After the initial teaser was revealed last year, Sparking! ZERO garnered a lot of traction, and deservedly so. Countless fans have grown up with the Budokai Tenkaichi series and had been begging Bandai Namco for a fourth game year after year. Even then, the game broke ridiculous numbers on day 1, selling over 3 million copies, a feat that took God of War 3 days to achieve.

Nostalgia is undoubtedly a factor with Sparking! ZERO’s commercial success. Everything from the packed-to-the-brim roster to the electric controls and 'What If' story modes made a comeback. It is a spirit bomb of nostalgia and a time capsule that catapults you to a decade ago. Yet, the game feels like much more than just a quick grab at nostalgia play; it’s packed with new over-the-top mechanics, a fresh new iteration of the story mode, and treasure trove of other exciting features.

Starting with gameplay, this game didn’t disappoint one bit. As someone who’s lived off the previous instalments in the series, Sparking! ZERO’s combat feels even better than its predecessors, especially due to its amazing visuals and smoothness. The game is highly responsive, and it feels very satisfying to bounce around foes like tumbleweed and land multiple bouts of teleport kicking and power blasts with so much force that they destroy mountains in the process.

However, it is worth noting that it takes some time to get used to the controls since they’re quite different from other fighter games. That isn’t to say that you’ll need to memorise lengthy combos. Quite the contrary; you will mostly be smashing square and triangle. Instead, the game is mechanically dense. As you progress, you'll need to learn to deal with movement in Mach 10 speed, teleporting, charging up your ki, and triggering transformations.

The game features a story mode named “Episode Battles” which takes us through the canonical stories of Goku, Vegeta, Gohan, Piccolo, Frieza, Goku Black, Future Trunks, and Jiren. The progressions are fairly predictable if you've seen the original show before. But what elevates the story mode is the fan-service-heaven: what-if scenarios. Completing certain bonus objectives or making choices in cutscenes trigger non-canon, alternate-path retellings of the same story. It is head-canon galore, and a must-try.

And just like the previous games, it can prove to be quite difficult to beat some of the bosses in Sparking! Zero, but I believe it’s part of the fun and overall appeal. There’s a feature to lower the difficulty as well if needed.

On the other hand, the game has started a competitive scene with its ranked mode as PvP enthusiasts fight with other to climb up the rank ladder. Players are able to use some power ups they obtained through playing the game or through the shop. There’s even an option to play offline PvP which a lot of people commonly consider as “Couch Co-op”. This allows people to bring over their friends and family to have a fun time.

The option to customize characters is a refreshing addition as one can customize their preferred character’s attire to their liking by choosing from the provided options. Overall, the entire game and subsequent experience, with its spectacular lighting effects, stunning beam clashes, and heart-racing frenzies, is wrapped up in a visually gorgeous package.

DRAGON BALL: Sparking! ZERO is outright a must buy if one can afford its steep price of 69.99 USD. While some caveats might exist with its story mode and lacklustre tutorial, it makes up for it with the nostalgia rush and improved fronts.

Oheen is the most uninteresting and boring guy you'll meet. Provide him with some joy in his life at [email protected]