Dragon Ball Z is filled with iconic moments that fans still relish today, from Goku’s ascension to Super Saiyan in his fight against Frieza to filler content like when Goku and Piccolo attempt to get their own driver’s license. To the delight of fans, these moments appear in Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot and play to the nostalgia of the original anime, but there’s one missing moment fans will immediately notice. The moment in which Vegeta crushes his scouter and declares that Goku’s power level is over 9000 is not in the game.
For context, this moment occurs in the anime after Goku is revived and reaches Nappa and Vegeta near the end of the Saiyan Saga. It is one of, if not the, most iconic moments in DBZ history, having passed into memes and jokes all around the internet. Interestingly enough, though, this moment arose as a slight mistranslation where Vegeta was supposed to say, “it’s over 8000!,” but even that doesn’t seem to be the case in Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot.
In Bandai Namco’s latest action RPG, Vegeta and Nappa scan Goku’s power level as he approaches, declaring his power level to be 5000. They still see this as a problem, especially if he were backed up by Piccolo and the others, but it’s not near as dramatic and nor does it shift to 9000 when the proper moment appears. It’s a strange choice given the popularity of the moment, and one that players are likely to quickly notice.
Regardless, as players move into the classic fight between Goku and Vegeta, it’s still as intense as any Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot player would expect. And from there, the story unfolds as it properly should: Vegeta goes great ape, Yajirobe cuts off his tail, Gohan turns into a great ape and eventually falls on Vegeta. Krillin attempts to end Vegeta, but Goku convinces him otherwise. In short, this scene unfolds almost identically to the anime, with the sole exception of the missing “Over 9000!” line.
It seems like a small hiccup in the grand scheme of things, considering how faithfully Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot seems to retell the anime, as even the fight against Raditz is tough to beat, but many will indubitably consider it a hiccup nonetheless.
Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot is out now for PC, PS4, and Xbox One.
