Hannan Mundia 
A Dragon Ball: Sparking Zero gameplay showcase revealed new additions to the traditional Budokai Tenkaichi series’ gameplay and tech including abilities like Revenge Counters and Vanishing Assaults.
Dragon Ball fans worldwide await the release of Dragon Ball: Sparking Zero, a game that resurrects the dormant but iconic Budokai Tenkaichi series. With Bandai Namco slowly but surely giving fans information on the upcoming game, a gameplay showcase finally revealed what the combat will be like.
Alongside a major character reveal in the Japanese magazine V-Jump, the company dropped a 12-minute trailer showing what the series looks like on modern gaming hardware and some of the new features fans can look forward to. Though the game still maintains the style of the PlayStation 2 classics, it seems to be raising the tempo in a big way.
New Dragon Ball: Sparking Zero gameplay mechanics
Dragon Ball: Sparking Zero will have four new gameplay mechanics added to the classic DBZ Budokai Tenkaichi titles including Skill Count, Revenge Counter, Super Perception, and Vanishing Assaults. It will also have major changes to the game’s movement.
The regular movement is as quick as in previous Budokai Tenkaichi games, allowing for fast-paced battles. The button for dashing in previous titles now gives characters a short burst of speed that can be used to dodge attacks, make distance, or close in on an opponent.
Skill Count is a meter that builds up during the match to unlock unique abilities. Two of those abilities are Revenge Counter and Super Perception. Revenge Counter lets players absorb the enemy’s attack and strike back to send the opponent flying. Super Perception, when used at the right time, performs a counterattack that can even send blast-type moves like the Kamehameha and Galick Gun flying.
Finally, Vanishing Assault is a technique that allows characters to “approach an enemy instantly and swoop in.” Since this technique consumes ki, players have to smartly use it to avoid being caught off guard.
Is Dragon Ball: Sparking Zero different from Budokai Tenkaichi?
Dragon Ball: Sparking Zero’s combat will be much faster than the Budokai Tenkaichi series, despite being an official sequel.
Just like the Budokai Tenkaichi games, Sparking Zero gives all the playable characters multiple health bars and a ki bar they can charge to replenish. However, thanks to the movement revamp, characters fly across the sandbox arenas quickly while the Vanishing Assaults mechanic allows players to close the distance between them and the enemy instantly, making for less downtime and more fighting.
Beam clashes return in Sparking Zero, but instead of the players mashing a specific button to win the clash, it’s more like Dragon Ball Z: Budokai 3 as players press one button at the right time to build up power.
Jun Furutani, the producer of Dragon Ball: Sparking Zero, stated that Spike Chunsoft and Bandai Namco paid attention to the “graphical aspects” alongside the new gameplay elements, which might explain the size requirements. Mechanics like “Ultimate Blast” are added to take advantage of the “current generation of consoles.”
