Escapism comes in many forms, and as humans, we all crave it. Both anime and video games have scientifically measured and capitalised heavily off of this quirk of human existence. Keeping that in mind, when it comes to escapism, at least for adolescent males, one cannot help but think of Dragonball Z. The unique blend of subtle sci-fi and martial arts worldbuilding elements. The rush of flying through Akira Toriyama’s beautiful crafted art landscapes. The primal yelling and shooting energy beams from your hands. Dragonball Z delivered some of the first flights of fantasy for many young boys in the West and many more outside of it who grew up in the 1990s and early noughts. The show that taught us the vitality of hard work, the strength that is evident in relying upon friends, and helped take the fear out of death itself is the show that impacted us in one form or another, even if we had to sit through the filler episodes, and believe me, there were filer episodes.
Dragonball Z: Kakarot, is one of those filler games in quintessential Dragonball Z fashion. This is not to diminish the merits of the game, and I do not wish to even claim that the game is necessarily bad. We already knew this game would be a filler game back at E3 when Tim Rogers predicted it (and even smugly reminded us of his foresight seven months later at the game’s release). In fact, I think the filler nature of this game is highlight of the game. Allow me to explain.
Dragonball Z is heavy on story, that is a large part of its popularity. The cinematic climaxes of the various “sagas” are memorable, breath-taking in scope, and destructive in their impact. These are the highlights that stick with the casual tourist to the world of Dragonball, and a cornerstone for its residents. However, the filler episodes focused upon a C side story or even a single emotion (queue memories of a defeated Trunks screaming in dismay and regret for a solid three minutes) are what made this world a place we wanted to visit. The travel guides for Dragonball’s Earth, if you will, highlighting the food, the scenery, the culture. Hell I can still smell Chi-Chi’s cooking while listening to the breeze pass through the palm trees around me (an experience also repeatable in Kakarot ).
What I mean to say here is, like the tired cliche says, “the downs help us appreciate the ups” and this game isn’t even really a “down”. Sure some of the RPG elements are shoehorned in (I am still confused as to how the Community Board system really works) and some of the fetch-and-kill quests get repetitive. I understand how it could seem that CyberConnect2 were not certain what exactly there was to do in the Dragonball Universe between the large fights.
But that is the whole point. Goku’s committed lifestyle to fighting comes at the high cost of his training. Training here is not confined to nine days in the Hyperbolic Time Chamber, either. There is a lot of walking around with your son, fishing when the sun is just right, practice fighting against creatures and lesser-characters, and most of all, continuing to live in the world he is committed to defend. Perhaps even in our world also, it is the mundane that makes the sublime just that: sublime.
If you are looking for a brilliant Dragonball Z fighting experience, Kakarot may not be for you. Xenoverse 2 and Budokai 3 exist and will still be a fan favourite for the “what if”ism of the spectacle of a Dragonball Z fight. Where Kakaort piecemeal out the fighting experience (and the grand fighting sequences are grand) where the game really shines is in the visiting of this unique version of Earth. The visuals, though not otherworldly like other current games, are an utter joy to behold. The controls are a bit overwhelming, but you will soon find your rhythm and pace within them. And the telling of the stories is done with painstakingly good care, highlighting lowlights from the lore with grace and finesse. It is this “freer” experience, this RPG-heavy trip to Dragonball’s Earth that still puts a smile on my face after a long day at work. Plus, I get to utterly smash up some foes, which is an experience in itself, regardless of which Dragonball title it is exactly.
PRESENTATION – 85: yes, the graphics are a joy but nothing spectacular, and although the gathering of items is strange (literally jump into a tree to collect an apple) and the world could be a bit more populated, the colours, shapes, and vibrancy provides a solid statement that “You are in the world of Dragonball” and I appreciate that
GAMEPLAY – 70: the fighting is a bit overwhelming, as all fighting games can be, but it feels great to use the special abilities after a few fetch quests have gone by. The RPG elements are deeper than they appear on the surface, and though I am still mastering them, I am deeply enjoying what CyberConnect was trying to do.
SINGLE PLAYER – 75: Dragonball Z was a long-running anime, and cramming all that content into one video game would have been difficult regardless of who took on the task. The single player experience may leave one wanting for more, but not because of the lack of quality content, rather because of the strength of the IP.
MULTIPLAYER – N/A as of this time
PERFORMANCE – 65: The game loads wonderfully in times of fast-paced action. However, the semi-clunky nature of the RPG mechanics slows down the game during cutscenes and menu-scrolling which seemed out of place on the PS4.
OVERALL – 77/100 – The game will not be the greatest of all time, but it will, deservedly, be the current flagship Dragonball Z experience, and one that will be expanded in the future via an already released expansion pass. Hopefully this world will continue to evolve along the lines it already has. Plus it has fishing, that is always a plus from me.
Varasi Academica 