Dragon Ball: Sparking! Zero Review (PS5) | Push Square

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Close to two decades after its release, beloved PS2 arena fighter Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 3 has been handed a sequel in all but name. Dragon Ball: Sparking! Zero is a throwback of epic proportions — the kind of all-out, franchise-encompassing brawler that's been sorely missed beyond the Naruto Ninja Storm series.

Zero's biggest selling point is undoubtedly its roster, which is suitably gigantic. While the original Dragon Ball has been left behind (DLC, perhaps?), the game covers Dragon Ball Z, GT, every fan-favourite Z-era movie, and a huge chunk of Super. The result is a truly spectacular playable roster; you can spend hours just jumping from character to character, gawking at their animations and special attacks.

On a surface level it's a ridiculously good-looking release, boasting some of the absolute best anime-infused visuals you'll find in gaming. Bandai Namco's pumped some serious budget into this one and it shows — especially when ultimate moves are unleashed and the animations are so on-point that the source material starts to look inadequate.

So Zero's got the roster and it's got the looks — but how does it play? Well, for starters, it feels like a proper arena fighter — like a PS2 title brought forward in time. It's fast-paced, incredibly punchy, and it has little regard for balance. Fun is the primary goal here, backed by an unshakable reverence for all things Dragon Ball.

To be clear, though, Zero isn't just some braindead button-masher. Much like its predecessors, there's a deceptive level of depth to the game, as you're constantly having to weigh up a wide range of both offensive and defensive techniques. Admittedly, the mechanics are a bit messy; there are at least three different types of counters to wrap your head around, for example, but battles are often so frantic that trying to get a read on your opponent's moves can feel impossible.

And this is where Zero stumbles — at least initially. While there is a dedicated training mode that