DLC REVIEW: ‘Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot – DAIMA Part 2’ Finishes The Story In Acceptable Fashion

Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot – DAIMA Part 2 concludes the DLC adaptation of the latest adventure of Goku and his friends. Developed by Bandai Namco and CyberConnect2, this new addition to the core Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot game provides a few hours of enjoyable gameplay, though not without a few bumps along the way. 

The first thing to note before diving into this latest DLC is that it is a separate update to its predecessor, which must be accessed via the downloadable content menu. Loading a save in part one will not start the next leg of the adventure.

Also of note, your character upgrades will also reset, meaning you need to get your team kitted out again before you dive in, or some of the battles will be surprisingly challenging. Happily, if you have the previous DLC loaded, the game provides you with a generous supply of upgrade materials so that you can enjoy a smooth gameplay experience from one DLC to the next. 

Helping players get back into Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot – DAIMA Part 2 is the return of timely tutorial pop-ups.

Helping players get back into the game is the return of timely tutorial pop-ups. Despite only six months between updates, there are many systems to remember in this game, and quick, navigable reminders are a wonderful aid in getting back on board.

The core game of Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot – DAIMA Part 2 is more of the same frantic action that does a respectable job of recreating the franchise’s signature battles. Opening with the battle against Tamagami Three, the story hits the ground running and lets the player move through a smoothly paced narrative that does a great job of choosing what to make playable and what to cut to a cut scene. 

The biggest fight, of course, is the narrative’s closing battle with Gomah. The multi-stage confrontation does an excellent job of exploring each step in the fight, while keeping the battle short enough not overstay its welcome. There are a few changes to the attack sequencing as Gomah’s final forms play out, which also help to keep combat interesting and emphasize the villain’s growing power. 

Cut scenes help bring the story surrounding the action to life.

The only big complaint with the battles throughout this leg of the story is how they try to create their most challenging moments. The go-to avenue to punish Sayains is to flood the screen with attacks periodically. If you fail to raise your guard, your health bar will melt away like snow in spring. If you do, the fight will feel like barely a fight at all, as there is little threat to a well-powered character outside of these big moments. This gives the battle an imbalanced feeling.

Throughout Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot – DAIMA Part 2’s big finale, there are plenty of cut scenes laced between the various stages of combat, which bring the story surrounding the action to life. The goofy energy and spirit of the series is never abandoned, as the developers undoubtedly know that anyone playing this deep into a seven-year-old-game is here for it. Even Bulma’s heart-stopping threat to Vegeta is delivered in all its hysterical glory. 

Also continuing the trend of faithfulness to its source materials are the visuals. Everything from the cutscenes and energy blasts to Goku’s newly realized Super Saiyan 4 form is delivered with clear reverence for the show. 

Much of Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot – DAIMA Part 2’s side content is severely lacking.

While Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot – DAIMA Part 2 ties up the adventure in the Demon Realm, it doesn’t end when Gomah goes down. After creating a brief addition to the final cutscene at the bug shop, Goku and company are given Shrink Bugs to allow them to access their childhood forms again. This basically allows the group to return to the previous worlds of the Demon Realm to clean up leftover side content and explore. 

Despite delivering a handful of side quests that are worth seeing play out, much of this DLC’s side content is severely lacking. Mostly taking place once the group arrives at the First Demon World, it consists of repeated fights against gendarmerie forces. 

There is an attempt to mix things up between these fights. The sheer number of enemies, as well as the presence of tanks to battle, planes that do flybys, and elite troops, attempts to create variety, but it doesn’t work. If you find yourself easily overwhelmed by the sheer number of attacks bosses can throw, or struggle with dodging in general, doing a few of these can yield good power-ups, but only do what you need to. They serve little purpose other than granting rewards and padding playtime.

For anyone who has found fun in the core game and expansions, this provides a few more hours of entertainment.

These grand melee-style battles also continue to be plagued by the cheap hits from off-screen and general chaos that held them back in the previous entry. Getting interrupted by constant attacks, or seeing so many attack warnings you can’t decipher where is safe to dodge, can be annoying. Though keeping Supreme Kai on your team can take much of the sting out of the hits, since his assist options include a healing effect that can overcome most of the minor damage these attacks do.

Adding a bit of incentive for players who may not care overly much about the story but want to power up their heroes as much as possible in the main game is the numerous additions Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot – DAIMA Part 2 brings to the community boards. Quite a few new emblems and emblem upgrades can be found, helping long-time players further min-max their bonuses. 

Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot – DAIMA Part 2 delivers an enjoyable finale to the latest arc of the Z Fighters’ adventures. For anyone who has found fun in the core game and subsequent expansions, this should provide a few more hours of entertainment. 

Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot – DAIMA: Adventure Through The Demon Realm Part 2 is available now on Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch, and PC.

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