10 Dragon Ball Games That Retell The Story Better Than Kakarot

Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot did a decent job of retelling the story of the anime, but older games like the Tenkaichi series & SNES titles did a better job.

By no means unexpected, Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot was not able to live up to its hype. It promised a full-on adaptation of Dragon Ball Z, even filling in the blanks from the manga, but what we ultimately got was an average action RPG with below-average combat mechanics and a story that cut far more than it needed to, often for little to no discernible reason.

Kakarot is still one of the better narrative adaptations of Dragon Ball, but it’s not the best retelling– far from it. It certainly earns points when it comes to presentation, but Kakarot fails not only to understand most of its cast, but it romanticizes the events of Dragon Ball Z far too much.

10 Origins 1 & 2 (NDS)

Frankly, Kakarot’s biggest mistake is adapting Dragon Ball Z instead of just the original Dragon Ball. The original Dragon Ball actually has a consistent point of view character in just about every single episode and chapter. Grounded combat would allow for actual mechanical depth, and Goku would be able to gradually unlock access to Ki.

Origins 1 & 2 only end up covering up to the Red Ribbon Army arc, but these two games very carefully flesh out the series’ first three story arcs. Better yet, both Origins titles are actually in the style of a traditional overhead Zelda. Unlike most Dragon Ball games, these are actually good games too.

9 Advanced Adventure (GBA)

Before there was the Origins duology, there was Advanced Adventure on the Game Boy Advance. Covering everything from the very start of the series to Goku killing Demon King Piccolo, Advanced Adventure is more gameplay heavy than it is story, but its action-platformer approach to things keeps the experience fresh throughout.

What cutscenes there are tend to be taken word for word from the manga as well, ensuring that all moments of the story are at least accurately rooted in Dragon Ball’s history. Even then, for as minimal the narrative is, Advanced Adventure conveys the spirit of Goku’s journey through gameplay wonderfully.

8 Attack Of The Saiyans (NDS)

Adapting an abridged version of the 23rd Tenkaichi Budokai and the Saiyan arc in full (and in-depth,) Attack of the Saiyans is a traditional turn-based RPG and probably the best Dragon Ball Z RPG as far as pure gameplay goes. With Paper Mario style blocking in play, Attack of the Saiyans ends up very engaging.

Narratively, it’s as comprehension an adaptation as any of the Dragon Ball games get. There’s plenty of filler to fill in details, everyone’s training is expanded upon, and the story adapts every single page of the manga. This often results in the game moving at a slow pace, but the novelty is still worth it.

7 Legend Of The Super Saiyan (SNES)

Legend of the Super Saiyan is a familiar game for those who grew up amidst SNES piracy in the early 2000s. An adaptation of the Saiyan and Namek arcs, Legend of the Super Saiyan actually allows the player to make changes to the story. Only Piccolo has to die during the fight against Nappa, for instance. Everyone else can survive and be brought to Namek.

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Of course, those brought to Namek can also permanently die at any point, with character deaths during the fight with Freeza even triggering his Super Saiyan transformation (something players can outright miss if no one dies during the final boss.) The game gets very grindy once Gohan lands on Namek, but it’s worth pushing through just to experience the story in such a unique way.

6 Gekishin Freeza (NES)

A rare video game adaptation of just the Namek arc, Gekishin Freeza is a Famicom RPG that covers everything up to right before Goku turns into a Super Saiyan. It’s a very strange cutting off point, but this is a very good game that adapts the story in a comparatively primitive, but very charming manner.

Interestingly, Gekishin Freeza takes place in a scenario where only Piccolo died fighting the Saiyans. Like with Legend of the Super Saiyan, party members can permanently die on Namek, though they can be brought back to life with the Dragon Balls before the final boss.

5 Super Butoden 2 (SNES)

Rather than adapting the entire Cell arc, Super Butoden 2 hones in on a very specific portion of the series: the end of the Cell Games, but before the start of the Buu arc. That very brief period in Dragon Ball history where Gohan was the definitive main character, Goku was truly gone, and the series was to fall in his hands.

Super Butouden 2 also operates as a choose your own adventure game. You can play as Gohan, Piccolo, Trunks, or Vegeta starting from right before the Cell Games only to then head into adaptations of Bojack Unbound and Broly: The Legendary Super Saiyan, complete with multiple endings and branching paths.

4 The Legacy Of Goku II (GBA)

Here we have a Cell arc adaptation that actually covers the entire arc in question. Arguably the best Dragon Ball Z RPG, The Legacy of Goku II mainly shoves Goku into the background– a rarity for Dragon Ball games. He’s only playable for a very brief portion of the game, and then he’s permanently removed from the party for the post-game.

Legacy of Goku II does use Funimation’s script, which does lead to inconsistencies and just flat out wrong characterization or information, but their Cell arc was at least better than their Namek. If nothing else, the story is recognizable and even potentially nostalgic for those who grew up watching DBZ on Toonami.

3 Buu’s Fury (GBA)

The Legacy of Goku II’s immediate sequel, Buu’s Fury doesn’t share its predecessor’s name, but the heart of the RPG is the same. This time around, however, there are even more traditional JRPG conventions, complete with equipment and stat customization for all five party members: Goku, Gohan, Vegeta, Goten, and Trunks.

This is one of the few games to not only adapt the Buu arc but actually adapt it well. By this point in the series, Funimation was still operating with their mistakes, but their translation for the final saga of DBZ is the best of the original lot. That isn’t saying much, but it does lend itself well to Buu’s Fury. If nothing else, this game actually features DBZ’s real ending. Looking at you, Kakarot.

2 Budokai 3 (PS2)

More often than not, Dragon Ball fighting games never tend to adapt important character moments. Deaths and transformations, yes, but actual moments of development independent of the action are ignored. That’s just the nature of the fighting game genre, but Budokai 3 gets around this by making every member of the Dragon Team the hero of their own story.

This isn’t a case of What-Ifs, either. While replaying campaigns can lead to alternate endings and secret scenarios, Budokai 3 generally has each character going through as much of DBZ’s story as possible from their perspective, usually capping off the Earthlings when they die or run out of fights. It’s a very fresh approach to adapting the story that helps fill in little character beats.

1 Budokai Tenkaichi 2 (PS2/Wii)

Like Budokai 3 before it, Budokai Tenkaichi 2 just can’t compete with Kakarot when it comes to presentation. It also can’t quite compete to Budokai 3’s character-specific approach, but what Budokai Tenkaichi 2 offers instead is a rather fully-fledged adaptation of as much of the Dragon Ball anime as humanly possible, covering the entirety of Z in detail and even some GT.As is the case with the majority of Dragon Ball fighting games, the story mode mainly only focuses on the big battles with moments of development in the background, but Budokai Tenkaichi’s attempt at covering every single fight actually ends up ensuring very little isn’t covered as far as the Z-era goes. As a result, it does a much better job with its story than Kakarot.