Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot Reviews
Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot displays unparalleled care and respect for the iconic story arcs it adapts. The original music is there, original Dragon Ball characters return, and pivotal moments are gorgeously animated. If these were stories being presented in video game format for the first time, it would be a mind-blowing experience. Unfortunately, Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot doesn't push the envelope enough to warrant sitting through the Cell Saga for the umpteenth time and seeing Frieza get obliterated yet again. If you've played a Dragon Ball Z game before, you've basically played this one.
Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot is a huge step forward in the titles centered on the narrative of Akira Toriyama, and although there are moments that manage to live up to the original anime or even exceed it, the general feeling does not end up being so voluminous.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
A true gift to any Dragon Ball fan that works really well as an open world ARPG. It's not without flaws, but its length and dynamics are a safe bet.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
While the popular Xenoverse series utilized the RPG genre to try something different, Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot offers a more traditional retelling of the series in a single player only experience that should at least get the hardcore fans of the series excited to experience this adventure yet again.
Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot is an easy buy for any level of fan of Dragon Ball Z. Re-living the show's iconic moments by playing through them as key characters is a treat. Sure, some of these moments don't come across as impactful due to the game's format, and a lot of the nuances of the story beats are lost due to the speed with which it is delivered. But the sheer volume of events to play through, spread across a meaty 40-hour campaign, with easily double that for a 100% completion rate, combine to make a game that fans should be pleased with.
Overall, Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot is a good game, but it may not appeal to everyone. If you've seen the anime series, you know what to expect already. This can make the entire game seem a bit dull because there are no surprises. However, if you're looking for an experience where you can relive the best Dragon Ball Z moments – and get immersed in an open world with varying environments – then you should pick it up.
Having only a handful of enjoyable minigames means players will end up playing the ones they dislike more, and the horribly paced board game component makes the journey getting to those minigames feel like a slog and then to not have GARFIELD VOICED IS JUS- let me calm down. Even at the ‘value’ price of $39.99 this feels overpriced, if you are a huge Garfield fan wait for a deep sale before picking this one up.
Sadly, I cannot claim that Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot + A New Power Awakens Set is the complete experience. But for the same price as the base game on any other console, the Switch version is definitely the way to go for new players. Anyone who already owns the base game and DLC on other systems might only be interested for portability purposes. Any Dragon Ball Z fan, who has not played Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot, need to do themselves a favor and play this strange hybrid of cinematic storytelling, 3D fighting game aerial combat, JRPG mechanics, and open world exploration.
Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot + A New Power Awakens is a great way to experience Goku’s story all over again. If you already own the game on other consoles then it’s probably not worth grabbing again unless the portability is a big bonus for you. But for newcomers having the DLC included is great value for the price of this version and it increases the adventure by a good few hours, plus fans can also look forward to the Future Trunks DLC.
CyberConnect2 knows how to develop and port games, no question about that. It may not run at 60fps, but this pocket-sized version of Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot is still able to live up to its counterparts on other platforms. A pity that the last DLC was not included, considering it would have made the game even more appealing.
Review in Italian | Read full review
My only gripe is that for how much this game wants to be seen like an RPG it never really does anything of interest with it.
Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot is a good gift for fans of anime and manga, containing a huge number of references and fanservice. But for everyone else – this is an unremarkable game that too quickly turns into a monotonous routine of constant battles and empty locations. If you want a really cool game based on the popular franchise, it is better to get acquainted with the magnificent Dragon Ball FighterZ.
Review in Russian | Read full review
All in all Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot is an engaging and immersive experience that transports the fans back to the very beginning and for me, that came with a heavy serving of nostalgia.
Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot's inconsistent quality holds it back from being a great Dragon Ball game, but ultimately, its high points do outweigh its problems -- especially if you're a fan.
Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot is an easy game to recommend to fans of the series. No, it's not a masterpiece, but there's a lot to love and it's absolutely packed with fan service.
Dragon ball Z: Kakarot is a game that has been crafted with a lot of care by Bandai Namco and CyberConnect2. It's the gift that keeps giving, after playing 10-12 hours of the game and still hadn't made it to Namek I was happy with the depth this game has to offer.
Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot takes inspiration from prior games while taking the kind of stylized enhancements to make the final product stand out from other franchise games. Kakarot is not without its own issues, but what it executes well more than make up for it. Kakarot will be one of those games down the line that fans will remember fondly.
Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot is a mixed bag. If you're a Dragon Ball fan, this game will offer so many nice moments and make you occasionally beam from ear to ear. But then during exploration and combat, things quickly become tedious. At full price, it's hard to recommend this game, but when it becomes affordable in a sale, it'll be hard for fans to resist.
Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot is a fairly good game that qualifies better than the sum of its parts. Some mechanics aren't quite convincing, but overall the game is one of the most inspired representations of Akira Toriyama's work.
Review in Italian | Read full review