Each of the Character Episodes inDragon Ball: Sparking! Zeroallows players to experience part of that character’s storyline. While these typically adhere to the story of Dragon Ball Z and Dragon Ball Super, there are places where you can alter events and potentially branch off the canon timeline entirely.
Piccolo has one of the shorter Episodes inDragon Ball: Sparking! Zero, consisting of his major fights up to and including the battle with Android 17 during the Android Saga. He can, however, trigger an alternative path right at the start of the Cell Saga, steering things down a different path. This guide will explain how to reach Piccolo’s Sparking Episode “A Mentor’s Guidance.”
How to Get the Sparking Episode: A Mentor’s Guidance in Dragon Ball: Sparking! Zero
Helpfully,getting access to this Sparking Episode is very easy.You’ll need to reach the beginning of the Android Saga and, when prompted, choose to step in and help Goku with Android 19. This sets off a chain reaction that results in Piccolo and Gohan training together in the Time Chamber and, ultimately, facing Cell at the Cell Games.
All the battles on this route are pretty straightforward, with the only dangerous fights being the two against Perfect Cell, since he’s a very active and dangerous opponent who will actively and regularly vanish out of your combos. He’s aggressive in his too, utilizing his Super and Ultimate attacks to dish out a tremendous amount of damage. You’ll fight Cell in his Semi-Perfect, Perfect, and then finally his Super Perfect Form throughout this route, though the latter two fights are the ones where he gets tricky.
It can be helpful to have a solid understanding of Piccolo’s moveset on this route, since it will make many of the fights easier. During the Battle against Android 19, you’ll be using the same moveset he had throughout the Saiyan Saga and Namek Saga, with the incredibly powerful Paralyze Beam and All-Out Skills. All-Out is particularly helpful, allowing you to enter Sparking Mode without charging your Ki first, helping Piccolo to lay the smackdown on Android 19.
After fusing with Kami, Piccolo gains a new moveset and his old Ultimate Attack, Special Beam Cannon, becomes a Super Attack instead. This can be used to deal a ton of damage at the end of any combo that launches your target, though unfortunately, the All-Out Skill is replaced by the weaker False Courage Skill, which buffs Piccolo’s defense.
Wild Sense is helpful for countering an incoming rush combo, and Light Grenade is another heavy-hitting Blast Super that can be used to end combos or snipe an enemy while they’re charging (though they’re pretty likely to block once they see you fire it.) Piccolo’s new Ultimate Attack, Hellzone Grenade, does a ton of damage and is surprisingly easy to connect. Ideally, you’ll want to launch your opponent before using it or throw it at them as they dash in to catch them.
A Note About Other Branching Paths
Piccolo can also trigger some other, smaller, branching paths throughout the game.Typically you accomplish this by quickly defeating an opponent he was supposed to struggle against, like Third Form Freiza. These either lead straight to a short ending or quickly converge back onto the canon timeline after a small change.
