Dragon Ball: Sparking! Zero is not a competitive fighting game by design. Its colossal character roster is purposefully unbalanced, its mechanics are abusable at almost any level, and many of its underlying systems are built for spectacle instead of technical depth.
So when Bandai Namco announced 'The Dramatic Showdown' — an official tournament series for the game — eyebrows were raised. Was the publisher really going to try and pass Sparking! Zero off as some kind of competitive fighter?
We're not sure that was ever the intention — the whole thing feels more like an attempt to simply prolong the title's popularity ahead of promised DLC announcements. But still, the tournament is going ahead, and qualifiers are already underway.
One of these qualifying competitions has undermined the entire idea, however. The online qualifier for France resulted in a comical — and borderline embarrassing — grand finals match in which the one of the two finalists simply stalled their opponent to an extreme degree.
Basically, there are gameplay mechanics that can be exploited — like vertical flying — so that you don't have to deal with high-damage combos, or specific character skills that are deemed overpowered. Naturally, this kind of keep-away tactic turns the game into a chore — and it's incredibly boring to watch, which obviously isn't ideal for a public-facing event.
It gets to a point where the commentators just stop commentating — and we find it hard to blame them.
Likewise, you can't really blame the players for this shameless display — they're making use of mechanics that are present in an arena fighter that was never designed with such a competition in mind.
We've timestamped the climactic match here:
The tournament has sparked (no pun intended) waves of criticism towards Sparking! Zero, with many players intensifying their cries for additional balance updates. Indeed, it'll be interesting to see if Bandai Namco actually makes any adjustments to the game's most controversial mechanics.
Are you still playing Dragon Ball: Sparking! Zero? Have you been hoping for some balance updates? Do you think they'll ever arrive? Don't you dare select Android 19 in the comments section below.
Comments 12
I am still waiting on a patch to balance difficulty, because I want to try out all the characters in a vs. CPU at my own leisure, but even on Easy they just do not leave me alone, block too much and it is a bit frustrating.
Still kinda loving the game though.
I'm so sick and tired of FGC bros trying to turn this game into something it's not like go play DragonBall FighterZ that was made specifically for you lot
Lol reminds me of the ps2 days and spamming ultimates 😆
Yeah, this game is not really tournament or competitive friendly at all. Really weird decision by Bandai Namco to try and force it.
It reminds me of all latest live-service games. Still releasing, but it is not fun to watch.
They should at least try to equalize the HP bars of the characters in Ranked Singles.
You can say it's not meant to be balanced all you want but why have a Ranked Mode with leaderboards at all if it's not trying to be somewhat competitive?
And they already nerfed Yajirobe's Senzu Bean mechanic because of how strong it was so the devs clearly care about balance to some extent
I do not have the game but being able to tweak settings/rules or having preset 'competition mode' would work right?
@Keyblade-Dan Not sure why you pointed the finger at the FGC when Bamco themself who thinks this game is in the same level of competition like DBFZ. They're the one who held this tournament to attract the FGC crowd / DBFZ players when it's crystal clear the game isn't design with balance like DBFZ or traditional fighting games.
I don't want, or need, for the to get a balance patch. That said, if you're going to hold a tournament, perhaps there should be rules stating that this kind of bs isn't allowed? Keep the competitive aspect fun, by making people engage with the game properly, and not just play chase. Set restrictions or time limits on how long this is allowed, before people have to fight properly, etc.
Just wall and stall with point fighting. Bravo!
The fact it is unbalanced and built around FUN is exactly what has me interested in it. But trying to hold a tournament was a stupid idea.
DO NOT balance this game! It's supposed to be unbalanced. That's what makes it fun! Some characters will be far more powerful than others. It's a Dragon Ball battle simulator, NOT a competitive fighter. Dragon Ball FighterZ exists for that very reason!
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