“Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot” was released in 2020 (same year Sonic the Hedgehog came out) on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. It received mixed to positive reviews from critics, fans and gamers alike. The game was later released on Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S. Bandai Namco’s developing “Dragon Ball: Sparking! ZERO.” A fourth game in the “Budokai Tenkaichi series.” As a fan of DBZ, I wanna share my thoughts on the first open-world game based on the anime. It’ll be released around 2024. By the way, “Dragon Ball: Daima” will air in late 2024.
It doesn’t matter if SPOILERS are listed. We’ve already seen Dragon Ball Z countless times or retold in numerous games.
Powerful & Weak Aspects
Powerful: Voice Actors from the show reprise their roles. They did an excellent job for their respective voiceover performances.
Graphics look gorgeous as it brings a few elements to life including character models, fluid movement, lighting, environmental locations and recreating Akira Toriyama’s vision.
Gameplay/Mechanics
- Presented as an action-adventure role-playing game set in an open-world, you play as Goku, Vegeta, Gohan, Piccolo, Trunks, Vegito & Gotenks navigating Earth and Namek. Fly in the air exploring various locations. You can also run fast.
- Taking cues from “Raging Blast” and “Xenoverse” 1-2, Combat’s all about button mashing, charge your ki, transform, fire a special attack on an opponent and unleash an Ultimate Attack.
- Boss Fights are top-tier. They never get old.
- Side Missions are mostly based on filler episodes.
- Skill Tree lets you upgrade powers and abilities. Spend orbs on ’em.
- Gather ingredients to make full coarse meals at Goku’s house. Chi-Chi cooks your food. Finally, she does something useful in a video game. I can’t stand Chi-Chi in the anime. She’s annoying as heck. Eating a meal temporary increase your stats.
- Don’t forget to hunt animals/dinosaurs and go fishing.
- Z-Encyclopedia contains various subjects on characters and the show’s mythos.
- You can also gather parts to create a hover car and a bipedal robo walker. They can be used for racing mini-games.
- After you beat the Buu Saga, you unlock Bulma’s time machine. You can return to a previous saga to complete a side quest.
- Placing a character on a Community Board increases stats. If two characters are more are combined, you get an extra boost. A specific character’s talents reflect the board. Use them to your advantage.
Soundtrack retains music from the Japanese version. It would’ve been awesome if Bruce Faulconer’s soundtrack was added as free DLC. So, I can relive Toonami’s golden years. I miss my childhood.
Speaking of DLC, there are six paid DLC stories.
- A New Power Awakens Parts 1-2 retells two DBZ movies, Battle of the Gods & “Resurrection F.”
- Trunks: The Warrior of Hope retells “The History of Trunks.”
- Bardock: Alone Against Fate adapts “Bardock: The Father of Goku.”
- The 23rd World Tournament is based on Dragon Ball’s “Piccolo Jr. Saga” with Goku squaring off with Piccolo.
Weak: Ever since the Budokai Trilogy retold the Saiyan to Buu Saga, further games felt like they copied and pasted the story. Rather than telling an original story like Xenoverse 1-2. Kakarot recycled DBZ’s sagas we’ve already seen countless times. It would’ve been unique if Bandai Namco adapted Dragon Ball Super’s storylines beginning with Goku & Vegeta fighting Kid Buu as a tutorial. Followed by “Battle of the Gods” as the first saga. Then, conclude with “Universal Survivor.”
Although an open-world, there’s some setbacks.
- If you wanna leave West City and head to Kame House, you have to open the Main Map, select the place and wait for a few seconds.
- Flying all the way up will force you to go down.
- You can’t switch different outfits. I would’ve like to see Vegeta wear his pink t-shirt. What about Majin Vegeta as a transformation?
- Cars can pass a few tunnels, but you can’t go through.
- A cutscene never shows Vegeta saying one of his famous lines. “IT’S OVER 9000!”
- Shenron’s wishes are underwhelming. You revive villains for a rematch. Earn more items, orbs and money. It would’ve been awesome if you play as villains. Give them unique missions.
- If you own a PS4 or Xbox One, Loading Screens takes a minute to go to the next area. If you own a PS5 or Xbox Series X/S, it takes a few seconds. The latter consoles are better in terms of loading faster than previous ones.
The Final Verdict: B-
Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot’s not a masterpiece or a disaster. Just an average open-world game. I was gonna give it a C, but thanks to DLC slightly improving more content, it earns an average grade. If you’re a fan of DBZ like me, give this one a try. I’m looking forward to Dragon Ball: Sparking! ZERO.
Nickthemoviecritic.com 