By Erina Operach Staff Writer “Dragon Ball: Sparking! Zero,” released Oct. 11, is the fourth game in the “Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi” series. Many long time fans of the series were taken aback by the name change. Though it is a sequel to the third game, it is no longer under the name “Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi.” The new naming convention comes from the Japanese series, where the series has been called “Dragon Ball Z: Sparking!” since the original release. The American name Budokai Tenkaichi comes from the Dragon Ball Z: Budokai games. Atari reused the name because of the popularity of the Budokai game series. The game features many beloved returning characters and their transformations - totaling up to 182 characters with more to come with DLC. The game has not taken the most balanced approach to all of its characters. The fusions, for example, are some of the strongest characters in the game, which lines up with the canonical lore of the series but doesn’t always make for the most fun gameplay. Super Saiyan 4 Gogeta is so powerful that my friends and I have banned him from our casual games. The improper balancing cannot be ignored in online games, though. It is almost impossible to load into a match, even in non-ranked modes, and not be met with a UI Goku, SSJ4 Gogeta, or the most threatening of them all Z Broly. These characters are far more powerful than any other character you can pick, but you can still defeat them if you just play a bit more strategically. Legendary Super Saiyan Z Broly, on the other hand, is broken. The character can consistently spam its ultimate to the point where your entire team is wiped within seconds, leaving you with a bitter taste in your mouth. If you can manage to get away from those characters or defeat them before they can use their ultimate, the game is fantastic. I only bring up these big flaws of the balancing because I love this game and want to see it succeed. Nearly every day for the last week, all I could think about was getting out of class and going back to my dorm to play “Dragon Ball: Sparking! Zero.” There's so much fun to be had, even in the single-player campaign. I love the Sparking Episodes included in the game. Sparking Episodes are alternate stories to what happened in the anime. Getting to see these iconic characters follow plotlines that never happened or never could have happened is an amazing experience. Seeing Gohan Black instead of Goku Black or Vegeta overcome Babidi’s curse is peak “Dragon Ball.” The game is jam-packed with epic animations, great characters, crazy mechanics, and a wonderful story. Rating: A- “Dragon Ball: Sparking! Zero” is the series’ newest raging inferno