...)

etc...

Even if it's a different form SSJ Goku and SSJ2 Goku don't fight exactly the same. In terms of a fighting game, that counts as two characters.

With the possible exception of Evil Ryu, those are different characters with different designs, back stories, variations on move sets. theme songs etc.

Ken used to be simply an American variant of Ryu, but yeah that hasn't been the case for decades. I see where DarkPrince is coming from but Sakura, aside from a similar looking Gi and ki blasts, is radically different than Ryu or Ken. And Dan...well Dan's just Dan. And that's Dandy.

[kemuri07]

So yeah..um. The fuck is with this game?

I bought it on a whim because i found it cheap and, what the heck, it's more Dragon Ball. And I do like the style and presentation of Sparking Zero. While I personally still believe the best looking DBZ game is Fighterz, SZ is no slouch.

Where I'm struggling is how relentlessly difficult this game is. The very first battle with Vegeta: if someone had told me that this was in the middle of a end game boss rush meant to challenge all of your experience of hours of playing this game, I would believe them. But this is a match that happens within the first 10 minutes of the main storyline. Holy shit the cpu starts immediately hitting with advance counters and strikes, will always block and counter anything you throw at them, and that's in addition to the game camera fighting you every step of the way.

I tried some of the tutorial stuff to see if I can find some techniques to help out, but the tutorial is half-assed and terrible that it's pretty useless. The space the game gives you between your opponent attacking to you being able to counter is so small that even if you do hit the right buttons you are absolutely going to get hit anways.

I'll probably see if I can lower the difficulty and see if that makes a difference, but man it's been awhile since I've found a game that is that determined to keep me from having fun with it.

[Mr Baggins]

Where I'm struggling is how relentlessly difficult this game is. The very first battle with Vegeta: if someone had told me that this was in the middle of a end game boss rush meant to challenge all of your experience of hours of playing this game, I would believe them.

I assume you're referring to Great Ape Vegeta, which tends to be everyone's first real obstacle. Here's my tip for that.

But in general, just give yourself time to adjust to the battle mechanics; they're more involved than a lot of arena fighters. Before you know it, you'll find the difference in CPU difficulties almost negligible once you've got a good grasp on them.

Now for some real bullshit, play the "Unleash Beast Power" bonus battle if you own the DLC.

[Cold Skin]

Now for some real bullshit, play the "Unleash Beast Power" bonus battle if you own the DLC.

While quite annoying, it's still more feasible than the "Vegeta VS Beerus" bonus battle, which is also a timed thing, but repeatedly and all-fight long!

At least, you quickly reach the "pass or fail" point in "Unleash Beast Power" and if you pass, the rest of the fight is classic and no big deal!
Still more annoying than it has any right to be, I admit!

[MCDaveG]

Now for some real bullshit, play the "Unleash Beast Power" bonus battle if you own the DLC.

While quite annoying, it's still more feasible than the "Vegeta VS Beerus" bonus battle, which is also a timed thing, but repeatedly and all-fight long!

At least, you quickly reach the "pass or fail" point in "Unleash Beast Power" and if you pass, the rest of the fight is classic and no big deal!
Still more annoying than it has any right to be, I admit!

Yeah, that’s the only battle in the game I haven’t finished as it’s so random… still have like 2 other bonus battles locked because of that. When I lose the string for a bit, Beerus get’s annoyed and destroyes me.

The Episode fights got easier as I’v progressed through them, one can cheese through the Oozaru Vegeta fight with standing back and charging kamehamehas.

[Scsigs]

So yeah..um. The fuck is with this game?

I bought it on a whim because i found it cheap and, what the heck, it's more Dragon Ball. And I do like the style and presentation of Sparking Zero. While I personally still believe the best looking DBZ game is Fighterz, SZ is no slouch.

Where I'm struggling is how relentlessly difficult this game is. The very first battle with Vegeta: if someone had told me that this was in the middle of a end game boss rush meant to challenge all of your experience of hours of playing this game, I would believe them. But this is a match that happens within the first 10 minutes of the main storyline. Holy shit the cpu starts immediately hitting with advance counters and strikes, will always block and counter anything you throw at them, and that's in addition to the game camera fighting you every step of the way.

I tried some of the tutorial stuff to see if I can find some techniques to help out, but the tutorial is half-assed and terrible that it's pretty useless. The space the game gives you between your opponent attacking to you being able to counter is so small that even if you do hit the right buttons you are absolutely going to get hit anways.

I'll probably see if I can lower the difficulty and see if that makes a difference, but man it's been awhile since I've found a game that is that determined to keep me from having fun with it.

NGL, some of the balance in the game feels a little off. Considering there have BEEN balance patches to try to alleviate some of that & Bandai Namco actually put out a survey asking people to let them know how the devs can make the game better, I think they're trying to make it a bit better. Having said that, it's definitely the hardest DB game in years (intentionally) right off the bat & feels like it was mainly made with returning Budokai Tenkaichi players in mind.

The Xenoverse duology (so far) seems like it was made to shake things up to the established formula for DB game stories & incorporate MMO elements, though that series also feels like Tenkaichi by way of Budokai since it's made by Dimps.

FighterZ is made to for fighting game fans whether they already like DB or not, with a story for fans of the original story material.

Kakarot was made to appeal to JRPG & Action RPG fans while giving people a good retelling of the manga's story & some neat twists on other things. Though I have gripes with how they adapted some things (Trunks & Vegeta's big moments didn't get adapted in the Android Arc for no reason is a big contender & they didn't even put them in Trunks' DLC for some reason to make up for it), it was good at portraying what the manga & anime did in its own way, even if it's on the easy side (though they DID add a difficulty select in an update).

This game is made for longtime fans from 20 years ago who enjoyed the Tenkachi games.

Now all we need is a Budokai 0 & we'd be all set on great modern DB games. Maybe a modern console & PC port of the HD Collection with 2 included would be nice, even if 2's soundtrack would have to be replaced.

Also, need to add this since I mostly agree with this sentiment. You can tell that with some of the ways the game was at launch & how the devs have updated some of them that it was rushed out before the devs had time to properly fully finish designing certain elements & playtest it to properly balance everything. Although, it has the opposite problem of, say, Kingdom Hearts 3 where it was too easy at launch & clearly not fully playtested with how straight-up broken & OP some mechanics are. In KH3's case, the difficulty being properly balanced would require a complete overhaul of the combat system itself & enemy designs since Square's devs' decision for Critical Mode was to just make enemies damage sponges, you do piss poor damage, & your stats halved all at once. Fake difficulty. Sparking Zero, I never felt is that unfair outside of the Vegeta Great Ape battle, at least from what I've played of it so far. THAT can go suck a donkey's nutsack.

[kemuri07]

Where I'm struggling is how relentlessly difficult this game is. The very first battle with Vegeta: if someone had told me that this was in the middle of a end game boss rush meant to challenge all of your experience of hours of playing this game, I would believe them.

I assume you're referring to Great Ape Vegeta, which tends to be everyone's first real obstacle. Here's my tip for that.

But in general, just give yourself time to adjust to the battle mechanics; they're more involved than a lot of arena fighters. Before you know it, you'll find the difference in CPU difficulties almost negligible once you've got a good grasp on them.

Now for some real bullshit, play the "Unleash Beast Power" bonus battle if you own the DLC.

It's actually the fight before the oozaru fight that pissed me off way more. And I did lower the difficulty and it does make the fights far more manageable. But SZ does that thing where they "shame" you for picking the lower difficulty by locking you out of the alternative scenarios, which is basically the entire point of playing through the campaign. Because god knows I do not need to see another retelling of Z in one of these fighting games.

I don't mind difficulty in games. I'm not the kind of guy who demands a challenge--and honestly I'm at a point where I'd rather a game be fun than challenging--but a hard game should also be fair. Sparking Zero is not fair with its difficulty. I think they wanted to recreate the intensity of these fights from the anime, they just forgot to make it fun for the player. Because this is not fun and this does not make me want to spend time learning the game mechanics to "git gud."

[Cold Skin]

^ I think locking the alternative paths out of the easy difficulty is also an incentive for players to keep playing to unlock themselves, with the game basically being like: "you know that you'll have it hard to unlock those alternate scenarios you want, but if you play for hours to gather the Dragon Balls, you can wish for it to be automatically unlocked on the easiest difficulty now, so go and play for hours, go."

It's either "well yeah, the conditions are hard, so keep replaying the match with a certain difficulty until you manage to fulfill the conditions, that will keep you busy for a while" or "too hard for you? Then keep replaying other modes until you gather the Dragon Balls to unlock it, that wil keep you busy for a while".

It's obvious they don't want players to quickly unlock the what-ifs they're looking for. They want to use those as carrots to keep you trying for hours on the game, no matter how you do it (desperately replaying the match to meet the conditions or gathering the Dragon Balls to wish for automatic what-if unlocks).