Dragon Ball: Sparking! ZERO is the long-anticipated return of the Budokai Tenkaichi series, which, from the very first entry in the series, set itself apart from most games based on the series created by Akira Toriyama with its explosive gameplay that well represented the intense fights filled with energy blasts and all sorts of other explosive combat techniques.
During Gamescom 2024, we had the chance not only to try out the game but also to speak with the game's producer Jun Furutani, discussing the return of the series, the available game modes, the netcode, and the possibility of high framerate options. Enjoy!
The interview was conducted via an interpreter and has been edited for clarity.
Dragon Ball: Sparking! ZERO is releasing a long time after the previous entry in the series. Why did it take so long, considering how Dragon Ball's popularity continues to be immense?
When we released Dragon Ball: Budokai Tenkaichi 3, I thought the game was almost complete. At the same time, I had a lot of plans for other games. However, with the advancement of new technology, new game engines, and current-generation consoles, we had become able to deliver new surprises over the previous entry in the series, so it felt the right time had come to bring back the series, and we went ahead and developed Dragon Ball: Sparking! ZERO.
Earlier today, I tried out the game, and it felt familiar and very accessible right from the start. However, I noticed the game had some additional accessibility options. Why were these added, considering the series has always been quite accessible?
The previous entries in the series featured very fast gameplay, which made it difficult for a lot of beginners to play them. When I played the series for the first time, I had some trouble controlling my character, and I lost to my friends. (laughs) Nowadays, with games like Dragon Ball FighterZ and other competitive games, it is possible to perform combos with just a single button, which makes it a game that's easy to play at the most basic level, something that's great for beginners.
I wanted to do something similar with Dragon Ball: Sparking! ZERO and make the action feel good for every sort of player, providing options that would make the game enjoyable, no matter the skill level. Advanced players can perform the most complicated inputs manually, have more options, and can reach a higher level, so there's still the motivation to turn off these assistance options, as they are meant to help players who have never played a game in the series before.
Dragon Ball: Sparking! ZERO is powered by Unreal Engine 5. Why did you go with it? Has it allowed you to do things not possible otherwise?
The game focuses on letting the player feel like a Dragon Ball character, so immersion is extremely important, and Unreal Engine 5 allowed us to improve it with more real-time graphics, such as visual effects when a character powers up, when the sky darkens, and so on. Additionally, during the game's high-speed, high-power battles, characters can be launched towards buildings or mountains, whose destruction is in real-time. All this has been possible by using Unreal Engine 5, making battles even more exciting.
Dragon Ball: Sparking! ZERO has a lot of characters. How did you pick characters? Is there any character that was originally considered but was later dropped?
Being the new entry in a long-running series, it was natural to start off with characters featured in the previous games. Budokai Tenkaichi 3 had 161 characters, and we are aiming to go even higher in Dragon Ball: Sparking! ZERO. Like the previous games, there are character variants from different eras, which is something fans loved to see in the older games, so by doing the same in the new game, players will be able to feel familiar with the experience right from the start. As the Dragon Ball story has evolved since the release of the previous game, we have added characters from Dragon Ball Super on top of the existing roster.
As for characters that did not make it into Dragon Ball: Sparking! ZERO, I cannot talk about it, as we have a strict policy on the matter and do not want to spoil anything. Sorry.
How did you approach balancing with such a huge roster? Have canonically weaker characters been balanced so that they can hold their own against stronger ones?
Dragon Ball: Sparking! ZERO is not a competitive game like Dragon Ball FighterZ, where there must be some balance between characters. The game is all about providing a Dragon Ball experience, so characters who are strong in the anime and manga are just as strong in the game. For example, a character like Gogeta is going to be very strong, while others like Mr. Satan will struggle a lot. It's all part of Dragon Ball and, thus, the game.
At the same time, however, we do have a system that balances the power of every character. In tournaments, for example, each character has a cost, so players will not be able to pick the five strongest characters for their team, forcing them to balance things out and still providing a reason for a player to pick a weaker character.
Dragon Ball: Sparking! ZERO features a single-player mode called Episode Battles. How many of them are there? Is there any secret scenario to unlock?
Episode Battles cover the Dragon Ball story from the battle with the Saiyans until the Dragon Ball Super Power Tournament. However, there will be a different number of battles, depending on the character. Of the playable characters, which include Goku, Gohan, Piccolo and Vegeta, Goku will have the most battles, starting from his battle against Raditz until the Power Tournament. Additional Episodes can also be unlocked while playing.
Any other single-player mode?
Dragon Ball: Sparking! ZERO also features a custom battle mode that lets players create their own scenarios, pick among a selection of pre-set battles, and share their custom battles online. There's also a local Tournament Mode where eight players compete for the top spot using different rules. While this is primarily a local and online multiplayer mode, it can also be played in single-player mode against opponents controlled by the AI.
Besides Tournament Mode, which modes will be available for online play?
Dragon Ball: Sparking! ZERO's online modes include a ranking mode, a player match mode where players can freely create a room and invite their friends to play, and the aforementioned Tournament mode.
Which type of netcode will the game feature?
Delay-based netcode.
Speaking about multiplayer, Dragon Ball: Sparking! ZERO will launch with a local multiplayer mode that will support only a single map. Are there any plans to expand the map selection over time?
I can't comment on this yet. Please wait for more information in the future.
Modern fighting games support high refresh rate monitors to reduce input delay. Will Dragon Ball: Sparking! ZERO follow suit?
There are no plans to offer a high refresh rate mode on any platform. The game will run at 60 frames per second across PC and consoles.
Thank you for your time!
