It took more than ten years, but Dragon Ball has finally returned to one of his most popular video game series. Dragon Ball: Sparking Zero marks the revival of the PlayStation 2 and Nintendo Wii Budokai Tenkaichi games from Spike, now Spike Chunsoft, and veterans and newcomers alike to the series are in for a treat. In terms of raw Dragon Ball Z combat simulation, nothing else held a candle Budokai Tenkaichi back in the day, and the same goes for his extremely diverse and niche roster. Dragon Ball: Sparking Zero's roster didn't share the same priorities, but its gameplay and mode selection is spot on Dragon Ball experience.
Even in the sea of great modernity Dragon Ball titles, it's still nice to bring back what worked best with the youth of older fans. A story mode full of “what ifs” Dragon Ball scenarios for players to encounter, tons of things to unlock and buy from the in-game store, and even new monuments Budokai TenkaichiContent such as a fully featured online mode and custom battles are included Sparking Zero's package. Sparking Zero was a glorious return to form, but it's not just a game that's trying its best.
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Spike Chunsoft equips Dragon Ball: Sparking Zero with an extensive battle lineup, and the game shows the gap that One Piece needs to fill.
Dragon Ball: Sparking Zero and Spike Chunsoft's background explained
Spike, Chunsoft, and their post-2012 self, Spike Chunsoft, develop and publish a wide variety of games, and one of their better-known series is their collaboration with Bandai Namco on the Shonen Jump properties. After Dimps finished his Budokai trilogy in 2004, Spike took over in 2005 with Budokai Tenkaichi. Lasting from 2005 to 2007, with PSP spin-off Tenkaichi Tag Team in 2010, Budokai Tenkaichi trilogy was a successful sequel to the traditional third-person inspired fighting game Budokai games and all are held in high esteem today.
Where the reputation of Spike and Budokai Tenkaichi diverged
Dimps and Spike further contributed to Dragon Ball franchise alongside their other projects, with Dimps eventually producing a breakout hit Dragon Ball Heroes and Dragon Ball Xenoverse line in 2010. However, Spike's trajectory couldn't fly straight under the weight of his greatest success. 2009 Dragon Ball: Raging Blast it was considered a decent, if scaled-down, sequel Budokai Tenkaichi 3but Dragon Ball: Raging Blast 2 launching in 2010 with more problems was a bad sign. Dragon Ball Z: Ultimate Tenkaichi contributed the first create-a-character to console Dragon Ball games in 2011, but was otherwise written off just as quickly as Raging Blast 2.
Spike Chunsoft had a rough ride back to their Star Arena Fighter
In 2012, Spike was merged with Chunsoft and released Dragon Ball Z: For Kinect. The Kinect game's flop is no surprise, but it now reads like a kick-off for Spike Chunsoft's licensed arena fighters to freefall. Victory of J-Stars VS was released in Japan in 2014 with a localized re-release in 2015 and One Piece: Burning Blood followed in 2016. Both games have their fans, but agree to embody many of the worst pitfalls anime arena fighters suffer from. The ultimate Tenkaichiis a particular turn towards more realistic textures and lighting.
What Dragon Ball: Sparking Zero might mean for Spike Chunsoft's future
In the end, Spike Chunsoft and Bandai Namco hit the bottom Jump power in 2019 and One-Punch Man: The Hero Nobody Knows in 2020. These games were so poorly received that Spike Chunsoft's confirmation as a Budokai Tenkaichi revival developer was cause for concern. Luckily Spike Chunsoft got up from his nose just before his last big hit was tainted. Bandai Namco probably helped make sure Sparking Zero lived up to Budokai Tenkaichiis a Japanese name, but it's still stunning how dramatic a turnaround from Spike Chunsoft's last arena fighter Sparking Zero is. with any luck Dragon Ball: Sparking Zero redeemed Spike Chunsoft's name so much that it's not an immediate red flag for future licensed fighting games.