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

[Cold Skin]

It'll be interesting to see each new trailer or V-Jump reveal confirm or deny some theories.

Right now, mine is - and even more so after seeing the dodgy answer from the interview regarding GT - that GT content will be off the table for the base game and kept for DLC, as well as anything from the 13 DBZ movies.
As a TV movie, Future Gohan and the original Bardack might get a pass though (even though I'd prefer if they gave priority to the current Bardack).

The story mode would focus on the main continuity, meaning a bit of DB (possibly, but not sure) + DBZ + DBS (and maybe Daima to surf on the wave of noverty, depending on when the story happens?).
But I wouldn't be surprise if they sort of made an exception to consider the old version of Bardack as still happening somewhere in the line of depicted events somehow.

The whole base roster would be focused on that plan, the rest being added with no story content just for those who want to play freely with them, who want to access any character to play with friends or who want to generate/reproduce their own stories.
I think no what-if character will happen, not even as DLC, meaning nothing from Heroes or the various card games will be included.
Only C-21 might have a pass, and even that is uncertain. Possibly Mira, Towa and Demigra (a lot less chances for the latter), as they seem to have a certain of tolerance too when it comes to integrating to other non-card games (Kakarot for example). But don't expect Super Saiyan 4 Broly, Super Saiyan 3 Vegeta, Shallot and so on if you ask me...

So there you go, and I can't wait for each revelation to confirm or cancel my theory.
Base game: (DB) + DBZ main continuity + DBS (+ Daima ?).
DLC: extra additions to those + DBZ movie characters + DBGT (+ Daima if not already included in the base game).
Absent: Heroes, any transformation characters never had in one of the main series' stories.

I'm fine with that, but I'd be happy to be proven wrong by new revelations as it would mean some fans would undoubtedly be happy to have more than what I expected.

[sangofe]

It'll be interesting to see each new trailer or V-Jump reveal confirm or deny some theories.

Right now, mine is - and even more so after seeing the dodgy answer from the interview regarding GT - that GT content will be off the table for the base game and kept for DLC, as well as anything from the 13 DBZ movies.
As a TV movie, Future Gohan and the original Bardack might get a pass though (even though I'd prefer if they gave priority to the current Bardack).

The story mode would focus on the main continuity, meaning a bit of DB (possibly, but not sure) + DBZ + DBS (and maybe Daima to surf on the wave of noverty, depending on when the story happens?).
But I wouldn't be surprise if they sort of made an exception to consider the old version of Bardack as still happening somewhere in the line of depicted events somehow.

The whole base roster would be focused on that plan, the rest being added with no story content just for those who want to play freely with them, who want to access any character to play with friends or who want to generate/reproduce their own stories.
I think no what-if character will happen, not even as DLC, meaning nothing from Heroes or the various card games will be included.
Only C-21 might have a pass, and even that is uncertain. Possibly Mira, Towa and Demigra (a lot less chances for the latter), as they seem to have a certain of tolerance too when it comes to integrating to other non-card games (Kakarot for example). But don't expect Super Saiyan 4 Broly, Super Saiyan 3 Vegeta, Shallot and so on if you ask me...

So there you go, and I can't wait for each revelation to confirm or cancel my theory.
Base game: (DB) + DBZ main continuity + DBS (+ Daima ?).
DLC: extra additions to those + DBZ movie characters + DBGT (+ Daima if not already included in the base game).
Absent: Heroes, any transformation characters never had in one of the main series' stories.

I'm fine with that, but I'd be happy to be proven wrong by new revelations as it would mean some fans would undoubtedly be happy to have more than what I expected.

There's no way they're putting Daima in the base game. I'd be pleasantly surprised if they put the whole story of DBS.

[Bardock God of Time]

Daima is probably a pre-order bonus and then part of the first season pass

If we get any GT we have to at least have SSJ4 Goku, Vegeta and Gogeta.

[Gt91]

I found this email address on various social networks. Try sending feedback on the game if you want!

community@bandainamcoent.eu

[IntangibleFancy]

It’s been almost a year since Sparking Zero (or Tenkaichi 4 since that’s what we used to call it back then) got announced. About 7 days until the anni.

When do you guys think power vs speed will release? I have hope that they’re not gonna make us wait until the next big gaming event for it, I feel like the Vjump wouldn’t have said anything about it, or call the page “part 1” if they were just going to sit on it for months.

[Rinsankajugin]

It’s been almost a year since Sparking Zero (or Tenkaichi 4 since that’s what we used to call it back then) got announced. About 7 days until the anni.

When do you guys think power vs speed will release? I have hope that they’re not gonna make us wait until the next big gaming event for it, I feel like the Vjump wouldn’t have said anything about it, or call the page “part 1” if they were just going to sit on it for months.

I'm sure we won't have to wait too long. If they're gonna report on the news next V-Jump, then it'll have to be within the next couple weeks. With a roster as big as Sparking Zero's they're probably gonna have to do a trailer every month to cover everyone.

[Rafa Fast]

I wonder if the game has a theme song with vocals and if they will show it in a trailer?

[IntangibleFancy]

Any reason why the DBGames Twitter is just posting HD scans of the trailer? I mean, I’m glad that they’re finally marketing the game, but it doesn’t really feel as cool anymore, and the trailer was already clear enough, it’s like the Twitter posts have any new discoveries.

I feel like new shots of the confirmed Goku’s and Vegeta’s or gifs of the full attacks shown in the trailer would have been much better.

[Bardock God of Time]

Any reason why the DBGames Twitter is just posting HD scans of the trailer? I mean, I’m glad that they’re finally marketing the game, but it doesn’t really feel as cool anymore, and the trailer was already clear enough, it’s like the Twitter posts have any new discoveries.

I feel like new shots of the confirmed Goku’s and Vegeta’s or gifs of the full attacks shown in the trailer would have been much better.

The anime game twitters (Dragon Ball Games and Naruto Games) are usually behind on information (outside videos)

Naruto twitter had an image of Storm Connections (the game came out a few months ago) saying to play the story when we've all known about it for months.

[IntangibleFancy]

Any reason why the DBGames Twitter is just posting HD scans of the trailer? I mean, I’m glad that they’re finally marketing the game, but it doesn’t really feel as cool anymore, and the trailer was already clear enough, it’s like the Twitter posts have any new discoveries.

I feel like new shots of the confirmed Goku’s and Vegeta’s or gifs of the full attacks shown in the trailer would have been much better.

The anime game twitters (Dragon Ball Games and Naruto Games) are usually behind on information (outside videos)

Naruto twitter had an image of Storm Connections (the game came out a few months ago) saying to play the story when we've all known about it for months.

Darn. At first I thought there was a reason to it. Like they were posting Goku’s and Vegeta’s leading up to an important date like the 5th (SZ being reveled) or something, for the third trailer. Then I realized they don’t really have a set date and time. they’ve been posting bi-weekly instead of daily and even though they’re usually posted at 12:PM I think one or two were released much later. So yeah, I guess it’s just random social media interns throwing us a bone.

[tinlunlau]

Anybody planning to buy the digital copy the minute it comes out in Asia? Mind you, there is usually a 12-13 hour head start in Asia because of time zone difference. Pretty sure it won't be any English in the Hong Kong and Taiwan release since that is what Bandai has been doing for their games lately but I can read Chinese so language barrier is no issue for me.

[YMK_8000]

i still think while we have time to backtrack they should cancelled this game. I think the nostalgia of the old games is clouding peoples judgement that this game will be good in any capacity. Which i find funny and hypocritical a fandom that screams I'm tired of call backs and nostalgia yet falling for more callbacks and nostlagia in video game form . An arena fighter isnt the solution especially after the reception of Storm Connections & Cursed Clash. Those on this website need to step outside the dragonball old geezer echo chamber & actualy see whats being said anime fans in general are tired of kusoge party game arena fighters & want more balanced competitive games.

my theory is if this releases were are sadly heading back to the PS3 era of quality for dragonball games. Even Fighterz after that lastest "rollback" update is generally unplayable due to the cloning/t-pose glitches that wont be fixed. So if a game like that which even by the haters of the franchise is seen as our best game has become crap. What hope do you have from a studio with a bad track record of anime games and even before release lacking basic features ( no split screen, netcode? lobbies?) fighting games should have post Street Fighter 6.

[VegettoEX]

Those on this website need to step outside the dragonball old geezer echo chamber & actualy see whats being said anime fans in general are tired of kusoge party game arena fighters & want more balanced competitive games.

I'm... not sure you're actually paying attention to who's saying what. For example, I am literally the eldest geezer here and I've been shouting from the rooftops for 20 years now that I don't want these types of games and I prefer the competitive "real fighting games." I was never more excited than getting the announcements of Super Dragon Ball Z and Dragon Ball FighterZ.

That said, the nostalgia grab for this game is absolutely the right call for both the western and Japanese audience. There is massive love for this game series, not from the geezers or boomers you seem to think, but from the folks a decade younger than me that played the hell of of them in high school and college.

They should have done this a few years ago honestly, and had FighterZ 2 (or ideally a "Jump FighterZ") ready to go by this point, but that's just my personal marketing/brand management perspective.

[Xeogran]

I'm tired of competitive games and want something to relax with, and Sparking Zero is gonna be a good return to form.
FighterZ, as cool as it is, isn't exactly my style of a game.

FZ is still nice to play a round and two from time to time, but not something I would spend many hours in and I'm sure a lot of DB fans are in my boat - which is why Xenoverse 2 and Kakarot both continue getting new content to this day.

[ObnoxiousNamek]

I'm tired of competitive games and want something to relax with, and Sparking Zero is gonna be a good return to form.
FighterZ, as cool as it is, isn't exactly my style of a game.

FZ is still nice to play a round and two from time to time, but not something I would spend many hours in and I'm sure a lot of DB fans are in my boat - which is why Xenoverse 2 and Kakarot both continue getting new content to this day.

But in regards to DB games its widely unbalanced there are only 2 games that legitimately can be considered competitive in all of the DB games Super DBZ and Fighterz. Honorable mention is Zenkai Battle Royale which had tournaments in Japan up until 2019 and that game came out in 2011 ish. So 2 (3 depend on who you ask) competitive games vs theMANY arena fighter clones and other misc type games over 40 years of this franchise it seems we are heavily oversaturated on non competitive DB games.

[Mr Baggins]

I'm tired of competitive games and want something to relax with, and Sparking Zero is gonna be a good return to form.
FighterZ, as cool as it is, isn't exactly my style of a game.

Agreed.

Now, personally, for DBZ, I grew up playing older 2D-style fighters released in the west like Ultimate Battle 22 (show of hands for how many know that one was actually localized!) and the original Budokai series, and am not all that familiar with the Tenkaichi series outside of its massive roster and content, myself.

FighterZ, of course, is more mechanically sound than any of those games I mentioned. But for me, it's a bit safe and generic – if I wanted to play a good traditional fighting game, I think there's a multitude of better choices in the genre. I'm also not all that big on FighterZ's roster (especially its choice of forms) or artstyle either, though I'm aware that's personal preference and I'm probably in the minority on that.

So from my end, I'm excited for Sparking! ZERO because it's almost completely new territory for me. It just looks like a fun DB fantasy simulator. A lot of my exposure to past games in this series was watching vids/streams of random AI match-ups, which are wild, and it goes without saying that it looks fantastic; I don't think I've loved the visuals this much in a Dragon Ball game outside of Kakarot's pre-rendered cutscenes.

Hoping it's a solid experience.

[LoganForkHands73]

As a fan of more competitive games, I do think some 'magic' is lost whenever a game becomes too competitively-driven. I'm far from the first person to make observations on casual vs. competitive mindsets, but let's face it, after a while people just want to play to win, not just for fun or affection for the characters and setting. I seem to remember Steven Spielberg expressing similar beliefs, even though he's a huge advocate for video games as an art form. While Dragon Ball had a really strong, stylish stint as an eSports darling with the runaway success of FighterZ, a large part of me doesn't want that to be the only video game status quo for the franchise. I'm also not as intimately familiar with the old Sparking! games, but I appreciate the series' value as a laidback and accessible alternative to technical, demanding, execution-heavy 2D fighting games. They're the games you bust out when you're sharing a drink and smoke with your pals at midnight. On top of being more casual-friendly, the series is more about celebrating the huge, colourful cast the franchise has to offer.

If anything, I'd be down for even more casual-friendly games. Let's have a Mario Party game with Dragon Ball characters, where they all get to banter and fuck each other over for more zeni and Dragon Balls. You can have characters with big personalities and low combat potential that would (probably) never even make it into a Sparking game, let alone a FighterZ game: Bulma, Oolong, Pilaf, Dende, Jaco, Galactic King, Monaka, Zeno, Gowasu.

[Jord]

I'm tired of competitive games and want something to relax with, and Sparking Zero is gonna be a good return to form.
FighterZ, as cool as it is, isn't exactly my style of a game.

FZ is still nice to play a round and two from time to time, but not something I would spend many hours in and I'm sure a lot of DB fans are in my boat - which is why Xenoverse 2 and Kakarot both continue getting new content to this day.

But in regards to DB games its widely unbalanced there are only 2 games that legitimately can be considered competitive in all of the DB games Super DBZ and Fighterz. Honorable mention is Zenkai Battle Royale which had tournaments in Japan up until 2019 and that game came out in 2011 ish. So 2 (3 depend on who you ask) competitive games vs theMANY arena fighter clones and other misc type games over 40 years of this franchise it seems we are heavily oversaturated on non competitive DB games.

Speaking of, too bad that one didn't get ported to consoles. It was pretty fun.

[ObnoxiousNamek]

I'm tired of competitive games and want something to relax with, and Sparking Zero is gonna be a good return to form.
FighterZ, as cool as it is, isn't exactly my style of a game.

FZ is still nice to play a round and two from time to time, but not something I would spend many hours in and I'm sure a lot of DB fans are in my boat - which is why Xenoverse 2 and Kakarot both continue getting new content to this day.

But in regards to DB games its widely unbalanced there are only 2 games that legitimately can be considered competitive in all of the DB games Super DBZ and Fighterz. Honorable mention is Zenkai Battle Royale which had tournaments in Japan up until 2019 and that game came out in 2011 ish. So 2 (3 depend on who you ask) competitive games vs theMANY arena fighter clones and other misc type games over 40 years of this franchise it seems we are heavily oversaturated on non competitive DB games.

Speaking of, too bad that one didn't get ported to consoles. It was pretty fun.

Indeed it was it was the closest thing DB has had to Gundam Extreme Versus the only thing that it was missing was a boost/Movement meter( similar to the action bar in Super DBZ) & a cost/ratio system.If a DB arena fighter game ever combines Zenkai Battle Royale with the complex mechanics of Gundam EXVS I'm guarantee that will be the 1st anime arena fighter ever on a main stage at EVO.

[sangofe]

I'm tired of competitive games and want something to relax with, and Sparking Zero is gonna be a good return to form.
FighterZ, as cool as it is, isn't exactly my style of a game.

FZ is still nice to play a round and two from time to time, but not something I would spend many hours in and I'm sure a lot of DB fans are in my boat - which is why Xenoverse 2 and Kakarot both continue getting new content to this day.

But in regards to DB games its widely unbalanced there are only 2 games that legitimately can be considered competitive in all of the DB games Super DBZ and Fighterz. Honorable mention is Zenkai Battle Royale which had tournaments in Japan up until 2019 and that game came out in 2011 ish. So 2 (3 depend on who you ask) competitive games vs theMANY arena fighter clones and other misc type games over 40 years of this franchise it seems we are heavily oversaturated on non competitive DB games.

Speaking of, too bad that one didn't get ported to consoles. It was pretty fun.

Did you try the full version or demo only?