Just like stepping out of a faulty time machine, Dragon Ball: Sparking Zero is a blast from the past. The high-speed action and humongous character roster are just as welcome as they were nearly 20 years ago. Another returning element is quick-time events (QTEs), which are called Impact Actions in-game. The general gaming audience may not miss having to mash button prompts on a screen, but this is something that fans have been especially excited about.
There are four different types of Impact Actions, and each one has its own unique QTE minigame. While it’s a pretty cool inclusion, they’re not all clear about how they work—and each one having its own distinctive UI doesn’t help.
The training mode does go over them, but it doesn’t do a great job explaining things, nor how the boost function works. Piccolo’s passive AI in this mode doesn’t let you experience the full extent of every Impact Action either.
It will help a ton to get to grips with Impact Actions, so here’s our breakdown of each QTE minigame and how to beat them.
How to Win Speed Impacts
Starting it off is Speed Impact, which is typically triggered when you and an opponent use a Dragon Dash against one another. It can also be triggered if a Rush Super and a Dragon Dash meet.
Read More:Dragon Ball: Sparking Zero’s Rush Supers Can Be A Super-Rush Once Mastered
What can make this one of the more complicated Impacts is that it’s divided into two stages.
Stage 1
The first is called the Single Strike stage and features a larger circle shrinking into a smaller one. Pressing the prompt will stop the circle, with your job being to get it as close as possible to the center. Don’t feel bad if you miss-time it at first because it does shrink deceptively fast. This is an important step because whoever stops it closer to the center will win the Speed Impact.
Stage 2
Coming after that is the Rapid Strike stage. No matter who won the first stage, the objective is to mash the shown button prompt as fast as you can. The winner will be doing this to increase the damage they inflict, and the loser will mash to mitigate it. The Speed Impact ends with the winner punching the loser hard enough to send them flying.
As with every Impact Action, you can also press the Boost Button (RT/R2) for some helpful bonuses. It can be used once during the Single Strike stage to make the timing more lenient. In the Rapid Strike stage, it can be used up to three times to enhance your attacks. This one has the most times available to boost, which also means it’s the easiest to overdo it. Each Boost takes up one gauge of ki, and using too much will put you in a Collapsed state. You’ll be forced to recover and will lose your chance to follow up.
How to Win Power Impacts
Both players performing a Throw at close range will trigger a Power Impact. This won’t work against larger characters like Anilaza or Giant Form Lord Slug, so I don’t recommend trying. If it’s timed right, both characters will push against each other with their hands.
A spiral gauge will display in the middle of the screen, along with a button prompt. It’s best to imagine this minigame like a pressure meter. Holding the button down will fill it up, while releasing will let it fall. Allowing it to touch the yellow line in the center will cause it to fall and momentarily disable the button. The winner is decided by who has it filled the most.
It doesn’t last that long, so the trick here is to keep it as close to the maximum without overloading it. You might find it easier to hold it near the end and then resort to tapping to keep it close by. I highly suggest practicing this repeatedly in the training mode to get the timing down.
Using the Boost will extend the length of the gauge and allow you to fill it even more. Just be sure to not use all of your Ki to boost, since the winner will deliver a heavy finish attack at the end. Although that’s not very damaging, it does stagger the opponent to leave them open to combos.
How to Win Crash Impacts
This can feel like one of Impacts you’ll see the least, since it’s not tied to any offensive actions. Both characters performing a Step at the same time will trigger a Crash Impact. They’ll both punch each other’s fists if the timing is right.
You and your opponent will each take on a random role as a defender or attacker. One of two button prompts will show up in the middle of the screen. Whoever presses their prompt first will win an exchange. Up to three can take place, with the best of two winning the overall Crash Impact and punching the loser away.
Pressing the boost button is supposed to help with your timing. To be completely honest though, I’ve never noticed any difference. I’ve seen some claim that it helps with accuracy, but no aspect of the QTE seems to support that idea. The game itself simply says you need to press the prompts first. I’d only recommend using the boost if you’re constantly on the losing end with this minigame.
How to Win Blast Impacts
Last, but certainly not least, is everyone’s favorite. Blast Impact occurs when both players shoot off a ranged Blast attack. This can be the typical giant beam, or a large energy ball. Ranged attacks such as Piccolo’s Hellzone Grenade and Great Ape Vegeta’s Chou Makouhou Barrage do not count, since they’re split up into multiple projectiles. As long as there’s enough space for the attacks to collide and not hit their targets, you’ll be treated to a cool cutscene of the projectiles smashing into each other.
Read More: Struggling With Dragon Ball: Sparking Zero’s Great Ape Vegeta? We’ve Got You
A gauge will appear in the middle of the screen and start charging up. Pressing the prompt next to it will convert the current amount into energy and reset the charge. If you don’t press anything before the gauge reaches the end, it will similarly start over from the beginning. Whoever converts the most energy will win the Blast Impact.
There are two methods to being top.
Method 1
The first is to simply mash the button as fast as you can. It’s honestly a great option if you’re a quick masher.
Method 2
The other method is to let it fill up as close to the maximum as possible, before pressing the button. You can also press the boost prompt to extend the length of the gauge, although this is pointless if you’re using the first method.
I’ll also point out that this minigame functions differently if you’re using Classic controls. Instead of pressing the button prompt to charge, you’ll need to quickly rotate the left or right sticks on your controller. It’s an awesome throwback to how these beam clashes were handled in previous Dragon Ball games, and I’ll never try it because controllers are expensive. But I respect the truly hardcore players who aren’t afraid and want to aim for maximum nostalgia.
Even if most don’t end with any major damage, Dragon Ball: Sparking Zero’s Impact Actions can allow for great follow-up combos. Mastering them is a great way to improve how you play, whether it’s online or during tough episode battles.
