I remember playing Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 3 during the golden years of the PS2. The game had perfected the combat system and was a nice retelling of the Kakarot’s (Goku’s) story. So, when I hear that Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot will be doing the same at a much bigger scope, I was excited. Keeping that in mind, here’s the difference between Dragon Ball Z Kakarot vs Budokai Tenkaichi.
Kakarot Vs Budokai Tenkaichi Combat
Both games can look very similar during combat. You’ve got the anime-inspired moves, ki blasts, transformations and more. But there are subtle differences between the two. For starters, dodging is much harder in Kakarot. You’ve got to time the directional dodges in a more specific manner than in Budokai Tenkaichi. In the previous franchise, transformations were simpler. You had a ki-meter that you filled up and then with the analog sticks, you could transform one level at a time. In Kakarot, after a certain meter fills out, you can pretty much transform into any form, provided you’ve unlocked it in the story. Skill unlocks, XP and collecting Dragon Balls are also a much more prominent mechanics in the game compared to Budokai Tenkaichi. As it’s an RPG, Kakarot has a lot more traditional game mechanics, over the more simplistic approach in Tenkaichi.
Kakarot Vs Budokai Tenkaichi Open World
DBZ Kakarot is an open-world RPG. Budokai Tenkaichi was not. While there are elements of open traversal in the previous game, Kakarot takes it to a whole new level. You can go fishing, drive vehicles, or just fly around the massive open world of Dragon Ball. From Goku’s house in Mount Paozu to West City, the world of Kakarot is huge. It also helps that you unlock these areas gradually along with the story. In Budokai Tenkaichi, most of these areas are nothing more than just arenas. Kakarot is quite similar to Dragon Ball Xenoverse in that respect, without the online aspect obviously.
Kakarot Vs Budokai Tenkaichi 3 Story – Covering the Z Saga
As the name suggests, Dragon Ball Z Kakarot follows the story of Son Goku primarily. The story is vis a vis the same as the anime and manga. Budokai Tenkaichi also covers this, along with many offshoot stories from the spinoff movies as well as Dragon Ball GT. Kakarot manages to compete against this with its massive retelling of the Z saga, which is almost realtime along with the anime. Of course, the game is a single-player RPG, which by its nature alone will include many different mechanics from the fighting games of the past.
No Multiplayer in Kakarot
This one was coming from a mile away. Bandai Namco has said previously that Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot is going to be a single-player RPG first and foremost. What’s interesting though, is that there’s absolutely no online component to the game. There’s not even any couch co-op present, something which the previous games were famous for. While it doesn’t take much away from the experience, it does seem a bit odd, as the game otherwise looks very similar to Budokai Tenkaichi games.
We’re currently working on our review of Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot. Keep checking this space for that when it eventually drops. Meanwhile, you can check out our first impressions of the game here.
Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot is now available to purchase from Steam or the Console storefronts. Buy it from Amazon here.
Further Reading:
All that tells me is it’s nothing like Dbz budokai tenkaichi. Just a story base game. Just another dragon ball z game. I want the Budokai tenkaichi. The fans are still hungry for the game even after all these years. Why they never give the fans what they want? Do they love to show us the middle finger or something?