Why Dragon Ball Sparking Zero’s Most Frustrating Feature Outshines Great Ape Vegeta

Many players of Dragon Ball Sparking Zero have faced challenges when trying to defeat Great Ape Vegeta, but there’s an even more frustrating aspect of the game that Bandai needs to remedy.

The conversation surrounding the game’s level of difficulty largely centers around Great Ape Vegeta, an early boss character whose battle has even prompted Bandai to humorously suggest on X that players change the game settings.

A win is a win. Lower Difficulty and Retry ◀️ pic.twitter.com/klr55NWD2Y

— Bandai Namco US (@BandaiNamcoUS) October 8, 2024

Once you’ve grasped the mechanics, the encounter can become manageable, and even if you’re struggling, the “retry” option allows for a persistent attempt until you succeed.

However, the core appeal of Sparking Zero lies in its intriguing “what if” scenarios that unfold when players accomplish specific tasks. These challenges often require rapid defeats of particular opponents.

The catch? Unlike the Great Ape Vegeta battle, where you can quickly retry after a setback, these missions don’t offer an immediate restart option if you run out of time. If you miss the mark, the narrative continues without availing you of a second chance to unlock those special moments or Sparking Episodes, compelling you to exit the cutscene, revisit the map, reload your previous mission, skip any cinematics, and then attempt it once more.

This backtracking can be incredibly tedious. Sure, if you find yourself behind during combat, you can pause and try again right there, but if you think you’re close to succeeding and, unfortunately, fail, you’ll have to repeat that lengthy process once again.

Fortunately, there’s a small silver lining: certain voice lines may trigger once the additional objective becomes unattainable, giving you a brief window to pause and retry before you have to engage in the cumbersome mission reloading.

Piccolo Sparking Zero diverging timeline — Source: dexerto/Bandai Namco

Sparking Zero presents numerous “what if” scenarios.

As if that weren’t enough, players cannot adjust the difficulty in order to achieve these alternate endings. Furthermore, there’s no timer revealing how much time remains to defeat your enemies. While some might argue a timer could disrupt game immersion, it should at least be an available feature.

On one occasion, I spent two hours trying to take down Goku, Krillin, Gohan, and Piccolo as Frieza, only to be thwarted by the clock. I enjoyed each attempt, but I’d prefer not to waste so much time navigating menus just for another chance.

Sparking Zero would significantly benefit from the addition of a “retry last mission” feature, which would ease the overall gameplay experience.

In contrast to Hit, I don’t possess any real-life Time Skip capability. Bandai, I haven’t made any wishes on the Dragon Balls, and while I understand you’re not Shenron, I hope you can help me fulfill this request.

Source