Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot (PS4) Review

Developer: CyberConnect2

Publisher: Bandai Namco Entertainment

Release Date: January 16, 2020

Platforms: PS4, Xbox One, Switch, PC, Stadia

Overview: Oh hey, It's Goku.....starring in another retelling of the Dragon Ball Z story. Very bad puns aside, Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot is perhaps the most faithful and engaging retelling of the DBZ story yet! CyberConnect2 rips all the action and cutscenes straight from the anime, just like their fantastic work on the Naruto: Ninja Storm series. Unlike the Ninja Storm games, the battles are in a MUCH bigger arena for obvious "over 9,000" reasons. Not only does the game look fantastic, but it plays great as well!

The self-proclaimed "RPG" may only have RPG elements, but the character progression is where art imitates art. The battles in Kakarot always felt intense and captured that feeling of desperation when new overpowered enemies appeared in the anime. Trying to be an RPG also brought some negative design choices that were very annoying at times. And since the game only covers all the arcs of Dragon Ball Z, these design choices stick with the player for quite some time.

Story: Not much needs to be said here. It's exactly the same story as the anime! There is a small twist added on. We can't have an open-world DBZ RPG game without anything to do in the world, now can we!? This is where a lot of DBZ fans will appreciate being able to interact with lesser-known characters with very little screen time. Talking with these characters will trigger a side quest or they just give a piece of dialogue while they're just hanging out in the open world. The nostalgia factor hits hard in this aspect and it helps to make the world of Dragon Ball feel lived in.

There are currently three DLCs available for Kakarot. A Power Awakens pt. 1 and 2, which takes players through an abridged version of the movies Battle of Gods and Resurrection F. Along with the abridged retelling of the movies, the Super Saiyan God and Super Saiyan Blue forms are available for unlocking. The third DLC and definitely the most interesting one is The Warrior of Hope, where players control younger future Trunks during the Android invasion. The Warrior of Hope is way more interesting and follows the main game's formula, while the DLCs involving God Ki are more of a slog to get through since it's not the actual retelling of those stories.

Gameplay: Every single enemy feels unique and satisfying to fight. The struggle to defeat Raditz is replicated to a T. Vegeta vs Goku in the desert will leave you just as worn out as they were after the battle. Don't even get me started on the Cell Jrs. Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot implements a progression system that will reward the player's party members with Exp. As more Exp is earned, skills can be purchased and upgraded. It's up to the player to equip the loadout for party members. Support characters, like Krillin, cannot be controlled but still earn Exp to earn skill points to spend.

What Kakarot gets so right, is that players are going to lean towards the stronger party members with stronger moves available. Since there's no Exp. share, that means the weaker fighters will be getting left in the dust. This is very important since party members are locked for specific encounters. Imagine using only Goku, Vegeta, and Gohan the whole time, but now you have to fight as your severely under-leveled Piccolo with an even weaker Krillin/Tien support combo against Semi-Perfect Cell. This system is what makes the battles feel so close and desperate. You can also choose to train while exploring the open world, but that is probably the weakest point of Kakarot.

For an open-world RPG to exist, there needs to be something for the player to do in the world. Kakarots solution to this was creating side quests using D and C-List Dragon Ball characters and infesting the map with enemy encounters. The frustration from enemy encounters rivals the random encounter days from Final Fantasy. These random enemies form groups in the sky and chase down the player if spotted. These fights are far from being as enjoyable as the story fights, which are genuinely fun and provide unique challenges.

There are also some collectibles to increase the bond of characters on the Community Board. The Community Board provides buffs depending on the strength of the category. There's a bit of extra fun that can be squeezed from the Community Board, since linking certain characters can provide an additional increase in strength and original dialogue between characters that would normally never meet.

Presentation: CyberConnect2 hits another homerun in the visuals department. The gorgeous cell-shading and nailing the more anime-inspired visual effects blew me away. Of course, if the visuals are direct copy then the sound effects have to be as well! And they are implemented beautifully. Most of the original voice actors also reprise their roles, adding authenticity to the whole affair. There really isn't much else to say, and I hope that this game sets the standard for 3D Dragon Ball games moving forward.

Final Verdict: 8.5/10

Kakarot gave me pretty much everything I want from a DBZ re-telling. Fantastic visuals, the original voice cast so I can relish the nostalgia, and crafting tense moments using combat scenarios. For everything that Kakarot gets right, there are always 3-5 unnecessary enemy NPCs chasing you down like Pokémon Trainers. Outside of the main chunk of content that has already been created and iterated upon for decades, the original content is lackluster at best. Thankfully, I'm a master at running away, so they didn't impede my progress to the next major set piece. My love for Dragon Ball and Dragon Ball trivia was more than satisfied, despite all the minor road bumps along the way.