Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot has been out for nearly 6 months, with many diehard fans of the franchise likely buying the DBZ: K season pass day one. As many know, the season pass was reworded at one point to state that it would include two smaller Boss Battle DLCs, as well as a bigger, more comprehensive story arc DLC. The problem with this approach, from the get go, has been the access and speed of post-launch content.
The game didn't launch with the time machine, for example, and it came with some strange restrictions upon release. The Tao Pai Pai Pillar was also included with special versions of the game but was only recently added. On top of this minor items, only one of Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot's Boss Battle DLCs has been released so far. In it, there's a couple of hours of content for those who don't grind Beerus for levels, but the general consensus is that it pales in comparison to the base game.
Perhaps that's why Bandai Namco has been so quiet on Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot DLC 2, as it is likely to be incredibly similar to the Beerus Boss Battle DLC, and perhaps it's putting in a bit more work to get it up to snuff. Another possibility is COVID-19 slowing the DLC development down (yet some update would still suffice). However, while fan expectations for it should be tempered, many more may be looking to the story arc DLC and what it has to offer. As the longest wait and biggest selling point of the season pass, Bandai Namco and CyberConnect 2 have to get it right.
Cell Saga Juggled A Lot and Did It Well
Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot's aim with the story DLC should be simple: don't re-invent the wheel. Instead, it should be looking at what the base game does well and what it does wrong. Each of its story sagas have merit, and the accuracy across most DLC arcs is astounding. Yet the Cell Saga was one of its biggest promotions before launch, and it's easy to see why.
In the Cell Saga, Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot's native story and its more open-world approach meld seamlessly. The intermission, the beginning of the Android Saga, the introduction of Cell's many forms, the combat, and more all came together to be a definitive Dragon Ball Z experience. Every fight with the Androids and Cell, leading up to the iconic Gohan vs. Cell fight, felt natural and also made Cell feel intimidating, even for those who know how he meets his end.
The story arc DLC needs to recapture this lightning in a bottle if it's to bring back players at that time, as there's a good chance time alone would see the most loyal of fans move on to new releases. Boss Battle DLC has to release soon, it only makes sense to, but the longer it is delayed, the later this DBZ: Kakarot DLC is likely to release.
The Problem with Buu Saga
What Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot needs to avoid most is Buu Saga's pitfall. Clearly, it's a hard design choice as Buu's devastating power kills everyone on Earth, but at the same time, every element of the game introduced thus far gets tossed out of a window. The RPG elements are bare enough as is, but without the open world, the travel, and more, the game becomes a cutscene-fight rotation until its end. It damages everything the game set up, even with the nice attention to details found in this arc, and it's arguably the worst story arc in Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot in terms of gameplay.
Another problem not necessarily restrained to this arc but was certainly introduced in it was the inclusion of fan-favorite characters Gotenks and Vegito, with little to no other way to play them. The Time Machine only allows players to do so in the same story fights, and while the story restraints here do make some sense, fans would easily and perhaps gladly suspend their disbelief to spend more time with these DBZ: Kakarot characters.
Again, design-wise, having a villain endlessly slaughtering everyone on Earth is hard to shape side-quests and free travel around without undermining the sense of urgency. Skyrim's non-linear approach isn't possible in every game, and as unfortunate as it is, it does make sense for Buu Saga to be this way. What this means is that content matters, and what DBZ: Kakarot's story arc DLC covers is going to be a huge determiner in its approach.
Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot's Story Arc DLC
The question becomes: in order to have a well-paced story that doesn't completely disregard other elements of the game, what story arc will take place in DBZ: Kakarot? At one point, a Broly datamine suggested he could appear in the game but that seems unlikely now. It would also depend on who appears as the boss in the second DLC, but there are a few hints and suggestions as to what would do well and what wouldn't.
After the Beerus fight, Golden Frieza is the next logical step...going by the anime. The fact that the Golden Frieza arc doesn't appear in the manga could suggest it is skipped, but if it were not the second boss battle and appeared as the story DLC, it wouldn't be the worst. The question would be how short it is, as the training with Beerus has already kind of happened, but it could be beefed up. Adding in a way to unlock Super Saiyan Blue shouldn't be sold short either.
Universe 6 and the tournaments in Dragon Ball Super, as such, would be a bad pick. It's hard to imagine how this arc could be included without being just like the Buu Saga, with there being nothing but cutscenes and fights involved in the DLC. With this in mind, it would make sense to sort of condense this as a Boss Battle DLC, with the focus obviously being on Hit.
The likeliest contender to make a good story is actually Super's Future Trunks Saga, which previously leaked. It has the most story that can be developed with side quests in mind, it focuses on one of the more popular characters who deserves more spotlight, and it would have some interesting fights. Of course, it all remains to be seen, but Dragon Ball Z Kakarot's story arc DLC needs to emphasize the "story" element, lest it just be a glorified boss battle episode itself.
Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot is out now for PC, PS4, and Xbox One.
