"Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot" Official Discussion Thread

[tinlunlau]

So I finally sat down and spent the time to start playing the Daima DLC for Dragon Ball Kakarot. My quick first takes on it? It does not adapt DB Daima 1:1. Some things were altered for length. The inability to fly is really getting on my nerves. And due to my copy is purchased thru the Hong Kong Nintendo eshop, there is no English dub track or subtitles. Bandai has been very anti-consumer over language availability for the Asian releases of their games in recent years.

[sangofe]

Daima part 2 trailer:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9WfULjohDvg

[Grimlock]

Finally got to play this game, well, more specifically the DLCs I want. Thank Dende I don't have to finish the story mode to get to them. Anyway, I have just finished the 28th Tournament one to get used to the gameplay because I knew it was the shorter one of the bunch.

Gameplay is actually quite satisfactory and good. I liked that CyberConnect2 kept the circle button as the primary attack, just like in Naruto (and triangle for Ki charge, just like it is for Chakra). I wish there was an option to toggle off the damage numbers that keep popping up on screen, though. It's kind of distracting. Didn't pay much attention to cooking and eating and stuff, though I almost lost to Uub, it took me a while to realize he was two levels above me. I probably should have eaten something before going in, but eh... I just wanted to fight. Still managed to get him with my health bar on red.

As I was playing, only one thought stuck in my mind: why can't we have more stories set in this time period? Can we please have more stories in AGE 784 (and beyond!)? Is that really too much to ask for? Got to pay more attention to details and hanging around with these older characters was just fun. I had forgotten that Pan and Bra actually have a direct but brief interaction with one another, so cool and cute. So many potential in that era, man. Oh well...

Alright, next one is the Trunks DLC, a masterpiece awaits me, I know. I'll save the Bardock DLC for last, though I can barely contain my excitement to fly around on planet Vegeta.

[Xeogran]

I had forgotten that Pan and Bra actually have a direct but brief interaction with one another, so cool and cute.

That's because it only happened in this game IIRC

They should indeed make more stories around this part, I mean it's games, nobody's gonna care about canon or anything here. Bring original villains and have the new cast fight them, give Teen Goten and Trunks new forms and put them in the frontlines too with their EoZ designs. That would be cool and refreshing.

[Grimlock]

Speaking of giving forms, I remembered that there is a battle between Goku and Vegeta where the latter uses Super Saiyan 2 against the former who is using Super Saiyan 3.

That was always a very moronic thing to do, but now with Dragon Ball Daima, it became even more obnoxious. They shouldn't have another choice but to update that mission and give Super Saiyan 3 to Vegeta.

[Scsigs]

Speaking of giving forms, I remembered that there is a battle between Goku and Vegeta where the latter uses Super Saiyan 2 against the former who is using Super Saiyan 3.

That was always a very moronic thing to do, but now with Dragon Ball Daima, it became even more obnoxious. They shouldn't have another choice but to update that mission and give Super Saiyan 3 to Vegeta.

That DLC was directly based off the manga & Z anime's endings, which were made years before Toriyama would introduce SS God, SS Blue, Ultra Instinct, or give SS3 to Vegeta or SS4 to Goku before the timeframe of GT. Super & Daima are both incongruent with the original ending the manga had anyways, so I don't think that's necessary. In any case, it's a damned if you do, damned if you don't type of situation. They could have given them those abilities, but they instead chose to remain faithful to the original ending. Especially since that wave of DLC was meant to be the last since it was made to promote the Xbox Series X & PS5 ports of the game, iirc.

[Grimlock]

Finished both the Bardock and Trunks DLCs in one go. I just couldn't wait to get to the best parts of them.

What more need be said? Trunks DLC is indeed a masterpiece. It was the first time his TV Special was covered in its entirely and on top of that, it was expanded with great added scenes not seen in neither the manga or the television versions. We get to see the region up close and personal, and see even the rebuilding after the androids are defeated. It's just amazing stuff. And they decided to wrap it all up by actually adaptating the Majin Buu saga, only seen in the Dragon Ball Super manga. We have been spoiled in the best way possible, but in turn, and that leads to...


... Look, the Bardock DLC is leagues above the others, of course, but I still wouldn't say it's better, or at least as good as the Trunks DLC. It was such a pleasure to finally being able to explore Vegeta, see the Saiyans just chilling, see a lot of female Saiyans. Those were some of the things I wanted the most from a game, but the previous DLC set the bar too high, so I was expecting them to "fix" the only mistake from the TV Special, which is to feature Raditz, his absence was always felt there and still is here. Also, a nod to Gine wouldn't have killed anyone, where is she? I actually took some time to try to find her, any NPC that might look like her... But she just doesn't exist. And wraping it up with Vegeta content? Come on, now... It was cool, but this is not the place for it. There was more that could have been done with Bardock, CyberConnect2, why didn't you do it!? Mira and Towa are in this very game... They came so close to perfection, I guess lightning really can't strike twice the same place, can it?

Well, now that I finally played what I wanted, my overall opinion is that it's a good game, gameplay feels nice and is fast paced. But the story mode retreading Dragon Ball Z is just not for me anymore. The games should be a place for new stories from now on, not a place to retell the very same old ones endlessly. I want CC2 to have another shot at a Dragon Ball game, but please just let them come up with something original. I'm sure it would be "peak", as they say.

In any case, it's a damned if you do, damned if you don't type of situation.

I can only see happiness if they had simply given Super Saiyan 3 to Vegeta. And this is coming from someone who isn't a fan of said form at all, it's just that it makes perfect sense to fight Super Saiyan 3 using Super Saiyan 3, you know, not a lower form.

[Koitsukai]

It's been a while since I've played this game, but the DLCs were masterpieces. Not really BoG and RoF, but Trunks', Bardocks' and the one from the 23rd TB are just perfect.

You can actually feel the love put into those DLCs, my favourite one is still the DB DLC, the grounded battlers, the fact that you get to play as Kid Goku.... The difference between those three DLCs and the first two is gargantuan.

[Xeogran]

Also, a nod to Gine wouldn't have killed anyone, where is she?

I don't think they want to mix Gine and Z Bardock together.
That would soften him and they're probably aware of the distinction between two Bardocks and how fans perceive them. Maybe a hypothetical Z Gine would be different to the one we know too, just like Bardock is.

[MCDaveG]

I know that this is definitely off-topic question, sort of, but – I do like what Cyberconnect did with Kakarot towards the source material in the main beats, overall feeling – of course including DLC, that added more variety over those reused enemy designs etc. and since it was announced, people were like, yeah, we love what Cyberconnect did with Kakarot.

I remember hurting through fillers when Naruto was novel and on air and was considering playing the Cyberconnect games instead of rewatch (I've read the entire manga once, sans Boruto), as I've never finished watching Shippuden and was bored to death by the overstay of Orochimaru for starters.

Are the Naruto games good option as interactive substitute for the show? Is it the same kind of approach to source material like Kakarot?


Because the summaries online are rather confusing, but I am eyeing the games in store every time they pop up in deals and it's based solely on the hype surrouding Kakarot since the announcement and I am really satisfied with the state of Kakarot now and I haven't played the Daima DLC still. In this case, I'll take the view from actual Naruto fans, as I never went too deep in it, but it was new back then and I enjoyed the story beats similar to DB.

The question is aimed at the Ultimate series, that was remastered and available, rather than going through the pain of PS2 emulation, in case that the older games are better. I did play first two PSP titles in the series back in the day, but wasn't impressed much in the execution towards the source.

[MCDaveG]

It's been a while since I've played this game, but the DLCs were masterpieces. Not really BoG and RoF, but Trunks', Bardocks' and the one from the 23rd TB are just perfect.

You can actually feel the love put into those DLCs, my favourite one is still the DB DLC, the grounded battlers, the fact that you get to play as Kid Goku.... The difference between those three DLCs and the first two is gargantuan.

ROF was def step forward and actually had some bits of enjoyment, Trunks was high bar and example of how it should've been from starters, but BoG always felt like low cost/effort bonus to the main game or pre-order bonus, that let you level up in boring grindfest even before the main game content, for some reason and that's probably one of my only recent gripes. The post-game content, including the DLCs and maybe except for EOZ (where the whole flow was weird but just for that Goku and Vegeta retrospective fight and won me over), is incredibly boring and it's a combination of steep scalability and level caps for those leveling water items combined with lack of content.
That's basically what BoG is. Hours of grind to unlock stronger/updated attacks, but nobody to really use them against or getting wrecked by overpowered tiger bandits when doing so.

I kinda liked those hard versions of training they introduced later and would love to have more options for these kind of fights – to be clear, more added difficulties for higher levels (I went in like knife into butter in 23rd Tenkaichi Budokai, almost one shotting harder difficulties and was left with tiger bandits...), cross-arc enemies like 23rd Goku versus Vegeta or Freeza or whatever, more potent waters on higher levels as the artificial grind is strong.

At least and IMHO, ROF added some bits of story fluff and limited adventure, but there wasn't much to go on in the source material either. I imagine that making Broly Movie DLC would end up the same, as it's basically retrospective DB Minus sauce and duke-out before the credits roll.

I agree, that they were kinda finding the foothold with barebones BoG and the live test that ROF was, unless the decision to do so was deliberate low effort biz decision.

[Grimlock]

Maybe a hypothetical Z Gine would be different to the one we know too, just like Bardock is.

That's exactly what they should have done. Z Gine. She doesn't need to be tied to Bardock in any capacity. Just a reference, a fun wink to the players/viewers.

[PhantomSaiyan]

That's exactly what they should have done. Z Gine. She doesn't need to be tied to Bardock in any capacity. Just a reference, a fun wink to the players/viewers.

I disagree with her not needing to be tied to Bardock in any capacity, she should still be Goku's mom, just with a different personality. Same as the difference between Super and Z Bardock, no need to make her unrelated completely

[Mr Baggins]

I liked the Battle of Gods DLC. Not much of a story there, but I've always liked how it was essentially a "train on Beerus's planet" simulator with some pretty engaging fights against Beerus and Whis that you can carry over as extra EXP to the main game.

And, well, y'know: Super Saiyan God always fucks.

[Grimlock]

I decided to play the DLC about Beerus and Whis, always thought it was a retelling of some sorts, but it's just battles. It's a useful DLC if you go and play the main story after it, as the items can be carried over, from what I learned. But it's useless for me, since they won't carry over to the other DLCs, very unfortunate, as they would help me level up Trunks quite a lot. I already reached level 250 with Bardock.

I disagree with her not needing to be tied to Bardock in any capacity, she should still be Goku's mom, just with a different personality. Same as the difference between Super and Z Bardock, no need to make her unrelated completely

For the purpose of just being a little reference, there's really no need to be so on the nose about it. If she's just there as an NPC, acknowledging her as the mother of Goku would be kind of out of place and weird. She is the mother of Goku and you just happen to find her randomly somewhere on the planet. It doesn't sit right. Which is why I think it is better if she seemingly didn't have any connection to Bardock, but we know she does. Remember, this is still the TV Special they are adapting faithfully, where she didn't exist at all.

[PhantomSaiyan]

For the purpose of just being a little reference, there's really no need to be so on the nose about it. If she's just there as an NPC, acknowledging her as the mother of Goku would be kind of out of place and weird. She is the mother of Goku and you just happen to find her randomly somewhere on the planet. It doesn't sit right. Which is why I think it is better if she seemingly didn't have any connection to Bardock, but we know she does. Remember, this is still the TV Special they are adapting faithfully, where she didn't exist at all.

As far as I'm concerned, that wouldn't be satisfying at all. She's either Goku's mom, or I'd rather her not be in it at all, because at the end of the day, that's what her character boils down to

I'm not even saying they should go like "Hey look, it's Goku's mom!" but there's a middle ground between that, and completely separating her from Bardock and Goku.

That aside, I'd find it really annoying if in the Super continuity Goku has a mom, and in the Z Special continuity it's another person entirely. Works much better if his Z Special mom is just an alt version of Gine we never see.

[Scsigs]

Yeah, I think most of us are at this consensus for opinions of the DLCs, but...

1. The Battle of Gods DLC sucks because there's no story & it's literally just for power leveling your characters to 300 & give you SS God & SS Blue.

2. The Resurrection F DLC is good. Not amazing, but fun.

3. The Trunks DLC is great, the best they've done so far that expands on the original Z TV special & manga chapter & even takes ideas from the Super manga for it.

4. Bardock DLC is also good.

5. The 23rd World Tournament DLC is good.

6. The Goku's Next Journey DLC is good & a fitting end to the game if they didn't keep making DLCs.

7. The first Daima DLC is good. A lot of fun & a good retelling of the show.

I assume the next Daima DLC will continue this trend.

[Mr Baggins]

Of the DLCs I've played, I'd rank them thus:

1. Trunks: The Warrior of Hope
2. 23rd World Tournament
3. A New Power Awakens: Part 2
4. A New Power Awakens: Part 1
5. Goku's Next Journey

But they're all decent fun. Not interested in the Bardock stuff.

Not sure how to feel about Daima. It's already missing a few things from the show, but I may appreciate it more after playing it back-to-back with the upcoming second part.

[Grimlock]

Damn, nobody told me "end of Z" Goku is a beast. His combo and his techniques are amazing. I could finish some missions while being around ten levels below, all thanks to what he can do. Also, I can "stun" opponents more easily with him, thus prompting those cool cutscenes whenever he launches one of his techniques. It feels great to finish the battle with his "Transcendent Kamehameha" to get the "Super Finish".

And before I forget again to post this, I don't remember if this was brought up at the time, but Tsufurujins are mentioned. Now, if only we could see their war in great detail, from start to finish...

That aside, I'd find it really annoying if in the Super continuity Goku has a mom, and in the Z Special continuity it's another person entirely. Works much better if his Z Special mom is just an alt version of Gine we never see.

Either way works for me. Alternate Gine or a different person, Multiverse! And that's always a very interesting thing (hey, that means Seripa can still be Goku's mom in the TV Special continuity! ).

[MCDaveG]

Damn, nobody told me "end of Z" Goku is a beast. His combo and his techniques are amazing. I could finish some missions while being around ten levels below, all thanks to what he can do. Also, I can "stun" opponents more easily with him, thus prompting those cool cutscenes whenever he launches one of his techniques. It feels great to finish the battle with his "Transcendent Kamehameha" to get the "Super Finish".

And before I forget again to post this, I don't remember if this was brought up at the time, but Tsufurujins are mentioned. Now, if only we could see their war in great detail, from start to finish...

That aside, I'd find it really annoying if in the Super continuity Goku has a mom, and in the Z Special continuity it's another person entirely. Works much better if his Z Special mom is just an alt version of Gine we never see.

Either way works for me. Alternate Gine or a different person, Multiverse! And that's always a very interesting thing (hey, that means Seripa can still be Goku's mom in the TV Special continuity! ).

That's how Bardock got inspired to become brilliant scientist and later invented "ki moon" for moonless nights!

But I like these subtle nods, in case they come from original. I never had issues with writing in this game and at least it made most of the sidequests bearable (you know, loading maps inbetween and searching for orbs).
Except for some of the later DLCs, that included lot of localization nonsense, mainly my favs, 23rd and EOZ, some of the dialogue bubbles are unbereable to read in english together with the characters saying something completely different in Japanese and the overal quality went down from the main game.