Writing guides for a living, you usually leave the menu on while you work on each article. However, for this instance with the Dragon Ball: Sparking Zero menus, I furiously turn off the game and go to the PS5 home screen.
That’s because the Dragon Ball: Sparking Zero menus are so irritating that they spiral my brain out of focus. The most agonizing thing about these menus is that you’ll hear the same voicelines over and over again, sometimes repeating straight after they’ve said them. You’ll either hear the interviewer agonizingly asking questions to Tien and Android 17 over and over, or have Goku ask Dende what he’s up to. Hercule is also a pain as he constantly gets spooked by Goku appearing at his house by instant transmission.
The odd thing about the Dragon Ball: Sparking Zero menus, however, is how the characters speak and then get no response. For example, Dende says nothing when Goku asks what he spends his time doing. It’s very offputting. If you’re going to have them speak the same lines over and over, at least make it a conversation. It’s better than Goku saying, “Hmm, what do I want?” 8 times in two minutes.
Unfortunately, that’s not the most annoying element of the Dragon Ball: Sparking Zero menus. When you head to the Shop in Dragon Ball: Sparking Zero, Bulma harasses you with the same voice lines over and over and over again, wishing that Vegeta would take her on a shopping spree. The same annoying tone of voice makes me stop writing about unlocking a character and turning the game off.
They also picked the most annoying character for a part of the main menu, Zen-Oh. In his frustratingly high-pitched voice, he constantly asks Goku to play with him. When you’re completing Zen-Oh’s Orders, he says the same line again and asks, “Hey, hey, what you gonna play today?” and says “I’ve got a favor for ya!” He says that second line five times in a minute sometimes. AHHHH! This is my nightmare.
It’s not just the voices that are annoying, however. The way the menu is structured also grinds my teeth. You see, Goku transitions between each scene that acts as a menu location. The problem is that this makes the menu feel sluggish and if the left analog stick detects the input going a little to the left or the right, it immediately goes to another menu section. Admittedly, it’s a mild inconvenience, but it happens so often that it becomes agonizing to deal with. At one moment, I even saw Master Roshi T-Pose.
Hopefully, Bandai Namco and Spike Chunsoft bring a patch that gives players the option to mute the characters. I immediately dread booting the game up because of how annoying the menus are. Thankfully, this fighting game is particularly awesome to play, so the gameplay makes up for it.
Published: Oct 25, 2024 08:55 am