Gohan has always been a fan favorite character in the Dragon Ball franchise, but few versions of him are as cool as Future Gohan. Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot DLC 3 satisfies every Gohan fanatic's dream by making this oft under-represented iteration of the character playable, but there are some peculiar differences between him and the Gohan that players know from the main story line of the game. Most obviously, Future Gohan is much weaker than his counterpart, which seems odd given the differences each of their situations and demeanor. That said, there's actually a perfectly good reason for this.
Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot DLC 3 is finally out, bringing an end to the long wait of fans. The game first released back in January of 2020, and players finally have the finished product about a year and a half later. Whereas DLC 1 and 2 focused on Goku and Vegeta's training to master the Super Saiyan God and Super Saiyan Blue forms, DLC 3 instead backpedals and takes players to Future Trunks' timeline. In this harrowing world, Goku dies of a heart disease, and the rest of the Z Warriors fall shortly thereafter when the Androids attack. Gohan and Trunks are all that remain, and this shapes Gohan into a completely different character.
Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot - How Strong is Main Timeline Gohan?
When determining just how powerful a character in Dragon Ball Z is, it is always important to look at specific instances in time. These characters are constantly growing and fluctuating in terms of power level, so it can at times be difficult to compare them. For Gohan's power levels, the best benchmarks to use are right after he unlocks Super Saiyan 2 and right after he unlocks his Ultimate Form in the Buu Saga. The former gives him the power to defeat a Zenkai boosted Perfect Cell, and the latter let him dominate Super Buu in a fight.
Despite all of this, the main timeline Gohan always valued his studies and becoming a scholar more than fighting. Gohan's Super Saiyan 2 transformation is a great example of this, as he only reaches it when pushed to the brink in order to save his friends and family. After the events of each saga, Gohan attempts to settle down and divert his attention to learning. This results in his skills being dulled when the next threat arrives, and has long been a complaint about the character.
Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot - How Strong is Future Gohan?
By contrast, Future Gohan seems like a pushover in terms of power levels. The highest level that this character ever reaches is Super Saiyan 1, as he fails to break through his limits and reach Super Saiyan 2 like main timeline Gohan did. In reality, this doesn't make him weak, as he is still a Super Saiyan and has all of the powers that come with that. Unfortunately, the Androids that he's facing just happen to be stronger. This paired with their numbers make the Androids an insurmountable challenge for Future Gohan, and he's ultimately left to place his faith in Future Trunks.
Part of why fans perceive his weakness as so odd is because his personality is so much more serious than main timeline Gohan's. In this reality, he was never afforded the luxury of peace or time to study, and instead focused solely on training to become more powerful. One would think this would result in him becoming more skilled at reaching new heights than his counterpart, but this wasn't the case. Future Gohan and main timeline Gohan both had the same potential for greatness, but the main timeline Gohan had access to something that Future Gohan never did.
Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot - Future Gohan's Bleak Timeline Held Him Back
The most obvious thing holding him back is that Gohan is lacking a mentor. Going beyond that, he also lacks any form of training partner that is able to keep up with his power. The only ways for him to get better are training on his own, fighting Trunks (who at the time is much weaker than he is) or risking his life to fight a battle against two overpowering foes, the Androids. These aren't ideal conditions to train in, and despite his desperation, he was missing the key to reaching Super Saiyan 2 all along.
In order to tap into a power beyond Super Saiyan, Goku trains Gohan in the hyperbolic time chamber. Rather than intense bursts of training like Vegeta and Trunks went through, Goku's approach sees the pair stay in Super Saiyan form for an entire year. This allows them both to fully master the Super Saiyan form, opening the gateway for new heights to be reached. Without the guidance of his father, Future Gohan had no way of knowing that this would lead him to a new power that could dispatch the Androids with ease.
Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot - Future Trunks VS Kid Trunks
The same logic applies to Future Trunks and his main timeline counterpart. Much of the story in Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot DLC 3 is focused on Gohan trying to teach Trunks how to access the Super Saiyan form, but he struggles for a long time. It isn't until he finds Gohan's lifeless body that he is filled with enough rage to access Super Saiyan 1. This happens when Trunks is in his teen years. Notice how different this is from Kid Trunks in the main timeline.
By contrast, the main timeline version of Trunks is able to attain Super Saiyan 1 with ease, even surprising Vegeta when he reveals that both he and Goten have the transformation. This is because Kid Trunks was constantly surrounded by Super Saiyans, and he also had a sparring partner at his level at all times in the form of Goten. What's more, it is heavily implied that Vegeta spends a lot of time training him, another luxury that Future Trunks didn't have. Ultimately, it is the exact dire circumstances that require both Future Gohan and Future Trunks to be more powerful that prohibit them from reaching new heights.
Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot is available now on PC, PS4, and Xbox One.