Dragon Ball Z fans have been clamoring for the release of Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot since the game was previewed at this year’s E3 expo.
Now, just a mere two months before the game’s official release, Bandai Namco Entertainment America has released an official game introduction trailer, in which a narrator walks the viewer through various story elements of this action-adventure RPG.
According to the trailer’s narration, which you can hear in the video above, players will take control of Goku and his friends, working their way through major moments in the Dragon Ball Z saga.
While that’s not a new concept for a Dragon Ball title, the way it is being presented in Kakarot could be a major game-changer. This new title is one part open-world RPG, allowing players to fly around a fully immersive Dragon Ball world. However, when the fighting begins, players will take control of a full-on PVC fighting game, similar to the 3D environments made famous in the Dragon Ball Z Budokai Tenkaichi and Xenoverse titles that have come out over the last three console life cycles.
The trailer goes on to state that because of the game’s RPG style play, they were able to “level up” Goku’s opponents. This properly portrays the extreme gap that the hero of the Dragon Ball franchise often faces when going up against new and terrifying foes.
When you’re not sticking to the main storyline, players can explore the Dragon Ball world, encountering various characters from throughout the entire franchise that weren’t even featured in the core Dragon Ball Z episodes.
Fan favorites from the series’s predecessor Dragon Ball like Nam, Launch, and Eighter are shown in the trailer. This is an epic dose of fan service for the tried-and-true faithful who have followed these anime shows for over three decades.
Throughout the game, players can also go fishing and partake in side quests. There are even bonus battles throughout that players might miss if they doggedly move forward through the main story.
They’re quick to point out that this is not a true open-world RPG like 2018’s God of War.
“Our goal is to create a game true to the show, and allowing players to go anywhere and fight anyone at any time would not be faithful to the original story,” the narrator said at the tail end of the trailer.
Bandai Namco has promised additional announcements in the coming weeks as the countdown to the game’s release continues to tick ever onward.
Dragon Ball Z Kakarot will be released on January 17, 2020, on the Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and PC.
