"Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot" Official Discussion Thread

[Dbzfan94]

You can't use TEEN GOHAN. You highlighted it yourself. Who cares that he is technically older now? No one.
Same with Kid Gohan. Why can't we use him?

I'm not a Gohan fan, btw. I just found it curious.

Gohan isn't a Teen in the Cell saga. So that name is wrong. Buu saga Gohan, however, IS. You play as the Gohan the part of the story dictates. This isnt a fighting game where you can play as anyone at any time.

His name has always been Teen Gohan in that arc. Any DBZ game? That's his name. And we are, after all, talking about that game. So no, I am not wrong.
Is it accurate based on his age? I don't really care. It's not relevant. The name is Teen Gohan.

And yes, I know it's not a fighting game where you can play as anyone at anytime. But once you beat the game, why does it matter? That's my point.

Just cause the games use it doesn’t it make any less stupid. “Teen Gohan” being used for Cell Saga KID Gohan has always been stupid and I hate that the term has become so widespread to the point where people legitimately believe he’s a teenager in Cell and in his 20s in Buu. And the reason you can’t play as a past character because Gohan is 16 in the Buu saga, where the end game takes place. Literally every RPG doesn’t let you play as a lower/younger version of a character once they get older outside of specific scenarios. You deluded yourself into thinking something like that would ever happen in an RPG.

[TheSaiyanGod]

I have to agree with the previous comments. I've been playing the game because it's Dragon Ball, not because I like it.
There are "positive" things, but the gameplay is a chore for me. Won't even get into the combat department.

The game is getting overpraised, in my opinion.

In fact, there are several people criticizing the game out there, including for some unfair reasons, it's not just praise. But just as there are people criticizing, there are many people who had a great experience with the game, despite some flaws. In my opinion it is not absurd to think that this game is the best or one of the best DB games, there are several reasons for this. People sometimes forget the failures of old DB games when comparing them with other games (just giving an example)

Also curious as to why does Vegeta's FF appears in the opening but not in the game.

Vegeta using Final Flash in the opening is probably an in-game super attack (since like the Big Bang attack, you can unlock it throughout history)

[Grimlock]

In my opinion it is not absurd to think that this game is the best or one of the best DB games, there are several reasons for this.

Mind to name your reasons for it? Would like to know what makes this "the best game" for you.

[Questrider]

Gohan isn't a Teen in the Cell saga. So that name is wrong. Buu saga Gohan, however, IS. You play as the Gohan the part of the story dictates. This isnt a fighting game where you can play as anyone at any time.

His name has always been Teen Gohan in that arc. Any DBZ game? That's his name. And we are, after all, talking about that game. So no, I am not wrong.
Is it accurate based on his age? I don't really care. It's not relevant. The name is Teen Gohan.

And yes, I know it's not a fighting game where you can play as anyone at anytime. But once you beat the game, why does it matter? That's my point.

Just cause the games use it doesn’t it make any less stupid. “Teen Gohan” being used for Cell Saga KID Gohan has always been stupid and I hate that the term has become so widespread to the point where people legitimately believe he’s a teenager in Cell and in his 20s in Buu. And the reason you can’t play as a past character because Gohan is 16 in the Buu saga, where the end game takes place. Literally every RPG doesn’t let you play as a lower/younger version of a character once they get older outside of specific scenarios. You deluded yourself into thinking something like that would ever happen in an RPG.

I didn't delude myself into thinking anything. No need to put words in my mouth, brah.
And relax lol. It's just a game. A game where just because every other RPG follows a specific formula, doesn't mean this game has to follow suit.

This isn't even a real "RPG" by the standards you speak of. It's a Dragonball game that pretends to be an RPG.

And don't blame me for calling him Teen Gohan. The community as a whole came up with that one.

Kid Gohan=Frieza saga
Teen Gohan=Cell saga
Gohan=Buu saga

And that's how it's always been.

Maybe you would prefer it if were more like: more grown up than he was during the Freeza saga Gohan?
Adolecent Gohan? I mean, what do you want? lol.

Teen Gohan was the name the community came up with and everyone knows who you are talking about. I won't argue over whether or not you think it's stupid because I simply don't care enough. And again, I didn't come up with the name.

[Kanassa]

I saw screenshots of them from a friend, but I'll see if I can find them in the game, in the Z-Encyclopedia it has (Your average in-game codex that explains, characters, story, character relations and the like). If I'm remembering correctly, S-Cells is being used to explain Trunks transforming into Super Saiyan without special training (since this goes with the version fo Trunks's story where he's Super Saiyan before Gohan's death).

If that's true then I'm surprised that it hasn't been shared around yet. I will remain skeptical until I see the description.

Haven't managed to finish the Cell Saga because of computer issues, so I don't have Kid Trunks's or the Super Saiyan entries yet, but I do have 18 and 17's real names:

[emperior]

I haven’t touched the game since I got the platinum after 47 hours of gameplay.

I liked it a lot and I am waiting for some patches to hopefully fix loading times, bugs (luckily I have had no bugs at all) and bring the option to do the side-stories I missed. So that I can also replay the whole game.

But the game has no replay value for me. They haven’t included any post game grinding worth of doing. I don’t care about the cars and time trials. Yes I could try to completely fill the encyclopedia but that too doesn’t really make we want to get back and play, and surely the long loading times don’t help.

I so wish that, with a patch, they will add some rewards for filling the encyclopedia, maxing out community boards and other grinding. Like the ability to change outfits.
And I hope they will also add Gotenks and Vegetto as unlockables after getting their community emblem.

[TheSaiyanGod]

In my opinion it is not absurd to think that this game is the best or one of the best DB games, there are several reasons for this.

Mind to name your reasons for it? Would like to know what makes this "the best game" for you.

Since we have to evaluate how the story is told in the game, Kakarot's story mode is probably the best retelling of the original manga ever made in a DB game. Much of the retelling in DB games (which focus on the history of Z, movies, or GT) is mediocre, bad, or basic, focusing just on the main battles. One of the best story modes among DB games is DBZ BT2, and the game was released over 10 years ago, which shows that there are not many games in the series that retell the story in a good way. So if Kakarot was proposing to reproduce this story, then it had to be good. And well, the pace is good, the boss battles are fun, the exploration is great (it's a semi open world but the places are big, they have life and they are beautiful) and in fact can reproduce almost every single one important moment in history ( as well as everyday moments and moments outside the great battles).

Combat is fun, entertaining and fluid. It's simple but there is some deepening in it and it manages to stay that way throughout the game, especially with unlockable upgrades and super attacks. To say that combat is bad because it doesn't look like FighterZ doesn't make sense because they are totally different styles (DBFZ is literally focused on that).

The mechanics are interesting, some people may think that the RPG aspects are a bit useless but they are creative and offer different ways to improve the character.

The graphics are great. The facial expressions and models of the characters are strange at times, but they are beautiful even in-game. And the cutscenes are some of the best ever made in DB games

CC2 was also great at showing things that never appeared in the manga through side missions, and the game added a lot of interesting lore to the DB world (except for the part of Piccolo and the moon)

And that is it, despite some scenes that were cut, the annoying enemies around the map, and the bugs and possible break gaming bugs, it is a solid game and for me, one of the best of DB.

But what is a good DB game for you? Those who tell original stories even if they suck and don't add much to the lore? Or is any game that is retelling a story automatically bad?

[Saimaroimaru]

Well, I was recently gifted the game, so I guess I will be trying it out. I must say though, if this game had the same level of bugs The Elder Scrolls franchise typically has, then this website would be cordoned off for nuclear waste due to the amount of rage it would induce.

[The Undying]

As someone who vehemently dislikes most Dragon Ball games, holy moly did I have a blast with this one.

Almost 37 hours in and I'm still messing around with some of the postgame content. Sadly, it's not as good as what the main story had to offer. There are obviously some flaws. While the sidequests often provide cool little snippets on characters that stopped showing up post-Piccolo, those get fairly repetitive and some of the material gathering quests in particular make me want to shove my fist through my TV.

Still, this is maybe the one DBZ title that felt like an authentic DBZ experience. That's impressive. I want more. I give it 7 Saiyan tails out of 10.

If the DLC story adapts an arc from Super, my vote goes squarely to either Battle of Gods or Broly.

[Matches Malone]

If the DLC story adapts an arc from Super, my vote goes squarely to either Battle of Gods or Broly.

Based on recent datamining, it seems that not only will the DLC cover Super, but also parts of GT and the old movies.

[Drayenko]

Since we have to evaluate how the story is told in the game, Kakarot's story mode is probably the best retelling of the original manga ever made in a DB game. Much of the retelling in DB games (which focus on the history of Z, movies, or GT) is mediocre, bad, or basic, focusing just on the main battles. One of the best story modes among DB games is DBZ BT2, and the game was released over 10 years ago, which shows that there are not many games in the series that retell the story in a good way. So if Kakarot was proposing to reproduce this story, then it had to be good. And well, the pace is good, the boss battles are fun, the exploration is great (it's a semi open world but the places are big, they have life and they are beautiful) and in fact can reproduce almost every single one important moment in history ( as well as everyday moments and moments outside the great battles).

Combat is fun, entertaining and fluid. It's simple but there is some deepening in it and it manages to stay that way throughout the game, especially with unlockable upgrades and super attacks. To say that combat is bad because it doesn't look like FighterZ doesn't make sense because they are totally different styles (DBFZ is literally focused on that).

The mechanics are interesting, some people may think that the RPG aspects are a bit useless but they are creative and offer different ways to improve the character.

The graphics are great. The facial expressions and models of the characters are strange at times, but they are beautiful even in-game. And the cutscenes are some of the best ever made in DB games

I'm going to chime in. Personally, I couldn't care less about story telling. After all, we all know Dragon Ball's story. That's not a selling point for me. But fair enough.

About gameplay and graphics; let's be honest here. This game could have come out in 2008. The graphics are nothing amazing, the are very PS3ish. And well, gameplay is as subjective as it gets. I find it simple to the point of being extremely redundant. That it is an "RPG" doesn't have to limit anything. FFXV fighting mechanics are incredible and this doesn't even come close to what that was. And that has nothing to do with budget.

I'm not bashing on your opinion or anything, I'm simply not sold on the game. I've played it, finished it and will probably never play it again.

I see many good ideas out there, but they were thrown into a game without being polished.
In the end, Dragon Ball games will always sell well with the right marketing strategy and this is probably the most ambitious type of game we will be getting ever.

Hopefully they can build on it, because there interesting things. But those 8/10 and 9/10 ratings are unrealistic.

[Scsigs]

One of the things I'm constantly noticing about the game's cutscenes is that they leave out certain things that affect the characters (Vegeta crushing his Scouter while screaming, "It's over 8000/9000," Krillin chopping off the last segment of Frieza's tail with a Kienzan, etc), yet the character models still reflect the changes as if they still happened, even though they didn't show them. I have to question the devs' choices on this. Like, you cut out what were quick scenes that were either liked or drove up the drama/stakes of scenes, yet still have the cutscenes continue as if they DID happen? What? Who thought they didn't need to portray those scenes when this is the most in-depth adaptation a DBZ video game has gotten since Buu's Fury? It boggles my mind.

[Matches Malone]

Like, you cut out what were quick scenes, yet still have the cutscenes continue as if they DID happen? What?

Those scenes may have been planned but due to time couldn't be included. Like you said, this is a very detailed game and for a story of this size, some things were unfortunately going to get left behind.

[Saimaroimaru]

FFXV fighting mechanics are incredible and this doesn't even come close to what that was. And that has nothing to do with budget.

FFXV is the worst example of a game being good regardless of budget. FFXV was a game that was in development hell for a long time(Started out as FF Versus XIII), and despite all of the money and dev time poured into it, it still needed DLC to complete crucial story elements to the point that SQE cancelled the remaining dlc and put them out as a novel, because the game dev cycle for it was ridiculous(It was in dev for over 10 years and still came out an incomplete mess). FFXV will go down as how not to dev a game(aka stop mid way and turn it into something beyond your abillity & skill to complete in an timely manner), just like Duke Nukem Forever has.

[Scsigs]

FFXV fighting mechanics are incredible and this doesn't even come close to what that was. And that has nothing to do with budget.

FFXV is the worst example of a game being good regardless of budget. FFXV was a game that was in development hell for a long time(Started out as FF Versus XIII), and despite all of the money and dev time poured into it, it still needed DLC to complete crucial story elements to the point that SQE cancelled the remaining dlc and put them out as a novel, because the game dev cycle for it was ridiculous(It was in dev for over 10 years and still came out an incomplete mess). FFXV will go down as how not to dev a game (aka stop midway and turn it into something beyond your ability & skill to complete in an timely manner), just like Duke Nukem Forever has.

Actually, FFXV only had 2-3 years of actual development. Like Kingdom Hearts III, it didn't actually enter development until ~2013 when Nomura left the project & it was given to Tabata, at which point he hastily rushed a lot of the development for a final release of late-2016 on a new game engine that, so far, has only been used for 1 game; Luminous. Which, just like FFXIII's Crystal Tools was made directly for XV & ended up silently replacing it because Crystal Tools was so heavily made for XIII that it really couldn't be used for anything else. KHIII was also briefly being developed on the same engine, but Square had the good sense to switch to Unreal Engine 4 a year in, which I wish they did for FFXV since Luminous sucks.
Anyways, on top of the short production time, Tabata is a known people-pleaser & takes feedback incredibly to heart. He was accepting feedback from demos up until several months from the launch date, which resulted in the game getting delayed 2 months & it still wasn't 100% ready, so they offered free updates & DLC expansions to fix the base game's numerous problems. They didn't fix the biggest problems; that being Noctis & Lunafreya's romance not really feeling organic in the grand scheme of things & that you need to watch supplemental movies & an OVA series to properly get what the fuck's going on because the game doesn't do jackshit to inform the players, but those are the only remaining genuine flaws I can see with the base game. I think the game could've done with another year in development at least to iron out the story issues so it wouldn't be that bad Day 1, but what's done is done. For the DLC stories, I think those were fine to leave out of the base game, since it's Noctis' story & having segments focused on his buddies would've detracted from that a bit.
So, yeah, we have a game that started out as another one with 7 years' worth of only concept trailers giving vague ideas of what the original director was cooking up (which is, thankfully, getting salvaged with Yozora for Kingdom Hearts), a switch in directors taking characters from that one & completely rewriting the story to be more than just vague concepts, crunch time, a new engine that sucks, & the need to release a new single-player Final Fantasy game to keep the franchise going after a mixed-at-best received previous trilogy in the franchise. It's a wonder the game came out stable, let alone ok after all of that. For comparison, Kingdom Hearts III got a few more years' worth of dev time &, minus pacing problems with the base game's story & combat in need of some improvements & additions (which it later got), it came out much better & the DLC is awesome. Though the paid DLC for FFXV is really good. It's a damn shame Squarer cancelled the last 3 DLCs for it. It's more keeping Luminous' studio open that's causing most of the problems for them, since it costs a lot to keep it open.

[Saimaroimaru]

FFXV is an mismanaged mess, a beautiful mess, but a mess. In any other industry, he would have been fired for wasting close to a decade of development time & funding on smoke & mirrors, and then when forced to put something up, comes out with a rough diamond still connected to stone with the promise of a beautiful & perfectly cut diamond after you have put your disorganized mess to market. FFXV is a beautiful tragedy of what could have been one of the best stories in the franchise. FFXV is still a bad example for DBZK unless it comes out that it had a similar story to FFXV or DKF dev wise.

[Matches Malone]

Those 8/10 and 9/10 ratings are unrealistic.

If this game doesn't deserve 8s and 9s then what would you rate the other games ? 3s and 4s ? I understand that not everyone's going to completely like it, but give credit where it's due, we're finally getting high quality games.

[Saimaroimaru]

Those 8/10 and 9/10 ratings are unrealistic.

If this game doesn't deserve 8s and 9s then what would you rate the other games ? 3s and 4s ? I understand that not everyone's going to completely like it, but give credit where it's due, we're finally getting high quality games.

This fanbase has long been drowned in the "Let perfect be the enemy of good" philosophy.

[TheSaiyanGod]

I'm going to chime in. Personally, I couldn't care less about story telling. After all, we all know Dragon Ball's story. That's not a selling point for me. But fair enough.

The fact of knowing how the DB story is is not a pretext for developers to do half baked story modes with some dialog balloons to summarize the story and then enter normal fights like any other in the game. You may not care about that, but then you cannot criticize the fact that the game cuts SOME scenes in order to keep the story going, while praising old DB games with those same half baked story modes that do much worse (something that many are doing)

About gameplay and graphics; let's be honest here. This game could have come out in 2008. The graphics are nothing amazing, the are very PS3ish. And well, gameplay is as subjective as it gets. I find it simple to the point of being extremely redundant. That it is an "RPG" doesn't have to limit anything. FFXV fighting mechanics are incredible and this doesn't even come close to what that was. And that has nothing to do with budget.

You can say that for scenes told through dialog balloons using in-game graphics (which, in fact, are kind of stuck but is the standard for most RPGs to have this), but talk about the big cutscenes? Then I totally disagree. Do you really think Kaioken x4 scene in Kakarot is something that could be done in 2008? Father - Son Kamehameha scene? Vegetto Vs Boo? Just look at the DBZ BT2 cutscenes, as in Gohan's Kamehameha (which was done just 2 years before the year you mentioned, in 2006) and tell me if this holds a candy for the most basic Kakarot scenes... Bring any recent DB game for compare if vou want

I'm not bashing on your opinion or anything, I'm simply not sold on the game. I've played it, finished it and will probably never play it again.

And that's fine. Nobody is saying that you need to like it or that you need to agree with the positive opinions of the game here.

Hopefully they can build on it, because there interesting things. But those 8/10 and 9/10 ratings are unrealistic.

And what is strange is that you are caring so much if people give the game higher scores than what you think they deserve, it is almost as if they are not allowed to have a great experience with the game. Most try to fix the game but sometimes forget that old DB games were not as perfect as they thought and did not have half of what the current games offer

[Grimlock]

But what is a good DB game for you? Those who tell original stories even if they suck and don't add much to the lore? Or is any game that is retelling a story automatically bad?

You don't seem to have made those questions in good faith or because you are legitimately curious about my opinion, seems more you are trying to bash on my view or something. Even though I was just merely curious as to what would make someone believe this to be one of the best/the best game. Sorry in advance if I got that wrong, though.

All games which brought original stories added a good amount of lore/content. Some are big deal. Can't really compare them to the trivial or already known stuff seen so far in this game.

In a time when we just got a new series in years that only managed to deliver retellings and tournaments, I don't think it's a good idea to release a game also retelling the same old story that has been retold countless times now, it just contributes to the fatigue and boredom. But as I said, there won't be a problem if we got a retelling once in a while/if the next few games bring new content.