At the moment we heard about the new Dragon Ball Z game by “Bandai Namco”, we knew we had to check it out.
As two “Dragon Ball” super fans who played every game of the series, and watched everything about the franchise, we came with excitement to try a glimpse of the game that will tell the “Z” series to the most accurate way we have ever experienced.
So far we know that you will be able to play with five playable characters: Goku, Gohan, Vegeta, Piccolo & Trunks.
During your adventure, you are given the option to choose two secondary characters to back you up in fights such as Krillin, Tien, Chiaotzu, Yamcha and more. The voiceover in the game is done by the original cast in both English and Japanese, the game is also accompanied by some of the original soundtracks of the series to make it feel more accurate.
Elad’s gameplay experience
My gameplay demo was during the Saiyan saga, right at the beginning of the series – were Raditz (Goku older brother) kidnaps Gohan.
In order to reach the fight area and confront Raditz, I had to fly, as Goku and Piccolo by my side, to the area, were Raditz’s space ship had crashed, much like in the series.
Before arriving at the fighting area I had the option to explore the area around and meet a beloved character from the original series, Android 8, which provided for me a nice side mission as a filler and as training for the upcoming fight.
After I have completed the side mission, I concentrated a bit on the traversal mechanics which were very special and unique.
On my way to the main mission, I had the chance to see and appreciate the graphics and the landscapes that were restored from the show, and with that, I felt like I’m in a scene from the show.
when entering the mission area, the fight opened in an accurate reconstruction of the scene were Goku and Piccolo are planning how to defeat Raditz, and from there the fight had begun.
I was given the option to move freely in the arena, flying fast in any direction and charging energy for attacks just like previous games.
Every ball of energy and every wave of Kamehameha felt like a drawing coming out of the series for the game. There was also a nice touch in the fight – as you play with more combos and dodge more incoming attacks – the theme song of Dragon Ball Z became stronger as your gameplay improved.
Even in medium difficulty, Raditz felt like a serious challenge that you will need to overcome, the same way as Goku felt in the series, and that’s what the game manages to convey to you as a player.
Afro’s gameplay experience
Unlike Elad, I was thrown into the last fight announced so far in the game – the last fight between Gohan and Perfect Cell. I got to play with Gohan instead of Goku, Gohan’s main attribute is close combat and hand-to-hand attacks.
The fight opens in Gohan’s transformation to Super Saiyan 2, which was accompanied by the original soundtrack from the series, and from there I was thrown directly into the fight.
The fight ( by the way, it is my favorite part of the whole series) managed to surprise me and it exceeded my expectations. The battle was focused a lot in dodging, accurate defense and finding Cell’s weak spots, all of that while learning the mechanics of the game. during the fight, I was accompanied by no less than amazing graphics that made me feel like I was watching the battle for my first time ever.
After a long battle, I managed to defeat Cell and started the well-known ending scene against Cell that was extremely accurate that it made me chill. The combination of the clashing Kamehameha waves of Gohan and Cell, with the game’s excellent soundtrack, will leave no fan of the series indifferent. At the end of the scene, the demo was over, and it left me hungry for more of “Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot”
Interview
After the both of us had played our demo’s, we met with the game producer – Ryosuke Hara, and we asked him a few questions about the game:
Q: How and when will it be possible to become a Super Saiyan during the game?
A: It will not be possible during the main story, in order to maintain the authenticity of the story. It will be possible to transform into a Super Saiyan during side mission fights.
Q: Until a day ago, we thought the last saga would be Frieze, we found out there was also the Cell saga during Gamescom. Will we see the Majin Buu saga in the game?
A: That is information I can’t reveal at this time.
Q: Will we see characters that we have seen in filler episodes and characters that were taken off the series like Launch, Snu & Arale? (we’ve already met with Android 8)
A: Yes, the side missions will be full of familiar characters from the series, such as Launch, Android 8 and maybe even Arale, and you can fully interact with all of these characters.
Q: As we know, we have more than one main character. Will we be able to swap between them for missions of just to move around the areas?
A: No, the switching between the main characters will depend on your progression in the story. As I have mentioned, we are trying to keep the game as authentic to the show as possible.
Q: Will the game have a beta version?
A: At this time, we do not plan to release an early version of the game other than those that you played here at Gamescom.
In conclusion: The demo and the interview with Ryosuke Hara left us curious about the game and hungry for more…
the game will be released in 2020 and will be available to play on the platforms: PlayStation 4, Microsoft Windows, Xbox One.
Hoping for more updates as soon as possible, Elad & Affro – Team Gamerdeal
Do you guys think it will be good as budokai 3?
With the demo I played, I think it will be better than Budokai 3, you get to explore the DBZ world and interact with people all over, and that incredible.
The game looks great, I will buy it on day 1.
As someone that grow on the dragon ball series and really love this I must say that this game is going to be great
I feel the same way about this game, it’s going to be awesome.