Sparking! Zero feature should be used in every fighting game

Dragon Ball: Sparking! Zero Incorporates a new feature that many games can learn from. Sparking! Zero is the first title in the Dragon Ball Fighting game series to be released in over a decade, after 2010s Tenkaichi Tag Team. Featuring a diverse list of across the Dragon Ball universe, original storylines faithfully recreated and canon-breaking alternate universe scenarios, this is the most expansive Dragon Ball video game adaptation in recent memory.

But Sparking! Zero Innovates even in unexpected ways. It includes a new feature in the Budokai Tenkaichi series, and somewhat new to the fighting game genre as a whole. Although it is completely missable and completely optional, This new feature represents a leap forward for accessibility (in every sense of the word), bringing the game to a whole new audience.

Battle Assist is a game changer in Sparking! Zero

A great new feature

Dragon Ball: Sparking! ZeroThe biggest new feature is Battle AssistA menu setting that simplifies various combat mechanics. This can have multiple applications – first and foremost, it’s great for new players who are just learning the ropes, because they won’t have to spend hours on long combo lists and complicated mechanical intersections. With Battle Assist on, they can ease into the basics of the game, slowly taking off the training wheels one by one. So they will gradually get used to each of them Sparking! Zeros combat mechanics, eventually become experienced, competitive players.

moreover, Battle Assist is an invaluable setting for players with disabilities. Fighting game combos can be trying for certain players, including (but not limited to) those who have problems with fine motor skills, or those with limb differences that make it difficult to grip controllers or reach full sets of buttons. Battle assist mode makes Sparking! Zero Much more accessible, allowing a larger audience of players to enjoy interactive adventures in the Dragon Ball World.

How Battle Assist works in Dragon Ball: Sparking! Zero

What each battle assist setting does

There are seven separate Battle Assist settings in Dragon Ball: Sparking! ZeroAnd each has a specific effect on a particular feature of the game’s combat. These can be adjusted according to the accessibility menu. There are a handful of default profiles for Battle Assist, but the player can also create a custom suite of settings by adjusting the following options:

• Combo assist
• Follow-up attack assist
• Dragon Dash Assist
• Dragon Dash Attack Assist
• Guard Assist
• Recovery Assist
• Revenge Counter Assist

Again, each of these affects a particular combat mechanic implicit in its name, but it can be difficult for new players to understand exactly what each one does. And Each combat assist setting simplifies the associated mechanic in a different way. For example, Combo Assist replaces certain button inputs, mixing the attacks bound to square and triangle / X and Y. This allows the player to pull off complex combos by simply pressing a single button repeatedly. Follow-up Attack Assist will automatically cause a player to do a dash or teleport attack after launching an opponent.

Dragon Dash Assist, meanwhile, automatically activates the Dragon Dash ability (Used for closing distances or flanking opponents) After the player holds the stick in the same direction for approximately five seconds. Dragon Dash Attack Assist will automatically perform the associated attack move when the player dashes close enough to an enemy.

The last three settings each Automate timing-based moves. Guard Assist automatically sets the player’s guard when an attack comes from the front, Recovery Assist automatically performs air and ground recoveries when the player’s character is knocked back, and Revenge Counter Assist automatically performs a counter when the player is targeted by a rush Combo.

What is most important about these features, however, is that None of them have priority over manual inputs. If the player performs a string of attacks with the full combo, even with Battle Assist on, they will execute it perfectly. If they decide to use a dash or teleport follow-up instead of waiting for the assist setting to kick in, they’ll pull off the move they selected instead of the game’s automated choice. This is a testament to the greatest strength of Battle Assist and the genius of its implementation in Sparking! Zero: its flexibility.

Every fighting game needs a battle assist option

And more fighting games are using them

Something similar to Sparking! Zeros Battle assist should be included in all fighting games. In recent years, it has become more common; Tekken 8 And Street Fighter 6 Both have features that simplify combos and other common battle mechanics. Again, this is excellent for new players who can use settings like Sparking! Zeros battle assist to learn each game mechanics one by one, instead of jumping into a full-blown brawl and having to master each system at the same time. This is invaluable in a game that has already been slammed for its brutal difficulty.

Settings like these are also great for players with disabilities, especially when they are customizable like Sparking! Zeros. Accessibility is never one-size-fits-all. Not only do different people have different access needs – sometimes, the same person may have different access needs one day than they did the last. Allowing players to adjust multiple battle assist features, finding the best combination that works for them at any given time, and even changing the combination later if necessary. Exactly the kind of flexibility more games need to introduce into their access features.

Common criticisms of settings like these claim that they make games too easy, but greater flexibility dispels them. Players who want them are free to use them, just as players who don’t want them are free to turn them off. Plus, while Battle Assist definitely makes a beginner better at a game like Sparking zero, It won’t exactly beat the game for them single-handedly. They will have to develop their skills and improve their strategies over time, just the same as if they played with Battle Assist turned on.

In any case, it can only be resolved that Battle Assist functions do more good than harm. They help keep new players interested in long-running series with complex combat mechanics, and are indispensable for accessibility. Nice to see Battle Assist in Dragon Ball: Sparking! ZeroBut it would be even better to see something like it become an industry standard.