Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot, Bandai Namco’s newestDragon Ballproject, is delighting fans around the world with its extreme similarity to the originalDragon Ball Zanime. Although the story ofDragon Ball Zhas been told and retold countless times in video games, none have ever been quite as faithful as this one promises to be, and one of the greatest hallmarks of theDragon Ballseries are its villains. No matter how strong Goku and the other Z fighters became, there always seems to be someone stronger out there wanting to pick a fight. So how do theseDragon Ball Z: Kakarotvillains compare to their original anime counterparts?
For those that don’t know,Dragon Ball Z: Kakarotwill tell the story of Goku and his friends throughout the four main Sagas in theDragon Ball Zanime. This includes the Saiyan Saga, the Frieza Saga, the Cell Saga, and the Buu Saga. It is as of yet unknown whether there will be stories fromDragon Ball SuperinDragon Ball Z: Kakarot.Taking a look at the screenshots provided by Bandai Namco and from trailers, Raditz, Nappa, Vegeta, the Ginyu Force, Frieza, Cell, and Majin Buu are all faithfully reproduced, guaranteed boss fights players must endure.
Raditz
Raditz is Goku’s brother, and the first major threat Goku and his allies face inDragon Ball Z. In fact,Raditz’s fight with Piccolo and Gokuactually results in Goku’s first death in the series. This one fighter (the weakest of the three Saiyans in this Saga) outmatched Earth’s two strongest fighter with ease. This boss fight will no doubt be tough, and Raditz’s looks have been recreated true to the source material, with his ridiculously large hair and his traditional Saiyan battle armor, even down to the shape of his widow’s peak and ears.
Nappa
Nappa is an absolute monster, and the second Saiyan the Z fighters must face. Whilewaiting for Goku, he kills or maims almost all of the Z fighters, proving to be ruthless even towards young Gohan, who is only five years old at the time. Nappa’s use of brute force and unique techniques (such as firing an energy beam from his mouth) make him a fearsome adversary.Dragon Ball Z: Kakarotseems to have toned his muscular shape down ever so slightly, but still portrays his brutish form well. When Goku arrives to fight, he is able to defeat Napa quite handily. Will players control only Goku against Nappa, or will they also have the chance to play Piccolo and possibly young Gohan as well?
Vegeta
Vegeta likely needs no introduction, as he is now one of the main protagonist of the series, but his origins were much darker. The Saiyan Saga provesVegeta is a heartless warrior capable of killing with no remorse. Goku’s fight against Vegeta is an iconic moment that will cap off the Saiyan Saga inDragon Ball Z: Kakarot. This screenshot, taken moments after Vegeta and Nappa arrive on Earth, looks nearly identical between the two versions. Vegeta has his tail wrapped around his waist, wears his saiyan battle armor, puts his hand on his hip in the same pose, and sports the same mocking smirk.
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The Ginyu Force
The Ginyu Force were powerful, albeit comical, adversaries faced at the beginning of the Frieza Saga on Namek. Though it is easy to dismiss them as weak or silly because of their ridiculous poses, they actually posed quite a threat in their time. Interestingly, there are somenotable differences in the Ginyu Forcedesigns inDragon Ball Z: Kakarotcompared to the anime. For example, Jeice’s hair is longer now, while Recoome’s is noticably shorter. Recoome also has sleeves now, and the whole group looks more directly at the camera, rather than down or in the direction they are facing. Nonetheless, this dynamic group of fighters will surely give players a hard time, just as they did the protagonists in the Frieza Saga.
Frieza
IfDragon Ball Zis defined by its villains, then it is defined first and foremost by Frieza. The most iconic villain in the franchise,Frieza is a purely evil tyrant. From what has been shown in trailers,Dragon Ball Z: Kakarotlooks to have captured Frieza’s cold-heartedness nearly perfectly. In this screenshot, Frieza sports many of the same injuries and looks just as annoyed and ruthless in both incarnations.
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Cell
Cell was perhaps the most civil of the foes faced in Dragon Ball Z, but that does not make him any less evil. His features are somewhat more defined in this new version, but it still presence be snarky and sarcastic cell fans know.Cell’s battle with Gohanpushed the half-breed Saiyan to new heights, giving birth to Super Saiyan 2 and one of the most memorable moment for fans of the series. Fans are thrilled for the chance to relive this moment, and deliver a fatal Father-Son Kamehameha to Cell once more.
Buu
Buu is evil incarnate, indiscriminately destroying anything that comes in his path. With one use of his genocide blast technique, Buu completely wiped out the human race, and is by far the toughest threat faced in theDragon Ball Zseries. These screenshots show the hunger for the new power he received after absorbing Ultimate Gohan, leaving Goku with no other option but to fuse with Vegeta in order to defeat him. This maniacal pink monstrosity will likely be the final boss players face inDragon Ball Z: Kakarot. Of his many forms, this is the one seen the most in trailers and screenshots, but it’s a safe bet thatKid Buuwill be just as evil and insane as he was in the anime.
There are bound to be some other bosses not included on this list, such as the Androids, various other forms of these enemies, and more; for the sake of brevity, only these have been included. Although there are some minor changes to the designs, most of them are simple improvements made possible by better animation techniques and graphics.Dragon Ball Z: Kakarotis looking to have the same epic level of intensity that in that wowed fans in the originalDragon Ball Zanime, and fans can rest easy knowing thatDragon Ball Z Kakarotcharacter designs are incredibly faithful.
Dragon Ball Z: Kakarotwill be out on June 27, 2025 for PC, PS4, and Xbox One.
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