ITS OVER 9000!!!!
I honestly never expected that Dragon Ball Sparking Zero would get another DLC pack. I mean after the last one the games roster was up to 108 characters, sure about 30 of them are Goku and his various forms but still. Yet here we are to talk about Super Limit-Breaking NEO, the latest DLC for Dragon Ball Sparking Zero that adds 33 new characters, new stages and costumes and a new game mode; but is it any good?
I reviewed Sparking Zero when it launched in 2004 and it is still my favorite DBZ fighting game. As a long time, player of Budokai 3, I felt like Sparking Zero lived up to all my expectations and gave me the DBZ game I have wanted. Well, except for using up transformations as character slots; I stand by Goku should be one guy and he can just change into all those forms, but I digress. The gameplay was solid in Sparking Zero, I usually spend at least a few hours on it every week, but you are here to find out if the DLC is worth it, you can find my original review for the game here.
MSRP: $34.99
Platforms: XBOX (reviewed), PlayStation, Switch, PC
Price I’d Pay: $34.99
The roster for Sparking Zero was already stacked but with the addition of 33 new fighters its just downright ridiculous. Most notably fans of the OG Dragon Ball manga and anime will be excited to see a few familiar faces. World Tournament era Goku, Eighter, Nam and even Grandpa Gohan get some shine. Honestly this was needed as the biggest omission from the roster was characters from Akira Toriyama’s original masterpiece. But that’s not all as there are characters like King Vegeta, Chi Chi and I was stupid excited to see my boy Vegeta get some love with a new GT form. Even though I wish they would put his Ultra Ego form into the game, I doubt we will see it before it hits the anime .
The coolest thing about these new characters is seeing the various interactions they have with different characters. Grandpa Gohan being able to meet adult Goku and even his grandkids were cool to see. Trunks meeting his grandfather in King Vegeta, man even King Vegeta fighting Frieza, like there are so many characters here and they all have unique interactions where applicable. I spent hours just queuing up matches to see what they all were.
I wish I liked the new game mode as much as all the new characters; it’s called the Limit Breaker Journey and its basically a roguelite. Players will choose their favorite character and train them up to over 9000 by fighting in randomized opponents, upgrading with Battle Masters and completing events on the map. Sigh, I am so tired of everything being a roguelite, while I will say that this is really polished and just builds on the excellent combat already in the game. But there does seem to be a weird difficulty spike in this game mode, like its HARD even on the lower difficulty.
Well, the question remains though; is Super Limit-Breaking Neo worth it? Yup, it sure is. Especially if you already have Sparking Zero then you are a connoisseur of DBZ games. And as such it would just be uncivilized of you to not also have this DLC that will complete the package, even if the single-player mode is just kind of meh. All the characters and their interactions more than make up for it in my opinion.
Review copy of game provided by publisher.