Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot publisher Bandai Namco Entertainment promised that it will be one of the most in-depth tellings of Goku’s story to ever grace a video game, and thus far, there has been little reason to doubt this. Obviously, it includes the big moments of every major saga, but it also includes moments so small that they are easily skipped in most games. For example, the Farmer with a Shotgun Raditz meets when he arrived on Earth is in the game, as well as mini-games based on Goku’s appetite and Gohan’s baseball games.
Since it seems Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot will feature everything from big to small, that begs the question of whether Snake Way will appear in the game. It certainly makes sense that it would, but at the same time, there are some inclinations that it won’t. It’s also worth adding that Snake Way has appeared in a number of action RPGs of DBZ and is referenced in as many, though many of the latest fighting games have skipped it in its entirely, which is understandable in that context.
For the uninitiated, Goku must cross Snake Way to reach King Kai’s planet after dying in battle against Raditz. It happens quite early in the series as a result, and it’s a way that Goku trains and prepares for the arrival of Vegeta and Nappa on Earth. According to the manga, Snake Way is roughly 625,000 miles long, and Goku runs into a number of shenanigans along the road. Not only does he fall into Hell at one point, but he meets a filler character known as Princess Snake.
Princess Snake is a short filler story that sees Goku face off with a giant snake, whose humanoid form wants to keep him at her palace. Being able to play this filler content would go a long way in delivering on Bandai Namco’s promise, and something that would excite many fans. Crossing Snake Way could be a simple mini-game that has a few sidequests players can do to level up, which is the entire canonical purpose of Goku being there in the first place – to power up.
Sure, there will likely be something that can be done of King Kai’s Planet in terms of training, but this would add a lot of welcome variety to the game. It makes sense that Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot would include Snake Way, but there’s one major factor that suggests it won’t: it’s not on the game’s map.
Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot’s full map was recently made available, showcasing every location from West City to the World of the Supreme Kai. King Kai’s planet is shown as one of the extraterrestrial locations, but Snake Way is not. It’s possible that Snake Way is something that could only be visited once, as there’s no need to go there again after Goku earns the ability to teleport to King Kai’s planet, but it would still seemingly have some type of marker if so.
It’s possible that Snake Way is skipped over in its entirety, which would be a strange choice. Understandably, there’s not much it offers in terms of gameplay, but it’s clear that developer CyberConnect2 is bringing its own ideas with the table. DBZ: Kakarot original character Bonyu, for example, will give players a little more to do on Namek, so a new NPC or even Princess Snake herself could be used somehow to make Snake Way more viable in terms of gameplay.
Snake Way hasn’t been officially confirmed or deconfirmed, so players hopeful to see it in Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot still have a chance. Once again, its inclusion makes all the sense in the world, but it could have proven to be too hard. Bandai Namco has been revealing more and more via DBZ: Kakarot trailers, though, and since there’s still plenty of time until its release, perhaps players will get to see Snake Way in an upcoming trailer. Or at least be told what won’t be making it into the game.
Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot releases January 17, 2020, for PC, PS4, and Xbox One.
