Info about DRAGON BALL: Sparking! ZERO:

Official game description:
DRAGON BALL: Sparking! ZERO Deluxe Edition
==========================================
The Deluxe Edition includes:  
• DRAGON BALL: Sparking! ZERO  
• Season Pass - 4 Packs including Dragon Ball SUPER: SUPER HERO, Dragon Ball DAIMA, and more content that contains over 20 playable characters  
• Season Pass Bonus - Summon Shenron
DRAGON BALL: Sparking! ZERO Ultimate Edition
============================================
The Ultimate Edition includes:  
• DRAGON BALL: Sparking! ZERO  
• Season Pass - 4 Packs including Dragon Ball SUPER: SUPER HERO, Dragon Ball DAIMA, and more content  
• Season Pass Bonus - Summon Shenron  
• Ultimate Upgrade Pack  
• Ultimate Edition Bonus - Summon Super Shenron
About the Game
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DRAGON BALL: Sparking! ZERO takes the legendary gameplay of the Budokai Tenkaichi series and raises it to whole new levels. Become a super warrior and experience the earth-shaking, limit-breaking power of Dragon Ball battles!  
Unleash the strength of over 180 fighters from Dragon Ball Z, Dragon Ball Super, Dragon Ball GT, and selected Dragon Ball movies, all in the base game! Each character comes with their own signature abilities, transformations, and techniques.  
Make the destructive power of the strongest fighters ever to appear in Dragon Ball yours!  
Engage in heart-pounding, high-speed 3D battles that stay true to the anime and video game series, with breathtaking visuals and authentic combat moves like beam clashes, rush attacks, movements too quick for the eyes to see, and planet-razing ultimate attacks.  
Challenge other players online to test your skills, or sit down with friends offline to hone your skills! Fight your way to become a champion across various tournament modes and victory conditions.  
Conquer the action-packed battles from the beloved original story, or discover and unlock new encounters for your favorite Z-Fighters and more. Relive your favorite moments from the series through cutscenes you can experience from the perspectives of eight characters!  
Recreate your favorite battles from throughout the Dragon Ball story, or set up your dream story battle with your favorite characters! Share your creations with other fans and experience the battles brought to life by imaginations around the world.  
_\*In addition to this edition, Deluxe Edition and Ultimate Edition are also available. Please be careful not to purchase the same content twice._

Release date: Oct 10, 2024

Categories: Fighting Game, Anime-inspired Gameplay, Multiplayer, Single-player, Character Collection, Combat, Action, Fast-Paced Gameplay

Feature scans:
- MTX: score 85; verdict: Predatory Monetization; summary: The game is heavily criticized for its monetization practices, including overpriced DLCs and season passes, lack of content and updates, and significant amounts of content locked behind paywalls. Users feel that the game does not provide good value for money and express disappointment with the technical issues and design choices. The overall sentiment is that the game feels abandoned by the developers and is seen as a cash grab.
- Steam Deck: score 55; verdict: Tinkering Required; summary: The Steam Deck experience for this game is marred by several significant issues. Controller problems, online play errors, and performance issues are the most impactful themes. Users frequently report having to adjust settings significantly to achieve playable performance, and there are notable complaints about the durability and responsiveness of controllers. Online play is particularly problematic, with many users unable to connect or experiencing errors. Visual issues and mixed feelings about the controls also contribute to a less than optimal experience.

- Hardware Profile: No data
Feature extractions:
- Community Price: No data
- Playtime Metrics: No data
- Time-to-fun: No data
- Player Archetypes: No data


Below are summaries of things people say about the game per category.
Each point is assigned a weight that represents how often it is mentioned across all reviews.
What players like:
- Visually impressive graphics (weight 0.69): The game is praised for its stunning graphics, beautiful visuals, and impressive artistic style, making it visually appealing to players.
- Excellent combat system (weight 0.64): The combat system is fluid, smooth, and engaging, with amazing animations and effects that enhance the overall gameplay experience.
- Fun and engaging gameplay (weight 0.61): Players find the gameplay to be solid, fun, and enjoyable, whether playing solo or with friends, making it a standout feature of the game.
- Recommended for fans (weight 0.52): The game is highly recommended for both casual and hardcore fans of the Dragon Ball series, as well as newcomers to Dragon Ball games.
- Extensive character roster (weight 0.45): The game features a massive roster of over 200 characters, including many fan favorites and a wide variety of transformations and costumes.
- Best Dragon Ball game (weight 0.4): Many reviewers consider this game to be the best in the Dragon Ball franchise, praising its overall quality and potential to be the best Dragon Ball game ever made.
- Faithful to Budokai Tenkaichi series (weight 0.31): The game is seen as a worthy successor to the Budokai Tenkaichi series, capturing the essence and feel of the classic games.
- Custom battles and tournaments (weight 0.2): The custom battle mode offers a lot of options for creating personalized fights and tournaments, adding significant replay value to the game.
- Enjoyable story mode (weight 0.17): The story mode features fun 'What If' scenarios and alternate stories, providing an enjoyable experience for players.

Common complaints:
- Clunky and complex combat (weight 0.47): Many players find the combat system to be clunky, overly complex, and unsatisfying. The controls are reported to be laggy and unintuitive, making the gameplay experience less enjoyable.
- Lack of offline content (weight 0.39): Players express a significant lack of offline content, including PvE modes, single-player content, and additional maps. This lack of content leads to boredom and a feeling that the game lacks longevity.
- Poor story mode (weight 0.33): The story mode is criticized for being poorly designed, disjointed, and lacking in detail. Players find it to be of low quality and not worth their time.
- Game feels like a cash grab (weight 0.28): Many players feel that the game and its DLCs are low-effort cash grabs, not providing enough value for the price.
- Severe lag issues (weight 0.12): The game suffers from severe lag and poor FPS performance, which negatively impacts the gameplay experience.
- Lack of character customization (weight 0.12): There is a notable lack of character customization options, which limits player creativity and personalization in the game.
- Repetitive gameplay (weight 0.12): The gameplay is criticized for being repetitive, which contributes to a lack of engagement and enjoyment.
- Weak online mode (weight 0.11): The online mode is criticized for having few players and feeling incomplete, leading to a poor multiplayer experience.
- Lack of exclusive content (weight 0.1): Players are disappointed by the lack of exclusive characters, special attacks, and content from movies or OVAs, which limits the game's appeal.

Gameplay feedback:
- Varied multiplayer modes (weight 0.3): The game offers a range of multiplayer options including local PvP, online multiplayer, and offline modes.
- Rich single-player content (weight 0.25): The game features various single-player modes such as campaign gameplay, story mode, and character campaigns with branching storylines.
- Combat mechanics need improvement (weight 0.19): Combat mechanics are reminiscent of older games but lack depth and polish. Winning strategies often rely on simple tactics like getting behind the opponent.
- Diverse character roster (weight 0.19): Players can select from a variety of characters, including exclusive ones, but some classic characters are missing.
- Flashy gameplay style (weight 0.15): The game features a flashy gameplay style reminiscent of Budokai Tenkaichi, with emphasis on flashy attacks and animations.
- Advanced combat techniques (weight 0.09): The game includes advanced combat techniques such as supers, combos, and super counters, adding depth to the combat system.
- Custom battle mode (weight 0.09): The custom battle mode allows players to create and share their own scenarios, adding a layer of customization and creativity.
- Modding support (weight 0.09): The game supports modding, allowing players to create and share custom content.
- Mission creation mode (weight 0.09): Players can create their own missions and episodes, adding a creative aspect to the gameplay.
- Mixed learning curve (weight 0.08): Opinions on the learning curve vary, with some finding it steep and others finding it manageable.
- High completion and complexity (weight 0.08): The game is highly polished for character lovers and offers complex operations that become rewarding once mastered.

Performance notes:
- FPS drops and performance issues (weight 0.36): The game experiences significant FPS drops, even in menus, and runs poorly on various hardware configurations. Players report frequent frame rate drops and stuttering issues.
- Input lag and delayed responses (weight 0.27): Players encounter laggy button inputs and delayed responses, which affect gameplay. This includes issues with vanishing mechanics and overall input delay.
- Lack of graphical settings and optimizations (weight 0.24): The game lacks various graphical settings and optimizations, such as no native ultrawide support, no upscaling, and no fullscreen option. Players also report issues with VRAM and throttling.
- Crashes and compatibility issues (weight 0.21): The game has several crashing issues, particularly in custom battles and during transition screens. There are also compatibility issues with Windows 11 and other technical problems.
- Bugs in specific game modes (weight 0.12): There are known bugs in specific game modes, such as Mission 78 causing immediate loss after character intros, PvP synchronization or server bugs, and tournament mode bugs.
- Animation and motion capture issues (weight 0.09): The game has unfinished animations and mostly bad motion capture, which detracts from the overall experience.
- Connection and online issues (weight 0.09): Players experience connection issues, including lost connections and lag during ranked matches.

Recommendations:
- Best for hardcore fans (weight 0.3): The game is primarily recommended for hardcore Dragon Ball fans, especially those who enjoy the nostalgia or are dedicated to the series.
- Recommend only on deep discount (weight 0.25): Many players suggest that the game is only worth purchasing if it is available at a significant discount, often 50% or more.
- Better alternatives available (weight 0.24): Several players recommend other games like Dragon Ball FighterZ, Xenoverse 2, or even previous titles in the series over this one.
- Good for casual play (weight 0.14): The game is seen as suitable for casual play, especially with friends online or locally, but not for long-term competitive play.
- Enhanced with mods (weight 0.11): Some players find the game more enjoyable with the use of mods, suggesting that mods can significantly improve the gaming experience.
- Potential future improvements (weight 0.08): There is a sentiment that the game could be much better if the developers listen to player feedback and continue to update and improve it over time.
- Not for story enthusiasts (weight 0.05): Players who are interested in the story aspects of Dragon Ball may not find this game appealing.
- Initial experience worthwhile (weight 0.04): Some players suggest buying the game for the initial experience, even if it may not hold up in the long term.
- Look elsewhere for excitement (weight 0.04): Players looking for an exciting Dragon Ball game might need to look at other titles.

Other player notes:
- Negative reception of DLCs (weight 0.09): Players have expressed dissatisfaction with the DLCs, mentioning that they are mostly negative and do not meet expectations.
- Promised content not delivered (weight 0.09): There are complaints about features and content that were announced as free but were later offered as separate DLCs or not delivered at all.
- Poor performance on Steam Deck (weight 0.06): The game has significant performance issues when played on the Steam Deck, leading to a subpar gaming experience.
- Comparison with other games (weight 0.05): Some reviews compare the game to Dragon Ball Kakarot, possibly indicating that players have expectations based on other similar games.
- Refund process mentioned (weight 0.04): Players have mentioned the refund process, which could indicate dissatisfaction with the game leading to refund requests.
- Character representation issues (weight 0.04): There are personal gripes about how certain characters are represented in the game, which may affect the overall enjoyment for some players.
- Online gameplay not tried (weight 0.03): Some reviewers did not try the online gameplay, which might limit the scope of their reviews.

Emotions:
- Disappointment (weight 0.42): The game's story mode and overall content are underwhelming compared to previous entries in the franchise. Players are disappointed with the lack of content, repetitive gameplay, and various performance issues. The game's mechanics, AI behavior, and balancing issues do not meet the expectations set by previous titles in the series.
- Frustration (weight 0.28): Players are frustrated with the game's combat mechanics, which are shallow and lack depth, making competitive play less enjoyable. The game's steep learning curve, aggressive AI, and various technical issues, such as poor online netcode and performance problems, contribute to this frustration.
- Anger (weight 0.07): Technical issues, poor game design, and lack of content are major sources of anger for players. The game's poor quality, matchmaking issues, and perceived focus on monetization through DLCs further exacerbate this emotion.
- Enjoyment (weight 0.04): Players enjoy the game due to its fun and engaging gameplay, as well as the availability of mods that enhance the experience. The game's design and visuals are also appreciated.
- Excitement (weight 0.04): The game's single-player content, combat, and variety of characters and modes generate excitement among players. The enjoyment of countering strategies and beating higher-ranked players also contributes to this emotion.
- Nostalgia (weight 0.02): The game evokes nostalgia by bringing back memories of playing previous titles in the series, such as Budokai Tenkaichi 3, with friends. The mention of classic Dragon Ball characters also contributes to this feeling.
- Happy (weight 0.02): Players are happy with the game's story and combat, finding the gameplay, characters, and animations enjoyable.
- Satisfaction (weight 0.02): Players find satisfaction in playing as certain characters and enjoying specific moments in the story mode.
- Joy (weight 0.01): The game brings joy as it fully captures the essence of the Dragon Ball franchise, providing an immersive experience.
- Nostalgic (weight 0.01): The game makes players feel nostalgic, bringing back the feeling of being a child again.
- Excited (weight 0.01): The initial hours of gameplay are exciting for players, providing a thrilling experience.
- Bored (weight 0.01): The game lacks sufficient single-player content, leading to boredom among players.
- Fun (weight 0.01): Players find the different campaigns in the game fun and enjoyable.
- Boredom (weight 0.01): Excessive downtime and repetitive exposition in the game lead to boredom.
- Love (weight 0.01): Players love the game for its nostalgic thrill combined with modern visuals and the inclusion of Dragon Ball Super characters.
- Hate (weight 0.01): Players hate the game due to bad post-launch support and overpriced DLCs.}