Most fans thought they knew the Saiyan saga inside out. Then Dragon Ball Z Kakarot dropped in early 2020 and flipped everything on its head. This isn’t just another anime fighter where you mash buttons until Goku wins.
Bandai Namco built a massive open-world RPG that lets you actually live inside the Dragon Ball universe. From fishing with Gohan to sparring Vegeta on a rocky wasteland, Dragon Ball Z Kakarot packs details most adaptations completely ignore.
Stick around because I’m breaking down the gameplay loops, hidden mechanics, DLC content, and platform comparisons that make this title worth every single penny of your hard-earned money.
What Exactly Is Dragon Ball Z Kakarot and Why Does It Stand Out?
Dragon Ball Z Kakarot launched in January 2020 and immediately shattered sales expectations across every major platform. Bandai Namco confirmed over 4 million copies sold within the first year alone. That number tells you something real about the game’s quality and lasting appeal.
Unlike traditional fighting games in the franchise, Dragon Ball Z Kakarot leans heavily into story-driven RPG mechanics. You explore sprawling open zones, complete meaningful side quests, cook meals for powerful stat buffs, and level up through a unique soul emblem board system.
The game faithfully covers all major arcs — Saiyan, Frieza, Cell, and Buu — with cinematic cutscenes that genuinely rival the anime itself. Watching Goku transform into a Super Saiyan for the first time inside a fully explorable 3D environment hits completely different.
Gameplay Mechanics That Make Dragon Ball Z Kakarot Addictive
The combat system blends aerial combos, ki blasts, and devastating super attacks into one incredibly fluid experience. You switch between characters mid-battle, which adds genuine strategic depth to every single encounter you face throughout the story.
Exploration rewards curiosity in ways most open-world games simply don’t. Fly across the map and you’ll stumble upon hidden training grounds, rare collectible orbs, and NPC dialogues that reference deep-cut Dragon Ball lore most casual fans miss entirely.
The pacing also deserves serious praise. Dragon Ball Z Kakarot balances intense boss fights with quieter moments like cooking, fishing, and baseball minigames. These downtime activities aren’t filler — they directly boost your combat stats and unlock new abilities.
The Soul Emblem System Explained
This is where Dragon Ball Z Kakarot separates itself from every other anime game on the market. The soul emblem board lets you assign characters and support items to boost specific stats like attack power, defense, or ki recovery speed.
Think of it as a skill tree mixed with a relationship builder. The more you interact with characters like Piccolo or Krillin throughout the story, the stronger your team synergy becomes during critical boss fights later on.
Dragon Ball Z Kakarot Editions, Platforms, and Pricing Breakdown
Choosing the right version matters more than most buyers realize. Here’s a quick comparison to help you decide before spending your money on Dragon Ball Z Kakarot.
| Edition | Platforms | Price (Approx.) | DLC Included | Best For |
| Standard | PS4, PS5, Xbox, PC, Switch | $29.99 | None | Budget players |
| Deluxe | PS4, PS5, Xbox, PC, Switch | $49.99 | Season Pass 1 | Story fans |
| Ultimate | PS4, PS5, Xbox, PC, Switch | $69.99 | All DLC Packs | Completionists |
The Deluxe edition offers the best overall value for most players jumping into Dragon Ball Z Kakarot for the first time. You get the first season pass covering the “A New Power Awakens” DLC, which adds the Tournament of Power arc and Super Saiyan Blue transformations.
If you’re a die-hard completionist, the Ultimate edition bundles everything including the “Trunks: The Warrior of Hope” DLC. This expansion adds an entirely new story chapter set in Future Trunks’ timeline with fresh enemies and exclusive transformations.
Top 5 Tips to Dominate Dragon Ball Z Kakarot Early
- Cook before every boss fight. Meals provide massive temporary stat boosts that can completely trivialize difficult encounters if you stack the right recipes together.
- Don’t skip side stories. They grant rare soul emblems and unlock powerful support characters that make later arcs significantly easier to clear.
- Farm D-Medals aggressively. These currency items unlock the best passive skills on the community board, and you’ll need hundreds of them by the Cell saga.
- Switch characters during combos. Tagging in Vegeta or Gohan mid-combo extends your damage window significantly and prevents enemies from recovering health.
- Explore every zone thoroughly. Dragon Ball Z Kakarot hides some of its best gear and rare materials in corners most players fly right past without noticing.
Final Verdict on Dragon Ball Z Kakarot
Dragon Ball Z Kakarot isn’t just a nostalgia trip wrapped in flashy ki blasts and familiar voice lines. It’s a genuinely well-crafted RPG that respects the source material while adding enough original content to surprise even the most dedicated longtime fans.
If you’ve been waiting for a Dragon Ball game that lets you breathe, explore, and actually live inside that world, this is the one. Grab the Deluxe edition, cook yourself a feast, and go punch Frieza into the sun. You won’t regret it.