Raw ingredients can be eaten as is or can be cooked into dishes for better bonuses, while those dishes can then be made into full course meals but only when visiting Chi-Chi. I’m going to use that last sentence to segue into the cooking elements. Now for my real issue: the RPG parts of this game are undercooked.
Fighting the battles I watched on TV over 20 years ago felt way better than I would’ve expected. Overall, this is where I enjoyed Kakarot the most. Dodging and attacking feels fantastic, and it should for a game based on a series that centered on fighting. Pressing up on the analog stick would normally move my character towards the enemy, but with the trigger held up meant I was moving upwards above the enemy. By holding a trigger the game locks motion to vertical and horizontal movement as if to strafe around the enemy in a 3D space. Items can be used to heal and to cause different effects. Special moves are done by holding a shoulder button and then selecting one of four equipped attacks mapped to the face buttons. Combat is fast and fun and takes place in a 3D environment. The combat portions are definitely the meat of the game. It is by no means bad, but I found myself wondering why certain decisions were made. Presented as an RPG fighting game, Kakarot is more of a fighting game with the baggage of an RPG. Kakarot is a full retelling of the original Dragon Ball Z series, from the beginning to the Buu Saga, with some reduction of bloat as well as some expanding on character backgrounds. Whether it be hardcore fans or people like me who grew up watching the series, this game is not going to convince anyone who doesn’t already have some fondness for the absurdity that is Dragon Ball Z to become a fan. I will save any potential reader a ton of time and just say that Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot is only for fans of Dragon Ball Z.