Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot Character Progression Trailer reveals a surprising level of depth

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Here's what you'll need to know to get Super Saiyan strong in Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot

The new trailer for Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot dives into the game's character progression system, and it's surprisingly complex.

More and more, Kakarot is proving itself a proper RPG, complete with side quests, an intricate skill tree, stat buffs from food, and community boards for learning special skills. You'll want to explore each of those features to become a fighter that lives up to Goku's legend.

I'm a big fan of eating, both in real life and in video games, so it's great to see Kakarot incorporating a number of ways to find a range of food. You can cook the meat you find yourself at campsites, but the real buffs come from meals prepared by real cooks in town or at home. True to the source work, it seems it's poor Chi-Chi's job to prepare delicious-looking meals, only for Goku to come home and wolf them down like an animal. I just hope we get to see Chi-Chi whip Goku into line with her signature bark.

You'll upgrade your skill tree and learn Super Attacks by collecting Z Orbs spread out across the map. Certain skills require a number of Z Orbs of a specific color to be unlocked, and others can only be unlocked by visiting Training Grounds. Searching for Ki can help you find D Medals, which can be used to access Training Grounds.

Playing through the main story and completing side-quests for various characters gets you Soul Emblems, which can be placed on one of seven Community Boards to learn an extensive variety of Community Skills that power up your party. Strategically placing Soul Emblems can grant you Link Bonuses, give your party stronger buffs.

Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot is the first bonafide role-playing Dragon Ball game to come around in some time. Xenoverse and Xenoverse 2, while satisfying in their own right, are fighting games first and foremost with some light RPG elements. Kakarot is the Dragon Ball RPG fans have waited for since the Game Boy Advance game, Legacy of Goku 2.

Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot is just one of the many upcoming games of 2020 to get excited for.

Jordan Gerblick
Jordan Gerblick

After earning an English degree from ASU, I worked as a corporate copy editor while freelancing for places like SFX Magazine, Screen Rant, Game Revolution, and MMORPG on the side. I got my big break here in 2019 with a freelance news gig, and I was hired on as GamesRadar's west coast Staff Writer in 2021. That means I'm responsible for managing the site's western regional executive branch, AKA my home office, and writing about whatever horror game I'm too afraid to finish.