After many years, Dragon Ball: Sparking Zero, the spiritual successor of the beloved Dragon Ball Budokai Tenkaichi series, is back and looking better than ever.
Bandai Namco and Spike Chunsoft’s return to its airborne fighting game system is one fans have been craving for a while, and with advances in animation techniques over the last decade, it’s hard not to see why there’s so much hype.
However, let’s not beat around the bush on this one. If you’re more used to Dragon Ball FighterZ or other more conventional fighting games, you may find Dragon Ball Sparking Zero is a bit of a handful toward the beginning of the campaign, particularly if you’re trying to unlock any of Goku’s branching paths or Vegeta’s side stories. Think of this as a guide to help you get started if you’ve never played the Budokai Tenkaichi series or a reminder for veterans who haven’t played in years.
Best tips for Dragon Ball Sparking Zero
Run through the Battle Training mode first
Before you begin with the Episode Battle mode or other single-player offerings, it’s in your best interests to go through and truly understand what all the buttons do. From the main menu, go to Battle & Training, select Super Training, then Battle Training. This will pit you as Gohan (Adult) against Piccolo.
From here, you’ll have the opportunity to test out all your options. Since Dragon Ball Sparking Zero is a 3D fighter, you’ll want to have one finger arched near the RB/R1 button at all times, as this is your primary method of blocking and countering attacks. Knowing the timing of all the countering moves is critical, and they’re universal across the 100+ roster.
Charging your Ki
Unlike most fighting games where the emphasis is on performing high-hit combos, Dragon Ball Sparking Zero is more about charging your Ki to unleash powerful attacks. You can do this by holding down the RT/R2 trigger on your controller. If you have at least one Sparking level, which is the number below your character’s portrait, you’ll enter Sparking mode. Charge this new bar that appears fully and you’ll be able to use your character’s most powerful moves.
Be prepared to deflect Ki Blasts while charging your own Ki
While you’re far away from each other, there is the temptation to ignore your opponent and just watch the Ki bar go up. This is a mistake, as your foe can stop your channeling at any time with a well-placed Ki Blast. You can also do this to your opponent
As for how to defend yourself against Rush Ki Blasts, you can hold down the RB/R1 button to block them or press and hold the same button as the first of a salvo of weaker projectiles hits you to deflect that wave of blasts. If you’re playing a game of cat and mouse where the other player is more than happy to spam projectile-based Super Attacks, fire one of your own off to force a clash. Push the on-screen button at the right time to gain more power and after a short time, provided you’ve done it correctly, the opponent should take the brunt force of both attacks.
Take advantage of Violent Rush and use Ultimate Blasts sparingly
It can be tempting to charge your Ki fully to Sparking mode and unleash your most powerful attacks immediately. This has a high chance of missing if you just let it rip randomly, so you should hit your opponent several times before unleashing the Ultimate Blast as the final blow. You can do this by using a Violent Rush.
While you’re in Sparking Mode, your melee combos will be extended exponentially, meaning they do more overall damage. On top of this, your opponent will automatically fly away from you after a certain number of hits, leaving them open to follow-up attacks.
Of course, your opponent can anticipate this and prepare to use High-Speed Evasion to appear behind you and smack you away. This is your opportunity to hit them with a High-Speed Evasion of your own, with a potential counter to send them flying. If you manage to hit it, push forward on your left stick and press A/Cross to fly after them. Land one more melee attack to set up a guaranteed hit with your Ultimate Blast technique.
Close the distance after charging with boosts, then use Violent Rush repeatedly to get their health down as far as possible. After the second one, if the opponent is on the ground or has been sent flying by a powerful counter, you can use your Ultimate Blast to get what’s known in the FGC as a “hit confirm.” This will result in slightly lower damage overall for this attack, but a guaranteed hit is always better than none.
Don’t be afraid to flee and use the terrain to hide
Sometimes, the best thing you can do is disengage. Holding RT/R2 and pressing A will activate Dragon Rush, which sees you soar through the air at the cost of some of your super meter. If you position yourself between terrain, most AI opponents will either charge their Ki or try to blast any debris between them and yourself. Either way, this is your opportunity to channel your own Ki to reignite the Sparking mode and get you back into the fight.
