Dragon Ball: Sparking Zero - To Piccolo or Not to Piccolo? That is the Question!
Dragon Ball: Sparking Zero – Raditz Redux: Team Up or Go Solo?
Dragon Ball: Sparking Zero is packed with over 180 characters and awesome "what-if" scenarios. One seriously cool option in Goku's saga ("The Earth's Mightiest Duo?!") lets you choose: team up with Piccolo against Raditz, or go it alone. It's an epic "what if" moment; showing the various creative choices that the development team added; demonstrating the considerable effort toward creating truly unique content!
The original anime battle against Raditz? It was intense, showcasing the collaborative effort of Goku and Piccolo—Goku even dies. Sparking Zero changes this up and adds new plotlines. This is made more intense through alternative possibilities added through the storyline: You can test other narrative choices, making for awesome experimentation!
Piccolo Partnership: The Canon Path
For Dragon Ball vets? Picking the canon storyline that involves working with Piccolo in “The Earth’s Mightiest Duo?!” provides that classic storyline and battle as shown in the Dragon Ball Z anime. This makes the result familiar and provides similar experience levels; therefore, for those veterans expecting a similar storyline and experience, this makes an excellent, easier start and familiarity to get into the game quickly and more importantly, learn those basic game mechanics easily, especially during that important learning curve.
But it's really quite straightforward; beating Raditz quickly lets you save Goku's life and unlock a unique alternate storyline called “Rematch and Result”. Beating Raditz under two minutes unlocks another — “Pushing the Limit”— where Goku fights Vegeta and Nappa, including the awesome Great Ape Vegeta battle. This additional, higher difficulty mode becomes valuable only when playing on higher difficulties!
Going Solo: A Raditz "What If?"
Want something new? Refuse Piccolo's help! You get “Raditz vs. The Turtle School” —an epic "what if" episode with Goku and Krillin teaming up instead! This makes for that wonderfully unexpected event for fans of Dragon Ball anime who expect something totally different.
While Krillin isn't considered the best character in Sparking Zero, adding him into that specific storyline provides unique depth. And it even makes room for Master Roshi and Piccolo showing up later; which might seem strange given what had transpired; it makes for some excellent and humorous elements and serves to enhance that whole experience, with plenty of opportunities for fan-favorite scenes.
Don't worry if you want to replay that canon story! Just go to the episode selection and pick the team-up route. Both versions are provided; thus providing the opportunity for those newer and veteran fans alike to choose the route they would rather experience! Each version produces very similar yet slightly differing story and game play, justifying having both options available, with additional branching storylines as those characters progress further.
Conclusion: Choose Your Own Adventure! (With Raditz!)
Sparking Zero totally nails it—that creative ability to create an awesome blend that creates that epic storyline involving Raditz but with those incredibly unexpected, branching "what if" choices. This choice also impacts the storyline considerably.
Those seeking a refreshing change from canon battles should refuse Piccolo's help. Those who like the classics? Partner with Piccolo! And of course, you can revisit either episode anytime. Either route is valid; there isn’t one choice inherently better. That awesome "what-if" element is a real selling point, folks! Every choice you make adds another layer of fun. The creative opportunities are far, far beyond what one could possibly imagine from such a seemingly simple plot!
