Dragon Ball Z Kakarot Review: The Perfect Anime Adaptation (Xbox One)

Dragon Ball Z Kakarot is the best adaptation of an anime series to date. The combat is superb, the open-world (though segmented) brings the world of the beloved anime series to life. It also tells the story of the anime series, which is no small feat. It covers all the key bases and there are multiple playable characters, making it one multi-faceted. The one word to sum up the game is fun. The Dragon Ball While the sidequests may seem like a series of fetch quests, they give some must-needed character development in a captivating world filled with drama, comedy, and non-stop action.

The combat in Dragon Ball Z Kakarot is rather simple, but tons of fun. Hold down the LB button and Y, A, B or X to execute super attacks. Rapidly mash X in order to fire of Ki attacks. B is your melee attack. Pressing A just before an enemy attack allows you to dodge an attack. There is also a tension gauge on the lower left-hand corner of the screen. Once that is filled up, hold down Y charge your Ki. Once you hold it down long enough when your Ki is full, you enter into a surge mode. In surge mode, your character is powered up and can perform attacks not available in regular mode. Once you progress through the game, there is also the opportunity to perform transformations. There is a tradeoff though – these transformations slowly drain your Ki and your HP. They are a double-edged sword, so be careful! There is also a skill tree where you can upgrade your skills. Also, through the training grounds, you are able to learn new skills through D Medals, which you collect during your journey. While having support characters in your part, you can assign them super attacks in order to help you out.

There’s more the Kakarot than just combat though. You can collect Orbs in order to upgrade skills and collect food, such as apples and meat, in order to cook meals, This seems to be inspired by Breath of the Wild. These last for a limited time, though they boost some stats permanently, so they are handy. Chi-Chi can also make full dishes, which are a nice treat. Once you hit a certain part of the game, the Dragon Balls are accessible, They offer the player wishes, such as rare items, rematches with former characters, and an abundance of orbs. Sidequests are quite easy and many of them include fetch quests, which can be annoying but are worth it for the XP.

The game is split into several episodes, each covering the main points of each section. On top of this, the game contains a number of chapters, making it feel like a true anime game. Each chapter covers a separate segment in Goku’s journey, which is a nice way to break up each part of the game. After every chapter, there is some downtime, which gives the gamer a breather. There are a lot of sidequests during intermissions, so be sure to do them all if you are looking to 100% the game.

There is also a community aspect to the game. By interacting and helping others, you gain something called “soul emblems.” These can be used on the community board and give you special attributes, so the more soul emblems you collect, the more powerful your characters can become. This isn’t just with regards to fighting though; there are several different categories to choose from, such as training, development, and adventure, to name a few. These give your characters various attributes to help them along their journey.

Dragon Ball Z Kakarot is the anime adaptation of a video game that people have been waiting for. Despite its flaws (multiple fetch quests, long load times, and some stuttering, it’s an incredibly good game. It’s not perfect by any means, but it’s a lot of fun and the story is classic Dragon Ball. The gameplay is a lot of fun. Battles are addictive. There are numerous things to unlock while going along your journey although some things come off as being corny, it works. The English voice acting is very good to the point that the Japanese VO isn’t really needed.

Dragon Ball Z Kakarot is the best anime game, period. It has everything that Dragon Ball fans have waited for, and then some. Considering how good Kakarot is, which anime series will we see get the same treatment next?