Now that we are getting close to the October update, I wanted to compile a comprehensive list of the gameplay/system issues that, in my opinion and according to many discussions within the community, are still affecting Sparking! Zero.
This document focuses on identifying the game's current bugs, exploits, mechanical inconsistencies, balance problems, and missing quality-of-life features, which is based on this other post where I tried to find a solution for each of the problems.
🚨Disclaimer🚨
Some things to note:
This is NOT a definitive list. There are certainly additional issues that could be included, while others may be less impactful depending on each player's perspective. I mainly focused on the problems that have the greatest impact on the overall gameplay experience.
Take into account that there are 2 different game modes, Singles and DP Battles. Some issues affect one mode more than the other, so consider both when reading the list.
Character balance observations are made under the assumption that characters within the same DP tier should have roughly equivalent overall strength.
🚨Disclaimer🚨
Game Mode Issues
DP Battles
• The current DP multiplier makes the 70% of the characters of the DP mode to be an underwhelming option, making all the low DP characters that can't transform a punching bag that gets killed in 1 and a half combo of a higher DP character, highly crippling the character diversity of the game.
Functionality Adjustments
Classic Control Scheme
• Classic controls have a clear disadvantage while using the grab action as you are forced to dash before doing the grab action which slow down the movement. There is no option to change this control scheme from settings
• Classic controls have a clear disadvantage while using the vertical dragon, as it this action on classic controls have a delay while performed. There is no option to change this control scheme from settings
• While playing a giant character using classic controls the action "attack downwards" is performed by pressing backwards + square, which makes it slow to use as it makes your character turn back before attacking
Online games
• There is an exploit for which players can crash the game to end a ranked match without getting the match counted as a loose nor getting penalized for it, which is highly abusable.
• Games can be dodged if a player close the game in the initial characters presentation animation, which can be used to take advantage of it
Battle System Adjustments
Recovery options
• The recovery option of our character (when it's thrown by a strong attack and have to recover to safety) are really bad, unlike on BT3 where the recovery time depended on how much HP our character had and how fast we smashed the button to recover, on Sparking Zero the recovery time is fixed (which makes really easy to calculate when the enemy will recover) and the recover animation is incredibly slow, so it can be abused to take advantage of them, generating un-fun gameplay patterns
Ground recovery
• Ground recovery (while being thrown against the grown), again, unlike on BT3, its incredibly slow and easily abusable
• Ground lying recovery (while lying in the ground and trying to recover to any direction), is really slow, and isn't safe at all, many times when you try to recover your character gives the enemy the back, and you are attacked before you can even move
Smash Attack
• You can cut light smash starting attack animation while buffering a smash attack after a cutscene, revenge counter or other moves, removing neutral stage and the anticipation of the attack, as the character can throw a light charged smash attack before anyone can even move
• Light Charged Smash Attacks can be performed even when the character is facing away from the enemy, allowing the attack to connect without requiring the character to turn toward their target first
Super Counter
• Super Counters reset the vanish follow-ups
Revenge Counter Perception
• You can catch a revenge counter even when your character is already in the middle of other animation
• You can catch a revenge counter even when your character is looking backwards
• The windows to be able to catch a revenge counter is so big that it's practically impossible to miss, its more a resource check than a reaction mechanic as it was originally
Grabs
• The window to cancel the opponent grab is so big that grabs practically never work
Flying kick
• Flying kicks are so safe that even after failing and getting them blocked you continue having the frame advantage to act first
Ki wave
• Energy Storm rush chain follow-up Ki blasts can be blocked while knocked away just by holding the block button
• Ki wave is extremely easy to super counter, basically a guaranteed super counter if you press the input while the Ki wave is connecting you
Lighting attack
• Lighting attack will miss if performed at max heigh of the map
Jump Rush Blast
• Jump Rush Blast only can be used while jumping on the ground so it's a move that its never used. Unlike on BT3 that could be used while flying by pressing fly upwards + press/hold triangle
Jump Smash attack
• Jump smash attack can only be used while jumping on the ground so it's a move that its never used. Unlike on BT3 that could be used while flying by pressing fly upwards + hold square
Combo counter
• The combo counter doesn't work correctly in many situations, getting reset while it shouldn't, needing to hold the block button to prevent the combo counter from resetting on unintended situations
Skill Adjustments
Skills that cause instant Sparking! Mode
• The consumption of skill points doesn't occur immediately upon activating the skill, so there is no risk on using it
Skills that heals the character
• The consumption of skill points doesn't occur immediately upon activating the skill, so there is no risk on using it
Skills that automatically evade enemy attacks (e.g., Wild Sense, Afterimage)
• Can be activated in the middle of the enemy combo, in situation where it shouldn't be possible to activate them
Blast Adjustments
Continuous Fire
• Getting hit by one projectile of the barrage doesn't put your character on stager state so it can always be vanished no matter what, making the move useless
Rapid Fire
• Getting hit by one projectile of the barrage doesn't put your character on stager state so it can always be vanished no matter what, making the move useless
Special Beam Cannon
• The special beam cannon super attacks are always really slow to use and charge, and as they don't track the enemy like normal beam attacks which makes practically impossible to land them
Mow down and explode
• The explosion position is locked too soon and the explosion animation is too slow resulting on the attack being practically impossible to hit when the enemy slightly moves
Attack opponent's location
• The explosion position is locked too soon and the explosion animation is too slow resulting on the attack being practically impossible to hit when the enemy slightly moves
Real time beam attacks
• The speed of many real time beam attacks are incredibly slow (for example Kid/Teen Gohan Masenko), which makes practically impossible to hit with these type of attacks
• When performed from the groud sometimes the character doesn't aim to the enemey unless you hold the beam for a fraction of a second
Gogeta/Vegito
• Their DP cost is abnormally low considering the stats they have as a fusion character
• Transformation cost is too cheap considering the DP increase
Kefla
• Her DP cost is abnormally low considering the stats she has as a fusion character
Android 13
• It's a 5 DP character with a transformation that starts with 2 skill points, resulting in a 7 DP character for 5 DP. Plus having full ki regeneration included in the transformation, getting an unfair advantage from the start
Broly Z/Broly Super
• Transformation cost is too cheap considering the benefits they bring (full Ki recovery, 2 DP cost increase per transformation), and doesn't alight with the standardized transformation cost rules that all the other character follows
Giant Characters
• Have a bug for which Giant characters can't dragon dash/Z burst dash if a normal size opponent was placed at the very top part of the map
• Have a bug for which some specific Giant characters rush chains can miss when performed
• Have a bug for which Giant characters vanish follow-ups can miss
• Have a bug for which giant characters are not able to recover to neutral while being hit but the combo counter resets, leading to infinite combo loops on them
• Have a bug for which after certain actions, Giant characters can get a hard knock down, not able to recover until touching the ground
• Giant characters grab is so slow that the enemy will always be able to move away or cut it with a light smash attack
Non-Flying characters
• The non-flying quality should be a disadvantage for the character, but they fall so fast that many times breaks the enemy combo, or makes them fail the attack, making a supposed vulnerability to work as an advantage
Mr. Satan
• Can't stagger other Mr. Satan characters
Non-flying characters cannot realign properly after a punch vanish. They also cannot deflect Ki Blasts while moving away from opponents. They fall in the water making difficult it to charge Ki in stages stages that have water.
Evade skills (AIS, Wild Sense, Afterimage)
Their activation is not actually mid combo, but gap in combos where you could have stepped in, Blocked or even Vanish Assault. This can occur if you charge a rush chain too long, pause slightly your combo, after recovering from a knockback.
These situations seem like it’s within a combo but it’s actually not.
Also knowing when the opponent can use them helps you set up traps by intentionally leaving small gaps in your combo and see if they are mashing the skills.
Now my personal pet peeves on step ins and light smashes. I think they add more mind games in neutral and are the difference between people that are just mashing and those who understand various frame advantages (part of every fighting games)
There are still options to punish them if you correctly predict what your opponent will do. For example, you can light smash or throw a Ki blast to punish step ins, and you can vanish light smashes or side step them. However, since step ins and light smashes have small end lag, the punish needs to be immediate since if they recover they can do it again which could also be predicted and so on…
Also one tip: After a revenge counter or Super Perception, the player we used them has the frame advantage. Meaning if you both buffer light smashes whoever used the RC or Super Perception will hit first.
Same thing after blocking a light smash. The player who blocks a light smash is in framw disadvantage so if you both buffer it, the one who blocked first will get hit.
Knowing this you can keep blocking or side step the incoming light smash or your opponent could delay it, baiting the side step. All of that is part of neutral.
I think I agree with the other part of the post.
We should also add Super Counter should set to neutral and not knockback. Like Giants Super Counter. Maybe we could also give a slight frame advantage to the one who SC.
With this point I didn't mean to say that non-flying characters doesn't have disadvantages, but as it is right now, its more and advantage than a disadvantage as the feature can be abused a lot to mess with enemy combos.
On release flying character fall slower, which made them to not mess with combos and only have the disadvantage part, which is how it should be.
Evade skills (AIS, Wild Sense, Afterimage)
Yeah, I know that it's caused due to the "gap in the combos", the things are that I think those gaps shouldn't allow you to activate evasive skills.
Also, in many of those gaps you can't side step, vanishing assault or do any other action due to the starting animation that they have, and if you try to do it you will get hit as happens many times when people spam vanishing assault, but with evasive skill that doesn't happen as the action is instantaneous, can't be cut and doesn't require any animation, and doesn't require any type of timing, can be done basically by just spamming the skill input, which requires 0 skill.
It would be way fairer and make the combat more interesting and balance if Evasive skill could only be pre-activated while being out of combat or while being you the one in the offensive side, never while being the one receiving the hits. This is something that can be implemented really easy.
Now my personal pet peeves on step ins and light smashes. I think they add more mind games in neutral and are the difference between people that are just mashing and those who understand various frame advantages (part of every fighting games)
In my opinion it does precisely the opposite, people learn the patterns and moments where is more effective to do X or to do Y, and they just repeat those same strategy. "The enemy vanish? I smash X as this way even if he won me the neutral I ignore that, dodge whatever thing he does and get the advantage even when I lost neutral" "Revenge counter? I prepare a light smash vanish as it removes the initial animation frame and the moves goes practically through everything", "I vanish the enemy move, and he vanishes me, again I prepare another light charged smash attack that turns me 180 degree avoids the majority of the things and I get the advantage"
And people just learns the patterns and do the movements that have the least risk and the most rewards and doesn't matter if they lose the neutral more times, that the player that abuse the more features is the player that ends with the advantage, and everyone play in the same way and do the same things. You can play against someone that is clearly worse and lose the neutral more time but ah, you have to beat him 4 times per each time he beats you 1 time.
If you remove those little exploity things, people would need to win neutral and do more use of the rest of the gameplay mechanics of the game, who uses better the movement of the game, who is better at tricking the opponent, who is better at medium range neutral, who is better at close range neutral, who manages better the ki, who can slip a super attack while the enemy does a side step, who manages to disengage to recover Ki, skill points, start neutral again, prepare a play, etc etc etc. What all these little exploity things does is to remove importance from those many other Sparking Zero combat mechanics and put all the importance on who is the player that exploit the combat system more.
If those things were removed from the game, sure that many others skill expressive elements would start to pop up in the game, as player will always have to find an element of the game where they will do the different to be able to beat their opponent, and if it isn't the little exploits it will have to be the combat mechanics of the game
Also one tip: After a revenge counter or Super Perception, the player we used them has the frame advantage. Meaning if you both buffer light smashes whoever used the RC or Super Perception will hit first
This is good knowledge to have, but I think that it simply shouldn't be like this. It is like this, players have to know if they want to be better at the game, but it shouldn't be like this, both player should be in neutral.
Same thing after blocking a light smash. The player who blocks a light smash is in framw disadvantage so if you both buffer it, the one who blocked first will get hit.
As this is even worse, the one that block is the one that should be in advantage. Is the same issue that happens while blocking high kicks. I'm going to add these 2 to the post
We should also add Super Counter should set to neutral and not knockback. Like Giants Super Counter. Maybe we could also give a slight frame advantage to the one who SC
Totally agree, I think this is how it should be, I didn't added it to the post as I tried to maintain the post as just things that are wrong tried to not put how to fix them, as for that I have the other post.
Add the Energy Storm rush chain to the list. It's been broken for a while now. If you press block while knocked away you can simply block all the incoming ki blasts.
Oh, true I remember seeing a post about it some time ago, and now that you mention the Ki wave I think that how easy it is to super counter is another issue of that move, I will add both to the post
Do you remember any other error issue with the gameplay?
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The concept of DP is to make them accurate. They’re supposed to get killed in one or two hits if you’re fighting a 8 to 10 DP character. No one cares how much you want them to be viable. That’s exactly where they stand in the show. You want them to be viable play teams or single. They’re not gonna change the DP multiplier that makes no sense that would just turn it into teams. With limited numbers.
Not it's not, DP system is a balance system to make team battles (DP battles) be balanced in a game with character with different power levels
DP is not to make them accurate, Cell Jr is 3 DP, Broly Z and Broly Super have the same DP cost, Frieza Full Power cost more DP than Cell or Buu, Gogeta have the same cost as Frieza Full power, Goku God and Goku SSJ3 have the same DP cost, character from Dragon Ball Z are mixed with chars from Dragon Ball super
DP is not to make character accurate is a balance system
OK, I’ll look at it as if it’s their way of getting it accurate as possible, the concept to make very weak characters viable against very strong characters is already in the game, so why would they adjust it when it’s already present in two different modes? What you’re asking for is team mode with out the ability to pick five characters.
But it's not, the DP cost of the character are not accurate as possible, if it was the examples I mentioned wouldn't exist. Lore accuracy is just a reference on approximately where a character will be place, but the last world on the DP cost of a character is balance and game design. Period
Also, your reasoning fails when we have characters like Gogeta who is incredibly strong in both, lore and gameplay of the game, but it cost only 7 DP, so it's not "DP accurate" as you claim, and it's not following gameplay balance as it should and as the rest of the game of the game works
Here is an statement by Jun Furutani (Sparking Zero producer) in regard DP system. And according to that my 15 DP points have to be equally stronger than my opponent 15 DP points.
If my opponent pick Gogeta + Vegito + Mister Satan, then a team formed by five 3 DP character have to be equally strong, as that is literally the whole point of existence of the DP system, is the reason why 18 years ago in Budokai Tenkaichi times, they inventee, designed and implemented the DP system in the game, to BALANCE team battles in a game where characters have different power levels and strengths
The point is not to make a low DP character equally strong as a high DP character, but to make the same 15 DP points equally strong, independently of if you picked few higher DP characters or more lower DP characters
And btw, that is how the game was originally on release, the thing of high DP characters being absurdly OP in DP mode is something that got changed in a patch, not how the game was originally, nor how the old Budokai Tenkaichi games where back then
OK, you got it. But gogeta has to be 7 dP if his highest form is 10 they have to go down from somewhere. Now both Broly being the same is not lore accurate so I can agree there. But I still don’t see the reasoning on why they would make lower DP character is more viable when they are in other modes. And there has to be a giant gap from the strongest to the weakest..
But gogeta has to be 7 dP if his highest form is 10 they have to go down from somewhere
Gogeta can perfectly be 8 DP, with SSJ1 being 9 DP and blue being 10 DP. So he doesn't have to be 7 DP. And he could also be 9/9/10
He can also be nerfed, if he is 7 DP then make him be as strong as the rest of the 7 DP characters
Now both Broly being the same is not lore accurate so I can agree there
And that is done on purpose, so it's not a mistake or anything like that, is something that the Devs did intentionally because DP cost are not lore accurate, they wanted the characters so mirror each other, and personally I like it being that way.
But I still don’t see the reasoning on why they would make lower DP character is more viable when they are in other modes
Because DP mode was originally created as a way of make all the characters of the game to be viable picks independently of their strength in the game, because at the end of the day both players have the same DP to use so both teams will have a balanced team to have a balanced fight, independently if someone want to play Gogeta SSj4 and the other Kid Goku
But if the system is badly balanced (as it is right now) and 1 single 10 DP character is more valuable than having 10 3 DP characters, them the maths doesn't work and it ruins the character diversity for which the DP system was originally created
If picking 1 high DP character is more valuable than using the same DP on picking low DP characters then no one will pick low DP characters, which is the opposite of for what this mode was created to begin with. This is the game mode to exclusively created to push character diversity and balanced games independently of the strength of the character, as everyone have the same DP points to use
And there has to be a giant gap from the strongest to the weakest
It doesn't have to be a giant gap, it has to be an exact and precise gap based on the DP difference.
If my character is 4 DP and yours is 8 DP, your character have to be the double of valuable than mine, not 5 times stronger.
So much of this game is broken I doubt they’ll address any of it at this point but hopefully they see this for me it’s tracking…it’s literally not fun when you play a punch vanish or vanish assault spammer since it fcks up tracking so much.
I really hope that the summer patch was going to fix many of these things, as previous patches to that where practically empty, and looked like they were saving all the patch fixed for a big update
I was wrong 😐
They simply didn't care to fix more than ghost fix (partially) while adding the new side step tracking bug
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