I now own the movie on Blu Ray! It looks like it’s still going to be a long while before we get to the Granolah saga so for now you’ll need to keep this film close as the final Dragon Ball experience. The power levels definitely get real intense here!
It’s time to jump back into the world of DBZ. Things definitely get rather intense there so you can be sure that this would be another great game. While I do think it is completely inexcusable to not have the Buu saga, the rest of the game is still really good. It’s interesting to see which fights were made into stages and which weren’t. The game is fairly short so it definitely won’t last very long but you will have a good time throughout the adventure.
This story mode is definitely made with DBZ veterans in mind more than the average DBZ game. While it has more battles than the original Budokai, this one rarely gives you any real context to the battles. You’re thrown right in, sort of like a best hits kind of compilation to the title rather than a true story mode. Each arc has around 20 levels in it. There are also alternate paths/stories where you can relive the Broly movie, the Bardock special, and then a few random fights thrown inside. That does help extend the story play time a little bit although it’s still fairly short in the end.
Most of your playing time here will likely be in the vs mode which makes sense. This is a fighting game after all so that is mainly why you are here. The character roster is fairly small but all of the core characters are here which is what counts. It is interesting to hear Cell’s first form with his Perfect voice since they seem to share a character slot though. In the cutscenes he sounds normal so I’m surprised they couldn’t set it up that way in gameplay. Unless maybe it is and this is just a glitch in the story mode. I can’t say that I went into the vs mode myself to test this out.
The graphics are really good. I like the dynamic designs and artstyle used for the characters. The game places a heavy emphasis on the aura that each character admits, so you should get ready to see a lot of bright colors. I imagine this might be tough if you have any vision issues so keep that in mind. It can be a bit overdone at times but all in all I would say it ages pretty well. I don’t always get the point of spiking up my aura but I’m sure that’s more of an advanced gameplay mechanic.
As for the soundtrack, it’s fairly decent. There aren’t many memorable tracks here so I can’t give it a higher rating than that. It works well for the scenes that it is in but the whole time you do feel like they could have some richer tunes. Something more along the lines of Xenoverse 2 which sounds amazing in all of the levels. DBZ on average should be leaning towards hard rock music that really gets you into the match.
One thing this game does which is fun is throw in a quick fight that is pre rendered before every story battle. You quickly see how there are only 3-4 variations that are looped to each character model but I still liked the effort. I always like seeing the characters mix it up before the actual battle starts and it adds more of a cinematic flair to the fights. These are battles that all DBZ fans will be super familiar with since every game has them so this helps the game to stand out a little more than it would otherwise.
There are no PS3 trophies to add to the replay value for single player content but you could try to unlock all of the special conditions in each fight. There are a bunch of them based on different techniques or actions that you need to take. I’d say that would be a fun way to test your limits and everything. Ultimately the unlimited replay value is in the vs mode but it’s still important that there is some more single player content to have past the initial hours. How long it takes to get the complete requirements in each level will likely vary dramatically with your skill level but for even the best of players this should at least double the run time.
I will take one last shot at not having the Buu saga though. This is something that you absolutely need to have. To say that there wasn’t enough space or budget in a PS3 game is something that I would have a hard time with. Saving it for the sequel is also not a good enough excuse because that is the devs getting really greedy. I could see this absolutely lowering the hype for a lot of people because cutting out one of the biggest arcs like that is crazy. I still can’t get over that part. I’d still be playing the game right now if there was a whole other big arc of battles left to play like that.
Overall, Burst Limit is definitely a great game. It is one that feels like it was made with a rather narrow budget at times but all in all it’s still a lot of fun which is the important thing. The gameplay is rather advanced so it is difficult to craft the combos that you want. You will really have to study up in this game and learn all of the moves if you want to pull that off. It’s not an easy feat by any means. I suppose in that way it is definitely a lot more like a true 2D fighting game. You can have endless fun with friends here which definitely keeps the title at a high level.
Overall 8/10
Suggested by Destroyer Ichigo is one of the most powerful Shonen Jump protagonists in history. His speed and power are absolutely insane and he defeats opponents that would leave most people spinning in awe. That said, Cell is still a little too powerful. He’s a very balanced DBZ fighter who has had his share of power ups in Xenoverse and DB Heroes. Ichigo can go far but ultimately DBZ is still in a different league. Cell wins.
Meruem returns but now he is fighting a DBZ character of incredible power and speed. While the two may have similar designs, Cell is a fighter who could end the entire solar system so that ends the comparisons between them. Technically speaking their personalities are also rather different so it’s really the design that gets brought up a lot. The power scales in DBZ and HXH are too far apart for Meruem to stand a chance though. Cell wins.
It’s time to look at the DBZ game that came out recently. It definitely looked like a real game of the year contender from the instant that we got the first teasers. Interestingly the game kept focusing on the first two arcs so for a while there I was wondering if Arc 3 would be included at all. Fortunately it is here so the game ends up feeling pretty complete. The story took me around 20 hours which is pretty good for an action title. It’s quite rare for any to rank all the way up there. It’s an excellent game and one I definitely recommend.
The story follows the events of the DBZ show/manga. If you don’t know what that is, here’s a quick recap. Goku is a hero who has saved the planet many times. He ended up marrying Chi Chi prior to the game’s start and they had a kid named Gohan. That’s when an alien named Raditz arrives and kidnaps Goku’s son. Goku has to then team up with Piccolo to stop him. Along the way more aliens show up such as Vegeta and Frieza as well as androids like Cell and even mythical beings like Majin Buu. Goku will have to keep on training in order to keep up with these guys, but he believes that he will be up to the task. Goku’s never turned down a challenge before and he doesn’t intend to start now.
The gameplay is similar to the Dragon Ball Z Budokai Tenkaichi series although styles in more of a single player fashion. You’re using less advanced combos here and more flashy moves to take the opponent down. It’s fun using all of the signature attacks from the show and you can learn new moves/upgrade old ones as you go through the game. I didn’t touch the upgrading part until deep in arc 2, but it’s a handy feature. You won’t be able to upgrade all that much without going through some Roshi training though. Once you beat the game you can unlock all of the training lessons and then you can make your characters really strong. If you want to beat a powerful enemy without leveling up then just buy a lot of health items. Those come in handy although of course it will make getting S ranks a little more difficult. I got an S rank on almost every level but I don’t believe there is much of a reward for doing so here so it’s not a big deal.
In combat you’ll be fine if you just go with your instincts. Typically I like to just stick to physical attacks and don’t use the special moves much unless the opponent is shooting a laser and I don’t want to wait for it to end. Sniping the enemy with a laser of your own is a really good way to counter such a technique. If the opponent is blocking your hits a lot then I would recommend landing a few hits, teleporting, and then attacking more. The opponent is forced to either drop his guard and get hit or let his shield be broken. Either way works out quite nicely for you. There is a good amount of depth to the gameplay so you have the liberty of finding what method of fighting works best for you. The toughest fights for me were the ones where you have to fight multiple opponents. The Cell Jrs that launched at you were no joke.
Meanwhile the graphics here are definitely top tier. There are a lot of animated cutscenes to watch where the characters duke it out and even the normal cutscenes look really good. The engine works really well for a game like DBZ and it feels like you are back in the TV show. The most impressive cutscene was probably Vegito’s battle against Super Buu. The animators definitely had a lot of fun with that one. The scene of Vegeta and Kid Buu punching each other was also styled really well. It keeps up with FighterZ as the two best looking DBZ games. Then you’ve got the soundtrack which is really great. You’ll recognize a lot of the themes from the anime which is a nice touch. We also get an insert song at the very end of the game which was pretty neat. There was certainly no corners being cut in this title.
The sheer amount of content here is also impressive. As I mentioned I beat the game in around 20 hours. That’s considering that I didn’t stop to do any side quests or things like that. I just plunged right through the story. If you consider the side quests, extra boss, and leveling up then you’ll be here for quite a while. The Platinum trophy in this game actually sounds pretty achievable so if I start trophy hunting again then this would be one of the first games that I would focus on. I’d estimate that the game should take you around 40 hours to complete everything. That’s a lot of time and really helps to justify your purchase. Even just wandering around the hub world driving your car and fishing can be a lot of fun. The game did a good job of adding a lot of different gameplay options to have fun with. The game even let you play Baseball for a second which was nice.
Kakarot is a reasonably challenging game, but not one where you will ever be stuck for long. It all feels pretty fair and balanced in part because there are always workarounds. If a boss is too difficult for you right now then you can go and train somewhere, unlock new attacks, re-position your stat medals, cook some food, buy potions, etc. There is no way you will actually be stuck for very long but at the same time you may enjoy just retrying the battle a few times when the opponent is hard to beat like this as it really helps you learn the fighting style. Before long you’ll be racking up S rank after S rank.
Overall, Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot is a superb game. It’s easily one of the best DBZ games I’ve played. I’ve seen it compared to Attack of the Saiyans quite a lot. While that game is also very good, I would have to give this one the edge. I’d put it in third place right behind FighterZ and Budokai Tenkaichi 3. I hope we get a sequel to this game which adapts GT, the movies, and Super. I’m sure they could also do that through DLC as well, but a sequel would be ideal because then it could be a full 20+ hour experience with a lot of cutscenes. I feel like you are slightly more limited with what you can do when it’s DLC but that’s not necessarily true. If you haven’t gotten this game yet then I’d recommend changing that. It’s one of the most complete DBZ adaptions you’ll ever see. When you finish the story you’ll feel as though you just scratched the surface of what the title has in store for you.
Overall 9/10
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