Anime Herald

Five Minutes In Heaven With Vegeta At The Dragon Ball Sparking! Zero Road Tour

Added 2024-09-30 00:10:58 +0000 UTC

Note: Due to the time-sensitive nature of our coverage, this article will debut on the main Anime Herald site on October 5 . We apologize for the inconvenience.

Author: Madeline Blondeau
Editor: Samantha Ferreira

The Burnside Skatepark in Portland, OR – suitably located beneath the east end of the Burnside Bridge – has a storied history in film and gaming. It was included as a level in a few different Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater titles – including the inaugural entry – and appeared in pictures like Gus Van Sant’s Paranoid Park. Established on October 31, 1990, the park was put together with no permission from the city; the first ramp was made by pouring concrete against the bridge’s main wall in an empty parking lot. Despite its international reputation and landmark place in the DIY skating movement, Burnside receives no funding from the City of Portland and relies on donations.

On a sweltering, end-of-summer Saturday, my partner and I arrived at the iconic park for the first time despite being locals for several years between us. We weren’t there to skate, though – we’ve always been more longboard gals. August 31 was the Portland stop for the Dragon Ball Sparking! Zero Road Tour, a four-month promotion for Bandai-Namco’s upcoming video game. These events are open to the public, and tend to be stationed at similar locales. The tour wraps up on November 23 in Irwindale, CA, at the Hot Import Nights and Hot Pit Autofest.

While a car show might seem a far cry from Burnside or, say, Kona Skatepark in Jacksonville, it makes sense – cars are a central part of the tour. The first thing I noticed, as I descended the stairs between two buildings and took a left onto 3rd, was a striking trailer emblazoned with the Sparking! Zero cover art. Then – just in front of it – was my first peek at the two-vehicle showcase: a lifted suspension Dodge Ram 3500. It was wrapped with key art from the game and, naturally, emblazoned with the game’s logo. This is always the tricky duality of branded wrapped cars: giving them striking glance value while also reminding people what you want them to buy. With how preposterous this Ram is, though, it certainly gets the message across – perhaps even drives over one with it.

Just past the trailer was another whip, albeit a much svelter one. This Lamborghini was sharp, and featured only one notable illustration – a zoomed-in close-up of Goku. On the doors were two more logos. If held at Gatlick gunpoint, I wouldn’t be able to identify the exact make or model of the sports car, even after finding a few videos of the vehicle online. I regret to inform any disappointed readers that I am not, in fact, a car otaku.

Luckily, I didn’t need to know anything about cars to shut my mouth and get in line to play a video game. A diverse gaggle of Dragon Ball fans – some in appropriate branded shirts – lined up against the wall going into Burnside. The line was well-managed, but then again, it was a small crowd and several participants had stuck around to get back in line so they could try their hand at Sparking! Zero again. There was no cap on how many times any one person could play the demo, but after each battle, they had to get back in line and cycle back into the tent. Eight stations with PS5 builds of the game were on hand, and there were no more than 10-20 people in the line at any given point.

Just before being gestured over to a PlayStation, one of the two reps on hand handed me the event’s main piece of physical swag. It’s a silly, branded lanyard with a plastic medallion. In the center is the game’s loud logo; bordering in stylish green is the phrase, “I Played Dragon Ball Sparking! Zero.” It’s funny to think about the shelf life of these little trinkets past the game’s October release date. There won’t be anything special, whatsoever, about having played Sparking! Zero. Anybody could theoretically do this by going to a GameStop or Wal-Mart – or even just download it straight to their platform of choice! What I’m saying is, they could’ve at least added an “early.” Or perhaps just gone with, “I saw the Goku Lambo.” Now there’s a chintzy plastic medallion worth wearing with pride.

Once seated with the game, I chose my control scheme (Classic), character (Android 18), rival, (SSJ Vegeta), and our arena (Metro City). You hate to play a demo that doesn’t give you options, as could be the case when covering these sorts of games at trade shows like E3 or PAX. Here, I appreciated the chance to sit down, pick a couple of characters I like, and smash them against each other like action figures. Part of the Sparking franchise’s perennial appeal is that fantasy grudge match aspect – their rosters cast an absurdly large net, just to ensure this fantasy has as many outcomes as possible. Though the full roster wasn’t on offer, there were enough there to put together a fun fantasy match.

Then, the fight began. The first thing I noticed about Sparking! Zero’s controls were how zippy they were compared to past entries. Characters can move on a dime in a way that threw me for a loop at first, as somebody accustomed to the physics of both the classic Sparking trilogy and their spawn – specifically the pair of RPG-infused Xenoverse titles. Where those games had a signature, slow float to their combat, Sparking! Zero whips the player right in the face upfront. Combat feels as fast and fierce as advertised in the original manga, and manages to evoke the stylish kinetic motion of the anime with 3D models.

That last specific point has always been a difficult part of translating Toriyama’s property to 3D – so much of its aesthetic is built around a cartoon approximation of the world tied to its practical two-dimensional nature. But Sparking! Zero is a beautiful game, with emotive and expressive character models that embody a life and animation unparalleled by any Dragon Ball game before it. Small details like watching the digits on Vegeta’s hands curl around his energy blasts, or seeing the constant flutter of Android 18’s hair, added a level of immersion I tend to not expect from games in this franchise. Further, the franchise’s signature destructible environments are more dynamic than ever. Vegeta and I’s grudge match nearly leveled the city, as we flung each other through skyscrapers and overpasses.

Being in an unfinished state, though, there were a few concerns I had during the course of my match. The game’s new parrying and movement system can sometimes result in mushy, imprecise inputs that interrupt the flow of a match. Despite sufficient meter and good positioning, a few attempts at firing 18’s supers simply didn’t register. It might have been the controller, and I’m more than willing to admit I’m just rusty at this series. That said, as somebody used to twitchy games with more instantaneous inputs – Call of Duty and a smattering of rhythm games, for instance – the sluggish inputs will definitely take some getting used to. On top of that, I hope the camera is touched up by launch – there were a few instances of it ‘catching’ on debris and flipping upside down in one particularly rough example.

On the whole, however, my time with Sparking! Zero was a good one. Vegeta smacked me down, but it was a close match and I felt a bit more in a groove by the end. I considered sticking around for another go of it, but with the game just a little over a month away, I was more excited to stop sweating and get out of the hot, urine-slicked underpass. I gave a courtesy check of the raffle prizes – skate decks, shirts, and other swag – and made my way out. At these sorts of things, I try to avoid participating in contests or taking any major handouts as a rule these days. These can color perception and memory of an event, and in your brain, associate the brand with something positive.

That aside, Dragon Ball Sparking! Zero seems a fine game, and will certainly deliver on a glut of fan service for longtime diehards like myself. It’s a bit rough around the edges, but mechanical perfection has never exactly been a selling point of these games. While the Road Tour’s offerings were fairly scant – I’d have appreciated a water bottle, but then, it’s my own fault for not bringing one – it’s nice to see a company take the effort for a promotional tour like these days. Sure, it’s a far cry from the luxurious and rollicking offerings of, say, the Nintendo Fusion Tour. But in an era where most games are lucky if they can stand out in a crowded market, Bandai-Namco hopes that Sparking! Zero won’t go down as just another Dragon Ball game to the average player.

Whether or not that’s true will be seen on October 11, 2024, when Dragon Ball Sparking! Zero releases for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X, and PC.

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