Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot

Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot is a highly entertaining game that’s faithful to the franchise. It accurately depicts the nostalgic events of the series' earlier stories, and the gameplay engages the player while doing so.

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"DRAGON BALL Z: KAKAROT" is an action RPG that follows the story of Goku and the Z Warriors. Experience epic battles, explore open worlds, and interact with characters from the DRAGON BALL Z series. Train, fight, and power up to save the world from powerful enemies.

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Reviews

83%

Audience ScoreBased on 14,850 reviews

story1,311 positive mentions

grinding355 negative mentions

story
4,803 mentions
27 % positive mentions
68 % neutral mentions
5 % negative mentions
The story of "Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot" is a faithful retelling of the beloved anime, covering major arcs from the Saiyan Saga to the Buu Saga, with some added depth through side quests and character interactions. While the main narrative is engaging and nostalgic for fans, many side quests are criticized for being repetitive fetch tasks that detract from the overall experience. Overall, the game is recommended for both long-time fans and newcomers looking to explore the Dragon Ball universe in an interactive format.
- “The story is beautifully told, capturing the essence of the Dragon Ball Z universe and allowing players to relive iconic moments.”
- “This game is a fantastic way to experience the entire Dragon Ball Z story, with stunning graphics and engaging gameplay.”
- “Kakarot does an excellent job of retelling the Dragon Ball Z story, filling in gaps and providing a nostalgic experience for long-time fans.”
- “The game is a passable for a nostalgia-ride through memory-lane as it remains faithful to the main story but other than that it's nothing ground-breaking.”
- “The story can keep you entertained for hours and hours of play, and if you've obviously seen the story, this is the game for you.”
- “The story is very true to the real story and make me feel like i am rewatching the anime and playing with the show.”
gameplay
1,229 mentions
38 % positive mentions
51 % neutral mentions
11 % negative mentions
The gameplay of "Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot" has received mixed reviews, with many praising its nostalgic appeal and engaging combat mechanics that evoke the feel of the anime. However, players have noted that the gameplay can become repetitive, with some mechanics feeling underdeveloped or poorly explained, leading to a grindy experience. While the graphics and cutscenes are often highlighted as standout features, the overall gameplay experience may not satisfy those seeking depth and complexity, particularly in comparison to other titles in the franchise.
- “This game pays great homage to the anime and does so very well while integrating a robust fighting mechanic that always keeps you on your toes.”
- “The gameplay is fun, the story is amazing, and they integrated the anime-style graphics beautifully, making everything they've added with the side quests just a chef's kiss.”
- “The gameplay strikes a balance between action-packed combat and exploration, making it a great way to experience the Dragon Ball story.”
- “My biggest problem is that the game does a very poor job of explaining its many mechanics.”
- “Gameplay is boring and repetitive, boring open world.”
- “The gameplay can be repetitive, but the characters and story are nice to experience.”
graphics
1,021 mentions
64 % positive mentions
33 % neutral mentions
2 % negative mentions
The graphics in "Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot" have received widespread acclaim for their stunning visuals and faithful recreation of Akira Toriyama's art style, effectively bringing the anime to life in a 3D format. Many players appreciate the vibrant colors, detailed character models, and impressive cutscenes, although some have noted that the open-world environments can feel less polished compared to the character designs. While the graphics are generally praised, there are criticisms regarding the lack of customization options and performance issues on certain platforms.
- “The graphics are stunning, the details so fine.”
- “They've managed to capture Akira Toriyama's art style so perfectly that it's like playing through an actual episode.”
- “The cel-shaded art style beautifully captures the essence of Akira Toriyama's original artwork, bringing the characters and environments to life in vibrant detail.”
- “The graphics feel like they are from 5-7 years ago.”
- “The graphics are not enjoyable to look at.”
- “The graphics range from okay to lackluster, but you don't need a supercomputer to run them at full capacity.”
grinding
374 mentions
2 % positive mentions
3 % neutral mentions
95 % negative mentions
The grinding aspect of the game has received mixed feedback from users. While some players find the grinding enjoyable and a natural part of the RPG experience, many others describe it as tedious and repetitive, particularly in the context of collecting orbs and completing side quests. Overall, the game offers significant experience boosts through story progression, making grinding largely optional, but those who engage in it often find it to be a time-consuming chore.
- “Little to no grinding is necessary as progressing the story provides you with massive amounts of experience to stay relevant; enhances the story experience as you will be able to finish complete arcs without breaking immersion to grind.”
- “The very good thing is that no grinding is needed whatsoever in order to progress the main storyline.”
- “Love the RPG aspect, no grinding needed really, the story does the training for you so don't spend too much time collecting Z orbs and trying to level up on your own.”
- “The grinding is pretty slow once the main story finishes, but still a great game.”
- “The game dumps exp on you when the story experiences a shonen problem boost, and the grinding is so insignificant as a result that you basically don't need to do anything aside from main story quests to beat the game.”
- “Grinding to level up is useless since you get enormous catch up levels with the main story.”
music
291 mentions
27 % positive mentions
64 % neutral mentions
9 % negative mentions
The music in the game has received mixed reviews, with many players appreciating the nostalgic elements drawn from the original Dragon Ball Z soundtrack, while others criticize it for being repetitive and lacking variety. Some fans express disappointment over the absence of Bruce Faulconer's iconic score, suggesting that the current soundtrack does not capture the emotional weight of key moments in the story. Overall, while the music enhances the experience for some, it can become monotonous and detracts from the gameplay for others.
- “Now, the soundtrack – it's like they bottled up the essence of DBZ and turned it into music.”
- “The music, the choreography, the action, are the best we've seen come from not only the Dragon Ball series, but anime games entirely.”
- “The soundtrack perfectly complements the intense battles and emotional moments, enhancing the immersion and invoking a sense of nostalgia.”
- “The music got on my nerves how repetitive it became.”
- “The bland and generic overworld music.”
- “In a series with as much music and variety as Dragon Ball, the amount of music in this game is incredibly disappointing.”
stability
111 mentions
11 % positive mentions
2 % neutral mentions
87 % negative mentions
The game's stability has received mixed feedback, with many players reporting frequent bugs and glitches, including crashes, freezing, and issues with the save system. While some users experienced minimal problems and found the game generally stable, others described it as a "buggy mess" that detracted from the overall experience. Overall, while the game runs well on certain platforms like the Steam Deck, the prevalence of glitches remains a significant concern for many players.
- “It's got a good amount of content, and it looks and runs great.”
- “Game runs great, feels great and is truthful to the series.”
- “If you want to experience the DBZ story in fantastic 4K graphics that runs great, there is no reason not to pick this up.”
- “Although, the flying controls are weird and clunky to use, and there are frequent glitches and bugs that you will encounter in this game.”
- “The game itself is good but has a ton of bugs and glitches, I got my file deleted 3 times, I got stuck in a lot of places and even underground, my autosave didn't save me so I needed to do 2 whole sagas again, really lower the quality of the game.”
- “Menus freeze, the game itself freezes, store menus lock you in so you have to force quit the game, the main menu sticks as an overlay again causing you to force quit the game... the game devs need to get their act together and fix this.”
humor
96 mentions
98 % positive mentions
0 % neutral mentions
2 % negative mentions
The humor in the game is a mix of intentional comedic moments and unintentional glitches, with many players finding joy in the nostalgic references and character interactions that reflect the Dragon Ball series' signature style. While some side quests and dialogues are entertaining, others can feel repetitive or lack depth. Overall, the game successfully captures the essence of Dragon Ball's humor, providing a lighthearted experience that resonates with fans, despite some criticisms regarding the execution of certain comedic elements.
- “It's like they crammed every episode of the anime into one game and sprinkled it with a healthy dose of humor (and ki blasts, of course).”
- “The scenes are lovingly adapted and are both humorous and contain an emotional punch that I dare say the anime never quite did.”
- “Piccolo fetching the Ox King a less than... G-rated magazine for example is hilarious because Piccolo is the last person you'd expect to bring the Ox King such a magazine.”
- “Thus, it's not funny at all.”
- “It's not funny, nor is it particularly lunch-like.”
optimization
67 mentions
31 % positive mentions
46 % neutral mentions
22 % negative mentions
Overall, the game's optimization is a mixed bag. While many players report smooth performance and good graphics, particularly on consoles and the Steam Deck, there are significant issues with PC optimization, including poor keyboard and mouse support, lack of graphical options, and occasional stuttering. Some users recommend waiting for updates or sales to address these optimization flaws.
- “Super fun and well-optimized!”
- “This game is optimized for console and the way it plays you can tell.”
- “Incredibly well optimized and the cell shading looks great, the dev team did a great job matching the anime art styles, including the changes in animation and style that occurred over time.”
- “The story is decent if you like the Dragon Ball franchise, the graphics are alright, but the real issues are that this game was not optimized for PC, nor does it properly support keyboard and mouse.”
- “This game is a bad console port, with minimal settings and horrible mouse and keyboard optimization.”
- “Great game, very poorly optimized for PC.”
replayability
56 mentions
23 % positive mentions
59 % neutral mentions
18 % negative mentions
The replayability of "Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot" is a mixed bag among players. While many appreciate the variety of playable characters, side quests, and DLC content that enhance the experience, others find the single-player, story-driven nature limits replay value significantly. Overall, the game offers decent replayability, particularly for die-hard fans, but may not sustain long-term engagement for all players.
- “The game offers a wide range of side quests, open-world exploration, and upgrade systems that add depth and replayability to the experience.”
- “It has a lot of replayability, with many substories that show the love of Dragon Ball that was put into them, rewarding both the biggest DBZ and original DB fans.”
- “Overall solid game with great replayability factor.”
- “The only downside is that save for the stunning cinematics, the game has terrible replayability.”
- “My major gripe is the lack of replay value; there is no new game plus, post-game content outside of DLC is very limited, and if you replay story missions via the post-game time machine you're locked into your current level so old fights will be a breeze rather than being intense.”
- “It's fun for one playthrough, little to no replay value.”
emotional
52 mentions
96 % positive mentions
0 % neutral mentions
4 % negative mentions
The emotional aspect of "Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot" resonates deeply with fans, evoking nostalgia and heartfelt moments that reflect the essence of the beloved anime. Players appreciate the game's ability to capture significant emotional scenes, though some feel that certain intense moments are glossed over, diminishing their impact. Overall, the game is celebrated for its wholesome side quests and engaging storytelling, making it a touching experience for both long-time fans and newcomers alike.
- “As a lifelong Dragon Ball fan, I must say that Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot is nothing short of a heartwarming masterpiece that not only captures the essence of the beloved series but elevates it to a whole new level.”
- “The developers have managed to distill the essence of the anime's epic narrative into an interactive experience that is both engaging and emotionally resonant.”
- “I shed a tear when the music started playing during the final boss fight.”
- “Same boring story that we know.”
- “The best part is you could just start small, but who wants to play as Goku and follow the same old boring storyline?”
monetization
31 mentions
10 % positive mentions
10 % neutral mentions
81 % negative mentions
The monetization aspect of the game has been widely criticized as a blatant cash grab, with many reviewers pointing to the excessive reliance on DLC and microtransactions, particularly for an unwanted card game. While some acknowledge the potential passion behind the game's development, the overall sentiment is that the monetization strategies feel lazy and disrespectful to fans, detracting from the game's quality and experience.
- “The only acceptable reason in my eyes for them to shoehorn in an unwanted card game riddled with microtransactions would be to raise additional funding to bring the voice actors back in to record quality audio for all of the quests and dialogue...but... I seriously doubt that's what the publisher has in mind, which is most unfortunate as I was very optimistic about this game before launch.”
- “The mini DLC expansions are repetitive and can break this already easy game in half if you do them before the post game. The Bonyu content is just one boss fight in the training sim, and don't get me started on the stupid shoehorned card game that only exists to encourage microtransactions.”
- “Edit: so they added a card game with microtransactions on a single player game.”
- “This game is a blatant DLC cash grab on a foundation of nostalgia.”
- “The paid DLC is unethical and nothing more than a lazy cash grab, totally disrespectful to the fans.”
- “Overall the game feels like a rushed cash grab catered toward people like me who will do anything for another hit of Dragon Ball content.”
character development
9 mentions
44 % positive mentions
22 % neutral mentions
33 % negative mentions
Character development in the game is generally well-received, particularly for an action title, with notable depth in the main story and side quests that enhance character arcs, especially for Bardock's crew. However, some players feel that the RPG elements are basic and that the overall narrative rushes through key moments, sacrificing emotional depth and situational context for combat-focused gameplay. Despite these criticisms, the character design and voice acting contribute positively to the experience.
- “There was clearly a lot of love put into it, and they did an excellent job of consolidating the three main DBZ sagas while keeping all the important story beats and eliminating anything that doesn't contribute to the overall feel and character development.”
- “Bardock's crew actually have a little bit of character development via the main quest and sub-stories, so that's a good addition.”
- “Also, following side quests can greatly benefit the main story character development.”
- “The story is hardcore rushed in a way that focuses on the fights and fighting without the character development and situational depth necessary to flesh out the feelings you get when you watch the show.”
- “There was clearly a lot of love put into it and they did an excellent job of consolidating the 3 main DBZ sagas in keeping with all the important story beats and eliminating anything that doesn't contribute to the overall feel/character development.”
- “The upside of the game is skill and character development.”
atmosphere
8 mentions
38 % positive mentions
25 % neutral mentions
38 % negative mentions
The game's atmosphere is highly praised for its faithful recreation of the Dragon Ball world, effectively capturing the aesthetics, sound effects, and music of the original anime. Reviewers commend the incredible animations and overall graphics, which enhance the immersive experience while maintaining the essence of the show's various sagas. However, some players feel that certain collectibles detract from the overall atmosphere.
- “This game really does it very well regarding storytelling, graphics, mechanics, and atmosphere.”
- “The game atmosphere recreates the original feeling and aesthetics of the anime without the slow and cumbersome parts of it.”
- “Graphically, this game is amazing and definitely captures the atmosphere of the show from the world to the characters.”
- “They take away from the atmosphere and are the most obnoxious 'collectibles' in any game ever.”
- “The atmosphere is just like the show.”
- “The sound effects, the music, and the atmosphere are all like you'd remember from the TV show.”