Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot DLC 1 is finally here after months of waiting, but it makes some design choices that are interesting to say the least. Perhaps the biggest issue with the DLC is the fact that it can be accessed at any time, even so early as while the player is picking apples with Gohan at the very beginning of the story. This obviously causes some issues in a fresh playthrough, and while these issues may not be a big deal for players simply experimenting with the DLC capabilities after already having beaten the base game, they could negatively impact new players' experience heavily.
For those unaware, Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot DLC 1 introduces the player to Beerus and Whis, the God of Destruction and his attendant. Through a series of trainings with Whis the player is able to level up characters extremely fast and even unlock transformations that normally wouldn't be available. The ultimate goal in all this is to unlock the Super Saiyan God form and go head to head with Beerus, but there are of course many ways that this system could be abused. All items and experience gained in the DLC transfer over to the main game, so even beyond the story inconsistencies, things get much worse.
DBZ: Kakarot DLC 1 For New Players
Though it is likely that not all players will attempt this, the fact that it is possible is rather bizarre. So long as the player has downloaded the DLC, they can start the DLC content immediately after beating Piccolo in the first tutorial fight in the game. Doing so will play the same cutscene of Goku and Vegeta appearing on Beerus' planet despite Vegeta not even being introduced to the story yet. After this cutscene, the entire DLC opens up to the player, including the level training and transformation unlocks.
With just a few hours of grinding, players can reach the maximum level of 250 on Goku with ease, as Whis' Sacred Water items provide ridiculously easy experience. Along the road to max level, the player will also complete Whis' Limit Break Trainings, which unlock transformations such as Kaioken, Super Saiyan 1, 2, and 3, and eventually Super Saiyan God. Because all of these levels and skills transfer back to the main game, it makes it incredibly easy for players to become extremely overpowered and even unlock transformations that make no sense for the characters to have.
Playing DBZ: Kakarot's Story at Level 250 With Super Saiyan God
The result of the above scenario is a level 250 Super Saiyan God Goku picking apples and going fishing with Kid Gohan. If that isn't ridiculous enough, things get even more bizarre and immersion breaking as the story progresses. Raditz arrives on Earth, and all the characters perceive him as a huge threat. His power is beyond anything that any of the Z Warriors have ever imagined, that is until Goku punches him once and defeats him. What follows is an awkward cutscene where Raditz handily defeats Goku despite the swift beatdown he just received, further breaking the immersion.
When most played through this section of the game, Raditz was legitimately tough, so though players did beat him in that fight, the cutscene showing that he still overpowers Goku wasn't that difficult to believe. This is a common trend in video games when developers want a boss to be defeatable but still want to emphasize that they are on a different level than the player. This trope simply doesn't work as a storytelling device at all when the power gap between the two characters is so immensely high, and the whole thing feels disjunct.
Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot Inconsistencies
To make matters worse, there are a ton of inconsistencies with how the DLC content is handled. For example, the player is able to use Super Saiyan God when fighting Raditz, Nappa, and Vegeta, but there is one particular battle which restricts Goku to using only the Kaioken against Vegeta despite other fights allowing the God form. Of course, this doesn't really matter, as the player is likely to one shot Vegeta regardless of whether they use the 50% boost from Kaioken or the 200% boost from Super Saiyan God.
Even within the DLC there are certain things that don't make much sense or seem out of character. For example, if the player unlocks Super Saiyan for Vegeta in the DLC before he unlocks it in the story, one would expect the Saiyan that was obsessed with this legend to be ecstatic or otherwise shocked, but instead his response is a simple "What's this? Fine, I'll take it." The Super Saiyan God ritual provides another example, as Whis summons Gohan, Goten, Trunks, and Future Trunks to help take part in the ritual, despite many of these characters not actually being born yet.
Leveling Up Other Characters With DBZ: Kakarot DLC 1
Although Goku and Vegeta are the only playable characters in the DLC, the Sacred Water items they can earn from defeating Whis and Beerus are carried back over into the main game. This means that players can easily level up their other Z Warriors as well, making Kid Gohan swiftly defeat Vegeta and causing Piccolo to dominate Frieza. The true problem here is that the entire balance of the game is thrown off by the inclusion of this DLC, and story moments like Goku's first transformation into a Super Saiyan will feel much less impactful this way.
Of course, there are some hindrances to this method, but often they aren't enough to matter. The player will have a difficult time getting enough Z Orbs early on to level up their Super Saiyan God form or unlock the new super attack that comes with, making fights against Beerus much more difficult. Additionally, because of the way the skill tree is set up, players won't be able to level up their Kaioken or Super Saiyan forms until they would have unlocked the form in the base game, and things like higher combo levels and more powerful finishers are similarly locked. The unfortunate thing is that these restrictions simply don't matter, and will swiftly dissipate as the player progresses and collects more Z Orbs.
Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot is available now for PC, PS4, and Xbox One.
