The iconic and beloved Dragon Ball Z anime has been beautifully recreated for gamers in Bandai Namco's newest action adventure RPG, Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot. Although DBZ: Kakarot is not without some glitches, fans have praised it for being an engaging, enjoyable, and accurate retelling of the Dragon Ball Z story. Many fans found themselves wondering before the game released whether it would feature elements and stories from Dragon Ball Super, but now have their answer. Whether it came as downloadable content or a sequel game of sorts, how well would Dragon Ball Super translate into this kind of game?
For those unaware, Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot does not feature Dragon Ball Super, but it is very possible, especially given the success of the game, that a sequel or downloadable content drop will adapt those stories. Instead of taking the player into clashes with Beerus, Hit, or Jiren, Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot stops where Dragon Ball Z did, right after the epic final battle with Kid Buu. Short snippets about the original Dragon Ball anime can be found scattered throughout the world, but Dragon Ball Super is not officially referenced in the slightest, much to the disappointment of many fans.
Dragon Ball Super Sagas
Like Dragon Ball Z, Dragon Ball Super is divided into sagas. This time, there are five major sagas rather than four. While Dragon Ball Z follows Goku's adventures through the Saiyan Saga, Frieza Saga, Cell Saga, and Majin Buu Saga, Dragon Ball Super consists of the God of Destruction Beerus Saga, Golden Frieza Saga, Universe 6 Saga, Future Trunks Saga, and Universal Survival Saga. There is plenty to work with here regarding a video game adaptation, as each saga is full of more than enough engaging fights, conflicts, and the like.
That said, the original Dragon Ball Z anime was 291 episodes long and had only four major sagas, while the Dragon Ball Super anime is currently capped at 131 episodes. It is worth noting that beyond these five sagas, there is also a Dragon Ball Super: Broly and the still continuing manga saga concerning the evil sorcerer Moro which could be adapted as well, but given that the anime, movies, and manga all hold a different place in the canon of Dragon Ball, it is hard to say how this would be handled.
Dragon Ball Super DLC for Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot
If Dragon Ball Super is to be included in Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot as the game is now, the only way to achieve this would be through one or more downloadable content packs. There's a couple ways this could be handled, though. It is possible that one massive expansion containing Dragon Ball Super's story up through the Universal Survival Saga could release all at once, but another possibility would be that each arc would be adapted as its own small DLC arc. If this were the case, fans would likely see sagas release separately over time, with an intermission period between each.
Given the scale of Dragon Ball Super, it seems unlikely that the entire story will be released as one DLC. That would be a massive undertaking, and Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot only has so much room to grow. Its system does not seem to have been designed with expansion in mind, and could end up struggling to account for the new power levels of the franchise. With an incredibly high max level of 250 in Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot already, a level cap increase would seem unnecessary, and the skill tree expanding anymore would also be a lot to handle. It seems what is more likely is that an entirely new sequel game will be developed instead, perhaps Dragon Ball Super: Kakarot.
Dragon Ball Super: Kakarot Sequel
If Dragon Ball Super is to be adapted in Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot's style with the same level of attention to detail and care, it is likely that an entirely new sequel game would be necessary. Resetting the level of playable characters back to one, while using the BP system to still indicate their power, would be a great way to handle the power scaling issues that come with Dragon Ball. Beyond that, most playable characters and support characters would remain the same, albeit with a few changes.
Dragon Ball Super: Kakarot Playable and Support Characters
To guess at which Dragon Ball Super characters would be playable or usable as a support character, one need look no further than the team of 10 chosen for Dragon Ball Super's climactic tournament of power. Goku, Vegeta, Gohan, and Piccolo would all no doubt return as playable characters, while Krillin and Tien (and maybe even Master Roshi) would be useful support characters. Android 18 would return, but may actually be playable this time around, and Android 17 plays a huge role at the end of the story as well. Perhaps the most shocking possibility would be a playable Frieza during the Tournament of Power.
Future Trunks would also return during the Future Trunks Saga, and Vegito would be playable again during that saga as well. Finally, if Dragon Ball Super: Broly was included as well, fans may even be able to play as Gogeta. Hopefully, the next Kakarot game finds a way to make fusion characters more playable. There is even a possibility that some of the Universe 6 characters like Cabba, Caulifla, and Hit would wind up as playable characters at some point as well, given their role in the story.
Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot and its unique but classic take on the franchise turned out to be a huge success. Given how most fans also love Dragon Ball Super, it would be a questionable move if the property was not adapted into a similar game or at the very least released as downloadable content. There is a wealth of interesting characters, thrilling stories, and fun filler/slice of life moments in Dragon Ball Super that would fit perfectly with the style of Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot, and it seem to only be a matter of time before such a thing becomes a reality.
Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot is available now for PC, PS4, and Xbox One.