Analytic Dreamz: Notorious Mass Effect - "IS DRAGON BALL: SPARKING ZERO THE ULTIMATE GAME OF THE YEAR?"

Episode Date: October 16, 2024

Linktree: https://linktr.ee/AnalyticDragon Ball: Sparking! Zero - A Deep DiveIn this episode of Notorious Mass Effect, Analytic Dreamz delves into the highly anticipated fighting game, Dragon Ball: Sparking! Zero. We break down the key features, release information, and critical reception of this game that promises to be a major title in the fighting game genre.From the extensive character roster and early access bonuses to the DLC plans and gameplay mechanics, we cover it all. Join us as we explore whether Dragon Ball: Sparking! Zero lives up to the hype and delivers a satisfying experience for both casual and hardcore fans of the Dragon Ball franchise.Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

It's not the end that matters, but the journey. Of course, this was eloquently put by none other than Kakarot, more commonly known as Goku, the ultimate mascot of Dragon Ball. Now, in reference to this quote, and how it completely encapsulates the surroundings as far as the release of Dragon Ball Sparking Zero that's out now on all platforms as far as PlayStation 5 Xbox Series X and S and Microsoft Windows, which is basically PC via Steam.

You come to realize that the fans of the legendary anime diving into the game are finding true joy. and living out their childhood in a video game that basically lets them revisit a lot of experiences and adventures that they've already encountered when they, of course, watch the anime. So when Dragon Ball Sparkin Zero out now, as far as October 11th, 2024, it's going to give a lot of hardcore anime fans, but more importantly, gamers, and experience with beloved characters and storylines that you really can't find in any other anime fighting game. I would bet that Dragon Ball in this series, as far as this video game counterpart is considered, is one of the best iterations from anime to video game land. Because, of course, you had Naruto Shepuddin, I believe, and no, I think it was called

Naruto Ultimate Ninja Storm. That was another great crossover as far as getting a reinterpret a reincarnation of an anime in video game format and it being serviceable to its fan base.

Why am I saying that? For the simple fact that Dragon Ball has not only gained the hearts of hardcore anime fans, but also in video game land alone because in general when we're looking at it from an analytical perspective the steams global sales chart the x-box chart the spot of uh the i almost said spotify the playstation chart they all have

dragon ball in this rightful place as far as being either in the top five or ultimately number one as currently speaking dragon ball sparking zero is one of the more popular games in october for the simple fact that it has consistently had around 100,000 concurrent players peaking around 122,000 as far as its initial release. Now, of course, this is a $70 game, but that's a small price to pay for revisiting some of your favorite storylines in your childhood. Because when it comes to Xbox, when it comes to PlayStation, specifically PlayStation, is the most played game on the platform right now. So, of course, it's followed by the usuals as far as sports games and call of duty.

Well, actually, undisputed in Silent Hill, too, interestingly enough, is in the top six as far as PlayStation, well, top games on PlayStation in the United States. But as far as, in totality, Dragon Ball has completely captivated the masses. I mean, sales is not everything, but when Steam put out the numbers, as far as far as as pre-orders alone and it surpassed the titles like Black Myth Wukong, Warhammer, as far as Space Marine 2, it definitely showcased its popularity and of course the dedication from anime fans in the way that they've been anticipating this game not only in word or mouth but also following that up with action as far as taking over the month of October when in all actuality the

of video game sales and referring to Call a Duty seems to be on the backburner because of course BlackOps 6 is pre-order ready right now for you to pre-order but everybody is talking about Dragon Ball. So when it comes to that sales perspective, it has been an underdog for the sales landscape, but it has climbed to the top and it doesn't seem like it's falling off. time soon. So to bring it back full circle, it's not the end that matters, but the journey, as we've seen. But with that being said, of course, Dragon Ball Sparking Zero has released on all platforms, PlayStation, well, not all. Of course, for the people still playing on retro consoles in reference to PS4 and Xbox One, best believe me, this game will not run on that. But the platforms it will run on is of course PlayStation 5 Xbox series X and S and PC via Steam right so another thing I wanted to get into which is how it was or it had early access as far as October 8th but that was only available for people who pre-ordered the game either digitally and they got either the deluxe ultimate or sound ultimate edition I know a lot of people through Amazon got the physical pre-order only to find out that for some reason when it comes to pre-ordering popular games through Amazon, it just ends up missing. Now don't tell me or don't ask me how that happens. Let's just say it was just a coincidence, right? A popular release, you're trying to order it through Amazon, the physical copy, mind you, because game preservation is at an all-time low. So maybe you want a Dragon Ball Sparking Zero because honestly, speaking to people in this community, it seems like this type of video game,

won't be able to be as substantial for the foreseeable future for the simple fact that they had a lot of new storylines to incorporate into this specific game. And then when you had the guy who was the narrator at the very end of every single episode of Dragon Ball as far as I totally blinked on his name. Hold on. Let me see if I could find. I think I could find it as far as there was a specific guy. Yeah, okay. Doc Harris, the English narrator for Dragon Ball Z, the person who was always like, Find out next time on Dragon Ball Z. Obviously, you know, he did it way better.

But that was the guy who passed away. So, you know, RIP to him. And it's just such a interesting timing because when this game came out, obviously a day before is when the news started to break as far as him passing away. So, of course, we don't know if he passed away on that day. But just it even being close to that time of this release is insane. And of course, some of the new incorporations as far as, the new newer story lines when it comes to dragon ball is now all in one package as far as sparking

zero whereas in the past it may have left out some of the newer storylines as far as dragon ball is considered now obviously i don't really watch dragon ball like that but i can't say that from the anticipation from what i've heard this is the perfect video game for dragon ball fans and not only dragon ball fans but people who enjoy the arena fighter fighter genre, right? Because as far as playable characters, I mean, this game is packed full with playable characters, especially at launch, which is insane, as the overall number is 181 characters in the drag from the Dragon Ball franchises in this game on like at launch, which is very commendable with every single fight fighting game having characters as DOC as far as in the future,

which, you know, Dragon Ball does have, but to launch with 181 characters is something that should be applauded and should ultimately be highlighted when it comes to a lot of corporations shortchanging their player base for the simple fact that they want them to pay for stuff that should have already been in the game, right? So with that being said, let's get into the dicey subject of the DLC. So basically, there's summon share share. Ron? I don't know you say that. But there's three packs of, no, no, there's three days of early access that you can receive if you get the deluxe edition. And that is for the DLC, of course. And then another thing you get with the deluxe edition, which is $99, mind you, is the season pass. So if you pay for the up, the one up, as far as there's the standard edition for 70, there's the deluxe edition for $100.00. If you get the deluxe edition, it includes the season pass with three packs of content with 20 playable characters.

The bonus summons Sharon. I don't even know you said it. I think it's shinron. And three days early access to D.C. And then, of course, the ultimate edition, which is $109, comes with everything from the deluxe and standard. Plus, an ultimate upgrade pack and then a summoned super shinron. Now, I don't know what in the world a Shenron is, but I know anime connoisseurs are probably screaming at their screens right now what that means. But let's just say, as somebody who's not as in tune, I have no idea what that means.

So anyways, you may be wondering, when are these specific early access dates available? Well, it just passed. So by the time you're hearing this, it was already up. If you didn't already know about it, then, hey, at this point, just forget about it. as the game is out now for everybody for the whole entire public early access in general public yeah basically early access is already passed so now it's out now for everybody so anyways i want to get into some reviews because of course you know i like to go over sales i like to go over the review round up because i like to get a consensus of what people feel about this specific game

now besides the vegeta monkey fight which we're going to get to and second um and i'm pretty sure the monkey has a name and people are probably screaming it right now but hey like i keep saying i don't know these specific names and i'm not all into dragon ball like that anyways of course this game that was uh developed by uh spike chunsoft i think that's how you say uh let me make sure yeah so this game is i think i think i found it and then i completely lost it Isn't that great? That is fantastic. Okay, so Spike Chunsoff is the development studio. And basically, they worked on this game, but they also have a lot of other accomplishments under the belts as far as working on popular franchises like Dagging Rapa.

What in the world is that? And My Kai Kingdom. So anyways, those are some of the other notable games that's worked on. But it's brought its expertise, of course, to the gameplay mechanics of Dragon Ball sparking zero. And the timeline of this game, as far as the development cycle, is over five years. As noted by the producer, John Furutani, Furutani, hopefully I said that right. And the basis of Spike Churnsoff, as far as developing this game, under Bandai Namco, of course,

because that's the publisher. I mean, as far as anime games, I think Bancanam. Bancai Namco basically has most of the games. under their belt as far as when it comes to publishing. So the emphasis in the development years, that was over, you know, five years from Spike Chernsoft was basically emphasizing the need to refine the fighting mechanics while also introducing new elements like the cost-based character selection for balance in team battles. Now I have seen this. I've been watching people play the game and apparently there's a system right because if you were to go into a team battle

of course everybody would just pick the ultimate super sand versions of every single character and put them all on one team so now when you have to balance out your allotment of i forget what it's called but there's like coins that you have to purchase the that you have to use to purchase your team And of course, the different tiers are for the more powerful characters and the lesser powerful characters, of course, so it can balance out. So just think of it like as all of the memes and Twitter, Instagram, and TikTok memes, where they have a chart where it's like, oh, who would you spend your $15 on to build your ultimate team?

And like some people are like in the $5 tier, some people are in a $4 tier, $3 tier, $2 tier, $1 tier, etc. right so that's basically how dragon ball has innovated on the team battle since well in the team battle since as far as having cost-based character selection which helps out especially when you're you're trying to get into that competitive play field as far as e-sports is considered so with that being said of course some of the other game features and innovation that dragon ball sparking zero introduces it I mean along with the balancing system with the you know the cost based character selection they also have systems to ensure competitive

fairness and online matches you know that goes back to a cost base and then also they just really are showcasing how they want to cater to both casual and competitive players because of course you could turn it off if you just want to have you know super sane teams versus super sand team right but as far as the competitive landscape you need to check some balances so nobody just gets straight blue vegetas or what was it Majinbu vegeta I forget what's called anyways the ultimate power form of these characters and have them all on one team meanwhile you fight them with the like kid character the kid forms of the popular characters right there needs to be a balancing system

but if you want to turn it off of course you can so as far as marketing this game I mean from a marketing standpoint, this is top tier as far as portraying a game appealing to your core fan base, but also appealing to the masses as far as people who was ultimately not even thinking about this game, but now are going to play it for the simple fact that they see that a lot of issues when it came to Dragon Ball video games have been addressed, but not even addressed. some of the animations in this video game is probably top tier. I mean, it's probably the best we've ever seen in video game land, especially in the unique art style that they're using.

Still having certain animations in a video game, it's still impressive. I don't care how you slice it. Sparking Zero has some of the best graphics I've ever seen in a video game. And of course, that changes with time. But as far as right now, Dragon Ball Sparking Zero has inevitably, well, undoubtedly, one of the best looking games of 2024. So anyways, when it comes to that, of course, comparing it to other games would be a little

disingenuous because this is a fighting game at the end of the day. So there's going to be repetitive gameplay mechanics for the simple fact that it's a fighting game. So with it being an arena fighter, would it being in the Dragon Ball universe, the way that they make it stand out as far as the run, runtime is definitely the story as when you play through the story you can play through go coo story you can play through other characters you can play through other character story and then also it just reflects the overall um story building that's been happening for quite some time that's ultimately packed into one package that's dragon ball sparking zero so anyways enough of the

sales talk let's get into some of the ratings because of course when it first came out and um platforms like Steam, it had 94% as far as a positive rating. And then across various sites, it average 84 to 85 out of 100. Some of the more specific reviews, of course, IGN gave this a 7.5 out of 10. Praising gift was nostalgia-like appeal and faithful recreation of Dragon Ball Fighting Fantasy, but noted issues with responsiveness in complex menus. games radar gave this game a seven out of ten calling it the pinnacle of fan service but pointed out that the simple enemy AI and repetitive mechanics detract from its depth also game spot gave this a seven out of ten so it's a pretty much a seven to six out of ten when I'm looking at the actual in detailed reviews from different publications so as far as PC and Metacritory It seemed like those are the highest one.

But, you know, Metacritic fluctuates, so it may have went down a little bit. But anyways, GameSpot gave it a 7 out of 10 saying that they commend the game for its vibrant visuals and extensive character roster, but mention that the repetitive combat can become tiresome over time. So, of course, with every fighting game, that's going to be a complaint. But more specifically, with Dragon Ball being a arena fighter, it's going to find itself having more. of those complaints for the simple fact that arena fighters is hard to translate into the competitive field i don't know what it is about the mechanics of an arena fighter versus like a 2d or a 3d fighter but it's just completely different as far as in a competitive landscape because people find

loopholes that probably shouldn't even exist and it's hard to patch out because of it being in a arena like setting so anyways with that being said dragon ball spark and zero definitely has doc on the the way and if you get the deluxe edition or even the ultimate if you get anything above the standard edition you will have early access to the upcoming dc there was something else i was wanting to get into oh okay so basically everybody has been getting whoop by the vegeta monkey right remember i said that earlier in this segment so i did my due diligence as a true journalist to find y'all a video to help y'all out with that monkey right so But with that being said, there's a video that I wanted to show y'all because when this crossed my timeline, especially with me watching everybody just completely struggle against his boss, it made me think of this video.

And I was like, you know what, I'm going to show this during my review. And now here it is. So analytic dreams video on Spotify to see the video along with the audio. But let's get into how to be the great ape, Vegeta. Is a giant ape bullying you? Is that big monkey keeping you down? If you, like many people, having a hard time overcoming the oversized ape Vegeta and Dragon Ball Sparking Zero, it might be time for a change in tactics.

Fortunately, your pals at IGN know just the strategy to put that behemoth of a primate flat on his back in this guide on how to beat Great Ape Vegeta. As you progress through Goku's story in Dragon Ball Sparking Zero, one of the early stiff tests is a fight against the Sayan Vegeta once he's transformed into a colossal Great Ape. The first step to winning this fight is staying alive. To do that, you need to resist the urge to charge in with your fists flying. The giant space monkey hits much, much harder than you. He's too big to flinch to most of your attacks, and will punch right through you if given the chance.

Rely on keeping your distance and using hit-and-run tactics. Ranged attacks are your friend in this fight, specifically your Kamehamea attack, but you need to time your attacks properly. Stay out of arms reach, but not too far away, flying in a circle and using the quick dash to avoid most incoming attacks. It can also be helpful to change elevation. Your goal is to bait him into firing and missing with a beam attack. Dodge until you're sure you're clear of incoming damage, then counter with a blast of your own. I'll have to be a sitting duck for your return fire.

This will do solid damage and knock the big guy off his feet, giving you an opportunity to charge your key for another attack. Once you have at least one stack in your skill count, you can fully charge your key to go into sparking mode. Now is the time to press the attack, as the added power from this form will cause great 8 Vigieg. to actually flinch, allowing you to potentially land a long combo. String out a full barrage of normal attacks until your opponent falls over. As soon as he does, finish with a Kamehamea wave, then immediately start charging again. If you have more points in your skill count, you can try to charge back up to sparking right away, otherwise start circling again, and look for another counter-attack window. If you can manage your key, keep up these hit-and-run tactics, and avoid the urge to stand toe-to-to-to-unless you're in sparking mode,

then you should be in great shape to send that great ape to an early grave. or at least advanced to the next chapter. All right, so with that being said, hopefully none of my notorious mass of fake listeners run into the same problem that everybody else has been running into as far as getting sent to, you know what, by the great ape, Vegeta.

Because, of course, I don't know why that specific boss has been giving people so much trouble because I've seen people just run through the boss. I've seen other people struggle. But I just wanted to play that just in case, just so you know that that is something of an obstacle as far as your first skill check in Dragon Ball. So anyways, of course, when it comes to Dragon Ball video games,

they've been putting it out since 2007. I mean, I believe the first one was Dragon Ball Z, Budakai, Tenkaichi, three. No, Dragon Ball Z, Budakai, Tenkaichi. Actually, yeah. Okay, so October 6, 2005 is when the first Dragon Ball video game came out. No, that's completely wrong. November 2nd, 2002 is when the first Dragon Ball came out, which was Dragon Ball Z.

Budikai. Okay. Now, that makes sense. And then, of course, they've been putting out a plethora of titles all the way up to now, right? As far as the top selling Dragon Ball video games, you have the Dragon Ball Z universe series that sold over 14 million copies between 2015 to 2021. You have Dragon Ball Fighters Z, which that was, well, I think it's just Dragon Ball fighters but anyways that was one of the more pivotal games when it came to the dragon ball video game

crossing over into competitive play because of the checks and balances that dragon ball fighters has so that was one of the more notable fighting games from this video game from the dragon ball franchise and then of course that sold over 8 million units and then you have dragon ball z Kakarot that sold over 4.5 million units and then you had Dragon Ball Z Budakai series that combined over for over 10 million units and then you had Dragon Ball Z. Budakai 10 Kaiichi series that combined for sales over 7 million units. Now in totality Dragon Ball is nothing to be mess with. I mean, it's a video game franchise in its complete discography in the video game field. It's sold over 70 million units worldwide, making it one of the best selling license

games franchises ever. Like, as far as it making the top tier, as far as in captivating the masses, it's emphatically one of the best selling license game franchises. And of course, across just the IP in general, it's grossed over 10 billion in revenue as of March 2024. So when it comes to Dragon Ball Sparking Zero coming out in October and the last game that they've released, I believe was Dragon Ball Fighters. That was January 26th, 2018. Yeah, I believe that was the latest game they put out. You can see how people were clamoring for a new arena fighter because of course dragon ball fighters was more of a two-d fighting game it was more of a marvel cap-con style in the dragon ball universe right so anyways to bring it full circle dragon ball spark

and zero is out now on playstation five x-box series x-and-s pccv esteem released october 11th 2024 or if you're one of the lucky few who was able to play october 8th 2024 as far as the early access is considered just remember that this game was developed by Spike Chunsoff and published by Bandai Namco and this is just emphatically one of the best return is one of the best returns as far as a Dragon Ball video game coming to just service fan base once again but it seems like this video game has outlasted the overall hype and surpassed it even more because what the hype was for this game I don't know how But somehow they managed to even surpass that. So ultimately, I just wanted to say that it brings me back to the Goku quote

because they've been putting out Dragon Ball video games since 2002. It's not the end that matters, but the journey. So that being said, click my link to your bio. Let me know one of my social media is. What do you think about Dragon Ball sparking zero? and if you've played the game, who's your favorite character and who would you want to see in the game that's not already available?