“Dragon Ball” is not only a popular series within Japan but its Western following may be even larger. It’s a series that has seen translation across a number of different mediums, from Manga to TV and gaming. Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot is the latest in a long line of licensed punch-em-up tie-ins. Developed by CyberConnect 2 and published by Bandai Namco, the game was received well by fans, and only less so by certain critics. IGN Japan proclaimed it a “treasure box of fan service,” that manages to “faithfully recreate cutscenes [that] surpass the quality of the original anime series.”
That attention to detail and goodwill with fans has seen the game sell more than 1.5 million copies during its first week of sale across PC, Xbox One and PS4. Announced by Bandai Namco in a published transcript of a conference call about Q3 earnings, they say that Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot is benefitting from “a high reputation, with sales exceeding 1.5 million in the first week of sales and targeting sales of 2 million this year.” Bandai Namco confirmed that this positive trend means that they will “continue to focus on developing high-quality game content,” which is just good news for everyone.
Over a nine-month period, “operating income was ¥ 72,096 million,” resulting in all-time highs for the company’s third-quarter. As well as home entertainment, this record-setting quarter was influenced by Bandai Namco’s vested interests in the toys and hobbies sector and amusement facilities in Japan, the latter being 105% over the previous fiscal year. Merchandising from Dragon Ball and Mobile Suit Gundam are doing particularly well for the business.
At roughly 40+ hours to beat the main campaign (plus a handful of side activities), Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot is certainly the more time-effective way to experience the saga, in contrast to the 116 hours offered by the anime. With a diverse cast of characters, a faithful reimagining of the series and a level of polish that wasn’t expected, this game could be just the time-filler you’re looking for.
Prior to release, fans were torn at whether another retelling of the Goku story would result in fun or further fatigue from a series with more cross-generational iterations than Elder Scrolls V. Although the game is yet to dethrone Dragon Ball FighterZ, which sold 2 million copies in its first week back in 2018, it has nevertheless done incredibly well; despite being the 46th named game in the series. Taking a departure from the usual beat-em-up formulae and dropping fans and newcomers into an open-world RPG environment seems to have done just enough to position Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot into a comfortably favourable position. Further experimentation of the franchise will likely come from this as Bandai Namco show they’re not afraid to tinker with tried and tested methods.
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