Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot + A New Power Awakens Set Review (Switch)

There are few characters in the anime world more iconic than Goku, the Saiyan sent to Earth as a baby who eventually becomes one of the most powerful beings in the universe. His story has been told in just about every medium imaginable since his manga debut in 1984, including anime, video games, and the terrible live-action adaptation we don’t talk about. The latest in a long line of Dragon Ball-based video games to hit consoles, Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot, has arrived on Switch.

Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot is primarily a love letter to fans of the series. From the first moment the iconic Japanese theme begins to some of the dark characters that appear as you explore the world, this game is a festival of nostalgia for anime fans. Considering that long-time voice actors for the Japanese and English dubbing reprise their roles here, it all feels familiar and comforting right from the start.

Beyond just exploring moments from the anime, Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot adds elements of life to a story that rarely features such moments. Almost defying the “Goku is a bad father” jokes that have circulated among the fandom for generations, Kakarrot begins with a simple scene of Goku teaching his son Gohan to fish and holding the boy when he complains of being tired. It’s short and simple, but little moments like that are scattered throughout the game, giving fans something new to learn about their favorite characters and are the most rewarding parts of Kakarrot’s story.

Despite being based on one of the most famous fighting manga of all time, don’t expect much depth in Dragon Ball Z: Kakarrot combat. This is not Dragon Ball FighterZ, where skill and timing are the most important aspects of the game. Expect more of an RPG system, with leveling up and grinding as the way to overcome bosses that are giving the player difficulty.

Fighting and completing side quests will give characters experience points to level up and strengthen their attacks, while exploring the overworld will generate colored orbs of characters that will make their special abilities more powerful. Over time, enhancements such as transformations will become available, but the gameplay remains largely the same. Detecting visual cues from bosses so you know when to block and spam different attacks are often the best strategies for players to use.

Because the game only features characters from the manga or anime, it also doesn’t offer the customization that previous games like Xenoverse had. There are a few opportunities for players to create characters to suit their play style, but largely this game is intended for fans to fight as Goku and his allies as they appear in the manga.

Most of the game is competently organized and works well on Switch. The character designs look and feel like they came straight out of the anime, which is exactly what we wanted from the game. The only glitch we ran into during our time with the game was when we took it on the road. If players are not connected to the internet, either via a wired or wireless connection, an error will appear every time they exit or enter a scene. This can be overcome by going into the game settings and disabling the data sharing feature, but it was frustrating until we found a solution.

Apart from this problem, the game did not present any technical problems during our game. The visuals do a good job of replicating the classic anime style, with a few little touches to make the world feel more alive. Seeing the mountains crumble after being hit with an energy attack or seeing the water part when a character flies close to its surface does not add anything mechanically to the game, but does make the player feel like they are controlling some of the most powerful characters in the world. the history of anime.

The Switch version comes bundled with the A New Power Awakens DLC, which features characters from the God’s battle and Resurrection of F movies in the game. These are presented with the same polish as the main story, but deviate more from their original material. Part 1 focuses on training the Goku and Vegeta pair to become powerful enough to challenge Beerus, the God of Destruction. To do this, they have to fight Beerus’ assistant, Whis, in challenges of increasing difficulty. While some of the challenges are fun, they quickly become routine and expose the shortcomings of Kakarrot’s combat system.

Part 2 is more of a glove than a regular fight. Dozens of enemies line up and must be taken down before players can face the resurrected Frieza. Unfortunately, after completing the main story and Part 1 of the DLC pack, this fight is no longer a huge challenge. The visuals are good and they manage to recreate some great moments from the movie, but those who want to experience it are better off just watching the movie.

Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot might not be the most profound or challenging game based on the franchise, then, but it’s far from the worst. Between the endearing moments added to a story we already know and love and the faithful recreation of the anime’s imagery, this is a game geared toward existing fans. With its simple combat and emphasis on grinding, newcomers are unlikely to find anything worth sticking around for.

conclusion

Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot may not do much more than retell the Dragon Ball story, but it does it well enough that existing fans find joy exploring the world and battling the franchise’s iconic villains. Despite the lack of depth in its combat and a small internet-based technical snag to fix, the game saves itself by expanding the already massive amount of Dragon Ball story available and giving fans the moments of life we’ve so long ago. Dyed. very needy. Non-fans won’t find much to love here, but it’s a more than useful retelling of an iconic story.