The ultimate fantasy of ‘Dragon Ball Z’ fans is about to become a reality, at least on paper. Japanese development studio CyberConnect2’s upcoming game ‘Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot’ promises to be what every fan of the bombastic anime has wished forever since the first Dragon Ball Z game dropped in 1986 (a simplistic overhead shoot em up titled ‘Dragon Ball: Dragon Daihikyō’ starring a very pixelated Goku). A true Action Role Playing Game (ARPG) where you play through the epic ‘Dragon Ball Z’ anime saga story line.

Dragon Ball Z games have a rather hit and miss history with some good games and plenty of duds. Last year’s ‘Dragon Ball FighterZ’ was fairly well received, but it was 2.5D fighting game with a limited scope. This time around the stakes are higher, as is the potential payoff. Read on to find out everything we know about ‘Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot’.

Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot Plot: What is It About?

‘Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot’ will follow the classic story line of the anime series itself, albeit with a few small additions here and there. Obviously, the game will only focus on a specific chunk of Goku and Friends’ adventures, since the entire anime is Homeric in every sense of the word. For the sake of brevity, you will be doing typical Dragon Ball Z stuff like chasing Dragon Balls and resurrecting your friends. Raditz will play the big bad is this particular story line.

The web page for ‘Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot’ describes it as follows: “Relive the story of Goku in DRAGON BALL Z: KAKAROT! Beyond the epic battles, experience life in the DRAGON BALL Z world as you fight, fish, eat and train with Goku. Explore the new areas and adventures as you advance through the story and form powerful bonds with other heroes from the DRAGON BALL Z universe.”

Nevertheless, the game will take some additional liberties in filling out the game world with side quests and characters not present in the anime. The most notable example of this is Bonyu, an entirely new original addition to the Dragon Ball Z canon created by Dragon Ball Z creator Akita Toriyama himself. In the game, Bonyu is a former member of the Ginyu Force and can be encountered during a short side quest. The new game also fills out the backstories of some of the characters we already know from the anime.

‘Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot’ will feature multiple playable protagonists in Goku and Gohan as shown in the reveal trailer, although Goku will likely be front and center given the game’s title has his birth name from before he arrived on Earth (Goku’s birth name is Kakarot, which literally translates to Carrot in English).

Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot Gameplay

‘Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot’ is an Action RPG presented from a Third Person perspective set in an Open World (although parts of the world can be gated by story progress and key mechanic unlocks). There’s a progression system, and Goku starts off as something of a novice. As he gains more experience, he gains more powerful abilities mirroring the story arc of the game. There are various side quests littered across the game world, along with additional activities and mini games such as mining minerals, hunt dinosaurs and a weird fishing minigame where Goku uses a detachable tail to catch fish from the pond (it’s an homage to an old episode in the anime).

Your primary mode of traversing the vast Open World will be flying, which sounds really cool. You can even boost while flying to go supersonic and break the sound barrier. Of course, you have super speed running as well if you prefer a more boots on the ground approach to exploration and travel.

As for the combat, you will frequently engage in that while exploring as battles take place dynamically across the map. Once engaged in battle, the game essentially becomes a 3D Arena Fighting game with an over the shoulder camera and combat moves such as melee, Ki attacks, super dash, block and 4 special moves including Meteor Smash and the legendary Kamehameha.

Different characters in the game will have different energy levels, and you can gauge them via their aura. Neutral Non Playable Characters (NPCs) will have small blue auras, whereas boss characters like Raditz have immense red auras.

Another thing to note is the art style of ‘Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot’, which looks like the anime brought to life gloriously in a video game. You basically get to play your favorite anime.

Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot Developers: Who Are The People Behind It?

‘Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot’ is being developed by Japanese video game developer CyberConnect2 and published by Bandai Namco Entertainment. Dragon Ball Z creator Akira Toriyama has also created a new character for the game.

CyberConnect2 is best known for the popular fighting game series ‘Naruto: Ultimate Ninja’. That is plenty evidence that they know what they’re doing when crafting a satisfying anime combat system. CyberConnect2 was also behind the 2012 action game ‘Asura’s Wrath’. ‘Asura’s Wrath’ was basically an anime in video game garb complete with an uncanny anime-esque aesthetic and next episode previews in between chapters. ‘Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot’ seems like the type of game tailor-made for a studio of CyberConnect2’s experience and expertise.

Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot Release Date: When And Where Can I Play It?

‘Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot’ is set to release on January 16, 2020. The game will be available to play on PC, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One.

Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot Trailer

You can watch the action packed trailer for ‘Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot’ right here:

Read More: Best Dragon Ball Z Games