Regardless of the particular corner of nerd culture you hail from, your community almost certainly has a significant amount of overlap with the Dragon Ball fan base. If you’re like me you grew up watching Dragon Ball Z on Toonami, and can remember with vivid accuracy where you were and how you felt when some of the anime’s most epic moments played out in front of you.
There’s a new DB game en route called Dragon Ball: Sparking! ZERO, and like was the case with many of its many predecessors, you’ll be able to play your way through much of the story thus far. That said, Sparking Zero will let players experience certain stand out moments directly through the eyes of the characters they love, and we already have footage of one such moment in particular.
One of the earliest sagas American audiences got to see in Dragon Ball Z canon was when Goku, the franchise’s main character, and Piccolo took on Goku’s Saiyan brother, Raditz. The latter invades Earth and threatens it, as so many enemies before and after him did, and establishes himself as significantly more powerful than any of the Earth’s protectors currently are.
As the stakes are raised through the well-told tale, we as fans couldn’t help but note a feeling of increased anxiety and helplessness as it seemed even the combined strength of Goku and Piccolo wouldn’t be enough to stop the Saiyan invasion.
As the situation becomes more and more dire, Goku finally decides to take out Raditz by holding him in place so as to give Piccolo time to blast him with one of his trademark moves: the Special Beam Cannon. Of course, holding his brother means that Goku will also be blasted with this attack, and both Saiyans wind up dying through this sacrificial act.
Albeit so that death in Dragon Ball becomes quite common and characters are routinely brought back, we hadn’t seen this happen all that much at this early point in time and thus the moment stands out as one of the most impactful and emotional in the entire anime.
Dragon Ball Sparking Zero developers recently released a game modes showcase that details some of the ways players will get to engage, one of which is the single player “Episode Battle” mode.
Here users will be able to play through certain iconic moments from the anime, but will experience portions of them in a first person view through the very eyes of the characters they control. You can play as Goku through the Raditz scenario, and actually watch as you and your Saiyan avatar commit to holding your foe in place as Piccolo powers up and sends his deadly Special Beam Canon in your direction:
Son, a first person perspective in cutscenes for a Dragon Ball game is gonna add a whole new layer to these moments lmao. Seeing the Special Beam Cannon happen through Goku’s eyes is INSANE pic.twitter.com/JgQPoLQkyF
— Big Boss (@LordBalvin) June 13, 2024
We’re not sure which all other scenarios Bandai will be including in this exciting new mode, but our minds instant transmission their way to the iconic father/son Kamehameha against Cell, Freeza’s splitting headache against the likes of Future Trunks, and perhaps to the eyes of Majin Buu when Goku shows us all what it means to go even further beyond.
What’s more, the showcase notes that you’ll also be able to change some of these events depending on whom you’re controlling and how you perform, so there’s another layer of enticement as we await the coming new Dragon Ball title.
There are tons of other moments we’d be more than happy to see, and would love to hear which you’re most excited to live through in the comments below.
Dragon Ball: Sparking! ZERO is slated to release on October 11th for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S and PC. Interested in more Sparking news? Be sure to check out the details of the game’s recently revealed season pass and various versions.