The Saiyans Attack Piccolo Sparking Zero: How to Actually Unlock the Secret Branch

Let’s be real for a second: Dragon Ball: Sparking! Zero doesn't hold your hand. If you’re playing through Piccolo’s Episode Battle, you’ve probably hit a brick wall at the mission The Saiyans Attack. On the surface, it looks like a standard "survive until Goku shows up" fight against Nappa. But if you look at the flowchart, there’s a sneaky branching path that most people miss because the game is incredibly vague about it.

That branch is the key to unlocking the Vegeta vs. Piccolo alternate scenario. It sounds simple—just beat Nappa—but in practice, it’s one of the most frustrating early-game challenges because of a hidden timer that would make a speedrunner sweat.

The Secret Requirement Nobody Tells You

Most players just scrap with Nappa until the cutscene triggers where he tries to stomp Gohan and Piccolo jumps in the way. That’s the canon ending. To break away from the script, you have to achieve the "Secondary Objective."

The game just says to "Defeat Nappa quickly." What does "quickly" actually mean?

Through a lot of trial and error (and a lot of shouting at the screen), the community has basically narrowed it down to under 1 minute and 45 seconds. Some people swear you need to do it in under 90 seconds. If you see the dialogue where Vegeta tells Nappa to wrap things up and kill them all, you’ve already failed. You need to end the fight before that line ever triggers.

How to Melt Nappa’s Health Bar

Nappa in Sparking! Zero is a tank. He has high poise, he hits like a literal truck, and he loves to armor through your basic rush attacks. If you try to play a "fair" game of footsies, you’re going to lose too much time.

Here is the dirty strategy to get that win:

1. Abuse Sparking Mode: This is non-negotiable. You need to charge your Ki past the limit immediately. Don’t waste time with small Ki blasts. Use your Skill Counts to enter Sparking Mode as fast as humanly possible.
2. The Rush Combo into Special Beam Cannon: While in Sparking Mode, your rush attacks won't be interrupted as easily. Land a full combo, knock him into the air, and immediately follow up with the Special Beam Cannon.
3. Don't Use the Ultimate (Unless Necessary): Piccolo's Ultimate takes a long time to animate. In a fight where every second counts toward a 1:45 timer, sometimes two Special Beam Cannons are more efficient than one long Ultimate animation.
4. The "Grab" Cheese: If Nappa is blocking too much, use Piccolo's grab. It’s quick, it does decent damage, and most importantly, it resets his position so you can go back into a rush.

Is It Bugged?

You’ll see a lot of threads online claiming this mission is bugged. People say they beat him in 1:30 and still didn't get the branch. Honestly, it feels hit-or-miss sometimes. One thing that seems to help is finishing him off with a Special Beam Cannon specifically. While the game doesn't explicitly state it as a requirement, many players (including myself) found that the alternate path finally clicked when the killing blow was the iconic spiral beam rather than a random punch.

Also, check your difficulty. If you’re playing on "Lowered Difficulty," you cannot unlock branching paths. You have to be on the standard setting. If Nappa is just too tough, you might want to use a Dragon Orb to slightly relax the requirements, though even then, you still have to be fast.

What Happens in the "Vegeta vs. Piccolo" Path?

If you manage to dump enough damage on Nappa fast enough, Piccolo doesn't die. Instead, he stands his ground, and Nappa is the one who gets embarrassed. This triggers a "What If" scenario where Piccolo actually has to face off against Vegeta.

📖 Related: Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart for PlayStation 5: Why It Still Feels Like the Future of Gaming

It’s a cool moment because it gives Piccolo the respect he rarely gets in the Saiyan Saga. Instead of being the sacrificial lamb, he gets to be the hero of Earth for a few extra minutes. Does it drastically change the entire history of Dragon Ball? Not really—the game usually finds a way to loop back to the main timeline eventually—but for Piccolo fans, seeing him hold his own against the Prince of All Saiyans is worth the headache of the Nappa fight.

Moving Beyond the Saiyan Saga

Once you clear this, don't think you're out of the woods. Piccolo’s path in Sparking! Zero stays difficult. You’ll eventually hit the Piccolo Returns to His Birthplace mission on Namek where you have to beat Frieza’s second and third forms incredibly fast.

The strategy remains the same:

✨ Don't miss: NYT Mini No Longer Free: What Really Happened to Your Favorite Morning Puzzle

• Ignore the "timer" in your head and just play hyper-aggressively.
• Stay in Sparking Mode to ignore Frieza's armor.
• Dodge the scripted Ultimate attacks—getting hit by a cinematic move usually kills your chances of meeting the "fast" requirement because the animation takes 15-20 seconds off your real-time clock.

Actionable Next Steps

If you’re stuck on The Saiyans Attack Piccolo Sparking Zero mission right now, follow this exact checklist:

1. Go to the Shop/Cmpl menu and check if you have any Dragon Orbs. If you've been stuck for an hour, use one. It makes the timer slightly more forgiving.
2. Enter the fight and ignore Gohan. Don't try to protect him; just focus 100% of your energy on Nappa.
3. Charge to Sparking Mode within the first 10 seconds.
4. If the fight lasts longer than 2 minutes, just Restart from the pause menu. Don't finish the fight; it’s a waste of time.
5. Equip ability items that increase your Ki Charge speed or Super Attack power if you have them. Every bit of extra damage helps when you're fighting the clock.

The branching paths are the best part of Sparking! Zero, even if the "fast" requirements feel like they were tuned by someone who hates joy. Keep at it, and you'll eventually see Piccolo get the win he deserved back in 1989.