The Dragon Ball Z: Budokai franchise is important to me. As someone whose anime knowledge was limited to the Pokémon series in the late '90s, Budokai opened my eyes to perhaps the world's biggest and most beloved anime. Sure, I had seen clips of Dragon Ball Z and knew the names Goku and Vegeta, but I didn't have the necessary context to understand why it was important and popular.

My playthrough of the first Budokai game in 2002 was a revelation, exposing me to the first three arcs of the anime and introducing me to the stories of iconic characters like Raditz, Frieza, and Cell. I would go on to continue my education through Budokai 2 but fell off shortly after that. However, it was the push I needed to finally sit down and watch the first several arcs of the anime.

Sadly, I didn't continue watching long enough to get caught up and I haven't kept up with the Dragon Ball games, outside of some FighterZ tourism. That means I missed the entire Budokai Tenkaichi series (or as it's known in Japan, Sparking!). That's why, when Dragon Ball: Sparking! Zero was announced, I couldn't wait to get my hands on it. Thankfully, I had that opportunity during Summer Game Fest Play Days in June, and again at a small preview event in San Diego, California.