Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot is a love letter to the franchise unlike any other. A museum that centers itself on four of the series' most memorable story arcs, Kakarot is like a time capsule for the series. It's even filled with collectibles that recap the original Dragon Ball for anyone unfamiliar with the pre-Raditz era of the series. At the same time, it's a game that's content in keeping its references in plain sight.

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It's very easy to miss the countless Easter eggs hiding away in Kakarot's nooks and crannies. This is a game that painstakingly recreates so many of the franchise's most iconic moments. It goes above and beyond adaptation, with a level of loving touch brought to just about every single reference.

10 Mark Satan Before The Glory

Akira Toriyama has a habit of saying things in interviews that may or may not necessarily gel with whatever he actually wrote in the manga. Most stuff can be shoved in comfortably enough where, while he obviously didn’t consider what he’s saying during the time of writing, he at least thought about how if fit into the series. All this to say, Mr. Satan’s name is Mark! 

Before he was the world-famous Mr. Satan, he was just a wrestler named Mark on the up and up. NPCs in the Saiyan saga will actually refer to a “Mark,” outright, setting up Mr. Satan’s eventual role in the plot come the Cell and Buu arcs. 

9 The Characters Who Defined Dragon Ball Before DBZ

Watch Dragon Ball. Better yet, read Dragon Ball. The fact of the matter is that too many fans have watched Dragon Ball Z and Dragon Ball Super without giving the original Dragon Ball the time of day it deserves. It’s by far the best anime adaptation the series has, and the pre Z-era of the manga is the series’ most charming and adventurous. 

Naturally, anyone who hasn’t watched or read anything before Raditz shows up isn’t going to be able to appreciate seeing Nam, Eighter, and Launch as regular NPCs. They might be minor, but they’re characters who defined important periods of Goku’s life and development. It’s not fair only the Z-era characters get acknowledged. 

8 All The OG Dragon Ball Photographs

DBZ Kakarot

Speaking of the original Dragon Ball, the game does take into account the fact not everyone might be familiar with the series’ first six story arc. Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot litters its overworld with collectibles that, when picked up, show an image from the original Dragon Ball anime, briefly recapping a moment from the series. 

It’s not the best way of experiencing the start of the series, but it does help fill in the blanks fairly well. Anyone totally unfamiliar with Dragon Ball won’t be able to appreciate the arcs and themes at play, but these recaps do help keep the story clear. Now if only they were found in any sensible order. 

7 Super Goku’s Triple Jump

“True Fans” doesn’t just refer to fans of Dragon Ball, it also refers to fans of video games in general. While Kakarot is a love letter to Akira Toriyama’s magnum opus, it’s also a video game, and one that kind of loves being a video game. For no reason whatsoever– in a game where players are expected to fly everywhere– Goku and company have jump physics modeled after Super Mario 64

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There is logically no reason why anyone would try to jump three times in a row, but it’s possible and each jump builds off the last, creating a triple jump that would impress even Super Mario. 

6 The Dragon Ball Evolution Reference

It’s actually debatable whether or not this is a direct reference to Dragon Ball Evolution. Bypassing by Orange Star High School while playing as Goku, he’ll comment on how he can’t see himself going to school by any means. Considering Evolution infamously made Goku a highschool student and inspired Toriyama to retake control of the franchise, it’d be quite the biting reference. 

But it could also be a reference to a line of dialogue later in the Buu arc when Goku is confronted with the possibility of needing to fuse with Gohan. Either way, it’s a charming bit of dialogue. 

5 Android 21 Goes Undercover

Anyone familiar with Dragon Ball Fighterz will have immediately recognized Android 21 when she appears in the Cell arc, but cheekily, Kakarot keeps her identity under wraps for anyone who might not have played the ludicrously popular fighting game. It’s actually a very clever way of bringing 21 into the story, and it even has some interesting implications for Figherz

There’s something eerie about 21 personally overseeing Vegeta’s training. It only makes sense how she ends up with an army of Earth’s strongest martial artists come Fighterz. Her presence also seems to suggest Kakarot is part of a larger games canon which, speaking of...

4 Ties To Xenoverse 

Mira and Towa more or less confirm the game that Kakarot is tied to not only a larger game canon that takes Fighterz into some consideration, but one with a direct tie to Dragon Ball Xenoverse narratively. After defeating every Villainous Enemy in the game, players will be able to confront Mira and Towa, the main antagonists from the Xenoverse games. 

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This really changes everything as far as Kakarot is concerned. It’s no longer just an adaptation, and it can actually veer rather dramatically through its DLC or a potential sequel should it choose to do so. Honestly, their inclusion is pretty exciting, but not as exciting as who they bring with them. 

3 The Rebirth Of Fusion!! Gotenks And Vegetto

Dragon Ball Z Kakarot Gotenks

Gotenks and Vegetto serve as two of Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot’s superbosses, and they’re ferociously difficult. Possessed and evil ala Xenoverse, father and son work together to pummel the main character into the ground. Players are expected to be as high leveled as possible and fully upgraded as these are the hardest bosses in the game. 

It might make narrative sense to focus on Vegetto first, but take out Gotenks asap. He’s more aggressive and keeping him alive for too long will really only become a major headache in the long run. Plus, it’s just easier to handle Vegetto near death when he’s alone. 

2 All The Ancillary Dialogue

future trunks open-world screenshot

Considering just how much material Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot covers, it kind of goes without saying that not every single scene was adapted for the game. While this is the best overall video game adaptation the series has seen, quite a bit is cut from the main game– especially in regards to little moments of character development. 

This doesn’t mean they aren’t in the game, though. By exploring the overworld and just spending time in between every story beat, characters will often comment on what’s happening or how they’re feeling. It helps fill in the gaps for characters like Goku and Trunks who don’t get all of their major character moments. 

1 The Promise Of Post-Game

For such a long game, and one with a ton of side content, it’s honestly king of a shock how little post-game content Kakarot ultimately has. Mira and the fusions are nice surprises, but a superboss is to be expected in any RPG. Other than that and grinding, there’s not too much to do after beating the game. 

But that doesn’t mean that’ll always be the case. Trunks actually returns from the future in the epilogue with his time machine, and dialogue suggests we’ll be able to use the time machine very soon. Not just that’s, it’s been confirmed to be added into an upcoming update. 

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