Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot will release in January, and while franchise fatigue may be a concern for some, it's shaping up to be one of the most accurate and in-depth tellings of Goku's life thus far. With a plethora of playable and support characters in DBZ: Kakarot, players will be exploring every aspect of his life from multiple angles, as Goku is defined by more than just his actions, but his friends. Time and again, Goku seeks to defend the Earth and defeat small threats, like Raditz, to huge threats, like Kid Buu.
As such, Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot players can expect the game to contain the majority of story sagas, complete even with minor details, but there are some areas that are question, at least when it comes to the story arc's representation in the game. So, here is every story arc confirmed for the game thus far.
The Saiyan Saga
The Saiyan Saga begins with the arrival of Raditz on Earth and ends with Goku's defeat of Vegeta. Players have been graced with footage of Raditz arriving on Earth and his conflict with the Farmer with a Shotgun, but they've only been shown a little footage of the fight between Goku and Vegeta. It'll be interesting to see how this story arc will handle the Vegeta's great ape transformation, as while Piccolo vs. Great Ape Gohan has been shown, Vegeta's transformation has not.
The Frieza Saga
The Frieza Saga takes place after the Vegeta Saga and sees the fighters arrive on the planet, Namek. In attempt to prevent Frieza from getting hands on the Dragon Balls, Gohan, Krillin, and Piccolo face off with Freiza's minions. The overarching story arc concludes with Goku ascending to a Super Saiyan to defeat Frieza, with much of this arc already confirmed. The Captain Ginyu story arc has received the least attention, but given the DBZ: Kakarot original character Bonyu and her role (or lack thereof) in the Ginyu Force, it seems likely to be significant.
The Garlic Jr. Saga and Trunks Saga
After the defeat of Frieza, there are two story arcs: the Garlic Jr. Saga and the Trunks Saga. The first is filler, whereas the second is the second shortest story arc in the anime. Thus far, there have been no inclinations that the Garlic Jr. Saga will appear in Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot, but the Trunks Saga has been confirmed to a degree. Screenshots of Trunk have previously been released, as well as Freiza's arrival on Earth. How these two sagas manifest remain to be seen, but they'll likely be a good segue from Freiza to the Androids saga.
The Android Saga
After Trunks' warning of the Androids, the fighters prepare for their arrival. This arc focuses on Androids 16-20 and leads directly into the Cell Saga (and is often considered part of it.) Thus far, only Android 16 and 17 have really been showcased, yet their inclusion implies Android 18's inclusion and likely 19 and 20's as well. This saga seems to be a bit more in-depth than previous depictions, as Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot looks to explain Android 16's connection with Gohan's Super Saiyan 2 transformation.
The Cell Saga
The Cell Saga is divided into 3 major story arcs: the Imperfect Cell saga, the Perfect Cell saga, and the Cell Games saga. While the first two sagas have not been explored to full detail, shots of Cell in his various forms confirms their existence, as Cell attempts to turn into his perfect form. This culminates in the Cell Games, where the classic fight between Gohan and Cell brings the overarching saga to an end.
The Majin Buu Saga
Under the umbrella of the Majin Buu Saga, there are numerous smaller story arcs: Other World Saga, Great Saiyaman Saga, World Tournament Saga, Babidi Saga, Majin Buu Saga, Fusion Saga, and Kid Buu Saga. The first is an entirely filler story line where Goku helps the Kais reign in the rowdy villains he has set to Hell before fighting in a tournament. Thus far, this story line seems to be omitted from Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot.
The Great Saiyaman Saga sees Gohan adopt the heroic moniker while also attending high school. Although to what extent this will be shown remains to be seen, there have been screenshots and more of Gohan as the Great Saiyaman and his time playing baseball. It will appear in some form. This leads directly into the World Tournament Saga, which hasn't exactly been confirmed, but since it is the inciting moment of the Babidi Saga and parts of that have been showcased, it might as well be.
The Babidi Saga includes fights with Yakon and Pui Pui, both of whom have been displayed in previous reveals. This is pretty big, given that these characters are so minor that they are often skipped over in Dragon Ball Z games. This saga concludes with the Majin Vegeta vs. Goku fight and Buu's Awakening.
The remaining sagas - Majin Buu, Fusion, and Kid Buu - have all been confirmed to some degree. Super Vegito and Super Saiyan 3 Gotenks, of the Fusion saga, have been showcased as playable characters, and the final fight between Super Saiyan 3 Goku and Kid Buu on Kai's world have also been shown.
Original Content and Filler Sagas
All of this will be complete with original content, but how much exactly has yet to be confirmed. Minor filler inclusions, such as Goku and Piccolo attempting to get their drivers' licenses, have also been revealed, yet there are a few filler sagas unlisted so far that are still in the air. For example, Snake Way features some filler content such as Princess Snake, yet the entirety of Snake Way is still unconfirmed. While traveling to Namek, there are also filler arcs known as Fake Namek and the Invisible Spaceship, but given the nature of these, they seem unlikely to make the cut.
The full extent of excluded content, filler or otherwise, for Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot has yet to be revealed, but it seems likely that fan-favorite moments and more will ultimately make the cut.
Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot releases January 17, 2020, for PC, PS4, and Xbox One.
