Everything has to come to an end eventually, but video games and Dragon Ball have something in common: an almost inspiring amount of persistence. Like most modern RPGs, Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot has a post-game with plenty to do after beating the story, but… it leaves quite a lot to be desired. Some of the time!
At its best, Kakarot’s endgame content really shines a spotlight on why the game works as well as it does: it’s a genuine love letter to Dragon Ball Z that actually understands the material it’s adapting. At its worst, it’s a shallow RPG that’s barely any better than Xenoverse with post-game content just as depthless.
Updated June 27, 2021 by Renan Fontes: Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot was not the game audiences everywhere were expecting, but it’s managed to hold a surprising amount of longevity for what’s otherwise a fairly sloppy action RPG. For all of Kakarot’s faults, the post-game has only grown since release. Three DLC packs have been released that adapt Battle of Gods, Resurrection F, and The History of Trunks respectively. DBZ:K may not have had a ludicrous launch, but the game undeniably has legs.
11 Power Grind
When all else fails, most RPGs allow players to do one thing after beating the game: power grind. Level grinding to max level has been a pastime for many a generation. And seldom is it ever productive! But it’s a way of getting value out of a game– something most of us have to spend our hard earned money on. There’s nothing wrong with wanting more out of a game by any means necessary.
Kakarot at least makes it easy since enemies on the overworld can just be crashed into for EXP. Plus, there’s actually a reason to power grind here. Villainous Enemies are in abundance and there are a few super bosses waiting at the very, very end of the game.
10 Reunite With An Old Friend
Kakarot does Trunks dirty. Despite being one of the Cell arc’s central characters, he’s barely playable and most of his story content it cut. Bizarrely, but perhaps as a direct result of how little Trunks features in a story he kicks off, players can actually re-recruit Future Trunks back into their party after beating the game.
Simply head to Capsule Corp. and Trunks will be hanging out with his Time Machine. He’ll then join the party, but he likely won’t be able to compete with endgame Goku, Gohan, or Vegeta. Fortunately, Trunks now has his own DLC that expands on his lackluster role from the main plot.
9 Make Every Wish
Anyone who’s read or watched Dragon Ball has at some point wanted to go on their very own hunt for the Dragon Balls. And why wouldn’t they? Adventure with the promise of a wish? You’d be a fool not to want that. Thankfully, Kakarot offers fans the opportunity to collect the Dragon Balls themselves– and quite often at that!
Not only does Kakarot recharge the Dragon Balls every 20 minutes whenever they’re active, the Buu saga starts allowing players to get 3 wishes per summoning. This makes knocking out all the wishes and unlocking all the revival rematches a breeze. Seriously, considering saving Dragon Ball collecting for the end of the game.
8 Complete Every Sub Story
Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot has a lot of sub stories, and they’re not all that fun. In fact, most are pretty mediocre and really only offer the bare minimum in regards to side content.
For a game that so painstakingly recreates Dragon Ball’s most iconic moments, it doesn’t care much for everything surrounding it. At the same time, it’s something to do.
7 Complete The Z-Encyclopedia
Although the Z-Encyclopedia takes some liberties with the series’ lore and canon, Kakarot is its own beast and should be treated as such. At the same time, the Z-Encyclopedia really is a fantastic way of taking in the world of Dragon Ball– weird changes and all. Better yet, actually filling out the Z-Encyclopedia nets rewards, whether they be tangible or just more information.
If Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot is a Dragon Ball museum, the Z-Encyclopedia is its dense, subscriber’s program. It really doesn’t get at the depth of the series, but it’s a fantastic addition that’ll be sure to get new fans immediately interested in the world of Dragon Ball.
6 Unlock Every Super Attack
Super Attacks are ultimately at the heart of the combat. Without the right Super Attacks, fights just don’t come together. The basic melee and Ki combos don’t suffice in a full on fight. Thankfully, Ki is very easy to charge to full so Super Attacks are always viable. They do have to be unlocked though.
By the time you beat the game, you should have more than enough D-Medals to unlock every single Super Attack for every single character. Not just that, the Z-Orbs necessary to get through everyone’s skill trees. Kakarot is easy for the most part, but this pays off once tackling the game’s super bosses.
5 Defeat Every Villainous Enemy
Unless you diligently play through every single Intermission, your party won’t be strong enough to handle most Villainous Enemies that pop up over the course of the natural story. You’ll likely need to take them on in the post-game. It’s a shame since this means Villainous Enemies never really end up part of the core gameplay loop, but it at least gives us something to do after beating Buu.
For what it’s worth, there’s actually real incentive to defeating every Villainous Enemy. Beating all of them allows you to access the real meat of the post-game: the super bosses. Once they’re all defeated, Towa and Mira from Dragon Ball Xenoverse will show up with some friends in tow.
4 Defeat Mira
At the moment, it seems that Dragon Ball operates with three core continuities in mind: the main story which has its own issues with canon; Heroes which runs wild with whatever it can; and Xenoverse, a video game duology that shares some concepts with Heroes but mainly centers itself on twisting the main series’ timeline.
With Towa and Mira appearing after defeating every Villainous Enemy, it seems as though the Xenoverse continuity is more of an overarching video game continuity. Android 21’s appearance earlier in the game can even suggest that FighterZ is a part of this.
3 Defeat Gotenks & Vegito
Mira’s not the only super boss awaiting the Dragon Team at the end of Kakarot. Possessed by Towa ala Xenoverse, players are tasked with fighting the two strongest fused fighters in the original series: Gotenks and Vegito. It’s genuinely one of the hardest fights in the game, if not outright the hardest, so be prepared to put in some real effort.
It helps to take out Gotenks before Vegito. The latter is more dangerous near-death and better handled mano-a-mano. Gotenks is also a bit more aggressive and the more obnoxious of the two fighters. Taking him out asap leads to a much smoother second half.
2 Play A New Power Awakens
One of Kakarot’s greatest flaws at release was the mere fact that there wasn’t much to do in terms of the post-game. Not just that, the story didn’t even adapt all of the Z-era, cutting off before the 28th Tenkaichi Budokai. This left a narrative void that resulted in the main game cutting off at an awkward point. This has since been mitigated by three DLC Packs.
The first two expansion packs make up one story arc called A New Power Awakens – an adaption of both Battle of Gods and Resurrection F. While not quite the same as adapting Uub or getting to Super’s plotline, A New Power Awakens expands Goku and Vegeta’s arc following the Majin Buu saga while unlocking brand new Super Saiyan God forms (along with new boss fights against Beerus and Golden Frieza).
1 Play The Warrior Of Hope
The fact Kakarot’s first two expansion packs adapted Battle of Gods and Resurrection F gave fans hope that the story would cover most of Super through DLC. It’s important to keep in mind that these two films were released under the DBZ brand originally, not Super. The third DLC ended up being an adaptation of the Trunks TV Special, complete with a playable Future Gohan.
Interestingly, The Warrior of Hope actually adapts events after the event of the TV Special. The last stretch of the DLC is dedicated to Trunks’ version of the Majin Buu arc (an even only seen in Dragon Ball Super). Judging by the DLC order, it’s possible the 4th pack will be the Universe 6 Tournament, allowing a potential Kakarot 2 to start with the Goku Black arc.
NEXT: The 10 Hardest Achievements & Trophies To Get In Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot (& How To Get Them)
