Dragon Ball Z:Kakarotis on par with other greatDragon Ball Zgames, following the likes ofXenoverse,Dragon Ball FighterZ,and more. In order to differentiate itself,Kakarotoffers to tell the classic tale ofDragon Ball Zin an RPG format, allowing players to explore familiar areas and see the story in a more open-ended fstyle.
Dragon Ball Z: Kakarotprovides and open world to explore, but puts the player directly in the shoes of some of the most iconic characters ever brought to manga, anime, or games. It’s a slower paced view of the same familiar story, which gives the benefit of a very close, but very altered perspective on well-known events.
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Witnessing the story from this new perspective has its benefits, from providing anew perspective on Raditzto answering some of the questions fans have had about side characters and setting details. The RPG format is also exceptionally fitting forDragon Ball- a series all about character growth and the constant search for power. However, there are a few idiosyncrasies in the way thatKakarotimplements its RPG formula that mean it should be played very differently to other RPGs.
The Side Content is Shallow
In the beginning of the game, a lot of subsystems and side content is presented to the player, complete with multi-page explanations and complex menus. Doing side quests for characters is rewarded with Soul Emblems that can be placed within various community boards to confer effects, characters will benefit from gettingthe best gifts, each area is filled with ingredients to collect including fish to catch and dinosaurs to hunt, while travel routes are filled with Z-orbs to fly into that go towards unlocking special moves.
Unfortunately, much of this side content is relatively shallow. With the exception of someinterestingDBZtie-ins, most side quests are fetch quests for forgettable side characters, while flying through each area collecting hundreds of Z-orbs can be monotonous at best. This, combined with a slightly slow start, can result in a poor first impression for players who try to engage in all the side content.
In aclassic RPG, side content and sub-systems are vital to character progression and can even make up the bulk of the game. In other JRPGs, without constant grinding and exhaustive collection or exploration, the player character will often be too under-leveled to fight bosses in the main story. It can feel very daunting to see so much side content and then realize that it is all a bit underwhelming. Luckily, the side content is not as important as it is in other RPGs. In fact, it is almost entirely supplementary.
The Main Story Gives Everything You Need
It’s okay that the side content inKakarotis not particularly deep or engaging, because it is not meant to be anything more than an afterthought for most players. Side quests and collectibles are mostly unnecessary, unless the player wants a specific effect or takes interest in a particular side character. Meanwhile, zooming through Z-orbs on the way to main missions is usually plenty for anyone but true completionists. Doing sub-stories is recommended because they can give some good rewards and unlock other, more interesting sub-stories later on, but it is safe to ignore the more lackluster ones. As collectibles go,collecting the Dragon Balls gives some great rewards, as it should.
However, the most important thing to avoid inDBZ Kakarotis grinding for XP. Because of the nature ofDragon Ball Z’s story, there are huge leaps in power between fighting a character like Raditz and moving on toVegetaand Nappa, for example. It is typically unnecessary to grind up levels between these fights though, as the game often provides huge amounts of XP just for completing a main story milestone. In a typical playthrough, players will have no trouble keeping up with the ballooning power levels thatDragon Ball Zfans have come to know and love.
The amounts of XP earned for simply progressing the story quickly reach astronomical levels, which can even be seen as a nod to the endlessleaps in powerthat the series is known for. This means that it is entirely viable to play through the entire story in a totally linear fashion, using the side content as a fun diversion every once in a while, rather than a major goal to complete.
WWGD (What Would Goku Do?)
In short, it pays to playDBZ Kakarotlike Goku would. Of course, there are plenty of other characters to play inKakarot, but for the most part the game is aboutGoku and Gohan’s journey, and should be treated that way. Goku would probably not let himself be distracted by Nam the Peddler on the way to fight Raditz.
This isn’t to say that all of the side content is worthless. It’s very in-character for Goku to do something whimsical like learn to drive a car in between world-ending threats. In fact, the side content being mostly unnecessary is largely a good thing for the game as a whole. It frees players to focus on what they care about and not sweat the small stuff, but all of the side content is still there for those interested or dedicated enough to dive into it.
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Players who just want to experience some ofDragon Ball’s classic sagas and then wait forrumoredKakarotDLCswill be happy, while those who want to unlock every move for every character and find every secret the game has to offer will be able to do so with relative ease. The main story ofDBZ Kakarotdoesn’t just provide most all of the XP and rewards necessary for progression, it also adds some great insights into the overarching story on its own.
For example, the nature ofGoku and Gohan’s relationship inKakarotis slightly different than in the anime. Even without side quests on par withThe Witcher 3orSkyrim, there is plenty to dive into for more lore inKakarot.
Dragon Ball Z: Kakarotis out now on PC, PS4, and Xbox One.
