Dragon Ball video game cutscenes vs. the source material…what’s your favorite?

[NeflyteMasato]

So I was watching some YouTube videos of older Dragon Ball games I’ve played, and it got me thinking…I actually prefer some of the cutscenes in the video games over the manga and anime versions. Now I know I can’t be alone in this train of thought, I’m curious to see what other people think.

As for what cutscene in particular that brought this on, it was actually Goku and Vegeta fusing to become Vegeta in Idainaru Dragon Ball Densetsu(DBZ Legends). Visual limitations of the console aside, the presentation of the scene in combination with the BGM stood out to me from the moment I saw this way back in 1999 all the way to the present. While I have both read and watched the scene in several different versions, this version is what stands out the most as a personal favorite.

[TheGreatness25]

Not really. Definitely not pre-PS2. But even PS2 era until that, I find video game cutscenes to be rushed. Drama-based video games pull off spectacular cutscenes, but seems like Dragon Ball games are more focused on pushing you through the cutscene to get to the gameplay.

I agree that some BGM for the games is great and arguably better than for the series, but at the end of the day, I would still rather watch the anime/read the manga.

[NeflyteMasato]

Overall, I absolutely would read the manga or watch the series. I’m asking more about individual scenes and moments in the series that get redone, looking at them as their own takes on the source material.

[Anonymous Friend]

The only cutscenes I find even remotely interesting are the ones in FighterZ.

[NeflyteMasato]

The only cutscenes I find even remotely interesting are the ones in FighterZ.

FighterZ is gorgeous, I definitely have to admit that.

[Cold Skin]

^ And the devs have skills for the direction, the staging (even though they have to be quick about it when it comes to Dramatic Finishes, but it still shows the impressive direction they are capable of to make things look epic).
There could be beautiful graphics but boring direction, but those guys are talented for both the graphics and having an interesting direction that goes beyond just copy-pasting the original animation/shots of a single scene.

[Jord]

I really like how they handled the Vegetto cutscenes in Kakarot

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GMaw6af ... =Joshiball

Looks way more dynamic

[Super Saiyan Swagger]

I do really love some of the cutscenes in Kakarot, just wish it had better music backing them up. Some of the storyboarding and direction in these scenes really stand out.

Spoiler:

The entirety of that Vegetto cutscene got me hopeful for the next Dragon Ball film. That is what a good CG Dragon Ball fight could look like.

It's a goddamn shame that Kakarot didn't have enough of these cutscenes. It also felt very uneven. The Saiyan and Freeza arcs had a decent amount of high-quality cutscenes, meanwhile the Android arc only had like 3 of them. Not only that, but they straight up skip iconic moments like Vegeta's Final Flash and Trunks vs Cell. In hindsight, Kakarot was a very disappointing game for me.

[Bridgeman]

I do really love some of the cutscenes in Kakarot, just wish it had better music backing them up. Some of the storyboarding and direction in these scenes really stand out.

Spoiler:

The entirety of that Vegetto cutscene got me hopeful for the next Dragon Ball film. That is what a good CG Dragon Ball fight could look like.

It's a goddamn shame that Kakarot didn't have enough of these cutscenes. It also felt very uneven. The Saiyan and Freeza arcs had a decent amount of high-quality cutscenes, meanwhile the Android arc only had like 3 of them. Not only that, but they straight up skip iconic moments like Vegeta's Final Flash and Trunks vs Cell. In hindsight, Kakarot was a very disappointing game for me.

You can sort of get the Final Flash cutscene against Cell if you actually use Final Flash when fighting him as Vegeta.

And I can understand why it is so uneven. Kakarot's scope was enormous, spanning all the way from the Saiyan saga to the Buu saga with detailed story cutscenes, plus open world exploration and sidequests and side objectives to try and make that world compelling. They had to do all of this on the very limited budget that is afforded to Dragon Ball games. Unfortunately, DB games don't get the budget of a GTA game, or even Final Fantasy, or God of War, or Ghost of Tsushima.

They had to choose which moments they wanted to go the extra mile with cutscenes, and I think they've done a good job overall. Gohan killing Cell looked amazing, and in the end that was the most important moment of that saga.

Anyway, I like Kakarot's cutscenes, and especially the one where Goku defeats Frieza. It shows what the manga did, but what the anime omitted. Goku's expression of lament about having to kill Frieza (he thought he had killed him).