PS5's Sparking! Zero Feels Like Dragon Ball Z, But You May Need Super Saiyan Reflexes | Push Square

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Dragon Ball: Sparking! Zero producer Jun Furutani’s smile is as wide as Goku’s chest when we tell him the game feels like an interactive anime; it’s clear this has been Bandai Namco’s goal from the beginning. Having played the latest entry in the acclaimed Budokai Tenkaichi series for over three hours, it’s obvious this is going to be one of the biggest games of the year; Dragon Ball has always been ludicrously popular, but the series is enjoying a real pop culture moment right now, with practically every high street clothing chain carrying its own collection of attire related to the legendary Akira Toriyama series.

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In fact, the PS2 games remain colossal hits, with boxed copies of 2007’s acclaimed Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 3 fetching prices of up to $150 on auction sites. We asked Furatani how this golden era of Dragon Ball gaming had informed development of Sparking! Zero, and he told us that “the idea is to make sure whoever played the old games” instantly feels familiar with this new one. Certainly the similarities are immediately obvious, with a battle system that feels larger than life – but it’s also important to underline it’s been 17 years and two PlayStation console generations since the last instalment, so the production values have come a long way.

“[On PS5] we can express the superpowers even more precisely,” he noted. “For example, you charge your power, and then y’know the trees – the trees are wiggling. The grass is swaying. The sky is changing – and you get this real feeling that, just like in the anime, you actually have superpowers.”

It’s undeniable that, with the DualSense in hand, Dragon Ball: Sparking! Zero feels exceptional. Despite a complicated control scheme, which gives you the freedom to fly around the stage, every clash between the characters carries weight. Dramatic Kamehameha animations depict the build-up to every special move, while collapsing scenery and exploding buildings give you an