Gameplay
When it comes to which game has the better gameplay though, the tables are turned in Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2’s favor.
In terms of world exploration and story progression, both games have roughly the same approach. Players are let loose in different areas to explore, grab items and otherwise mingle with characters and faces from across the Dragon Ball mythos, canon or no.
When it comes to combat though, things start to diverge in some meaningful ways. Xenoverse 2 boasts a surprisingly deep combat system, full of timing, counters and positioning elements which all force players to engross themselves in the game’s mechanics in order to get ahead of their competition.
Knowing which type of Ki blast or Super Attack can penetrate an opponent’s defenses, or when and how to use a teleport to get behind them, can be the difference between victory and defeat, and is only made all the more deep by the wealth of different moves and character types you can choose from via its character creation mechanic.
This is only further fleshed out by the flexibility it provides players in leveling up their characters, allowing them to assign points into specific attributes for specializations in melee, Ki attacks, stamina and so forth.
Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot, on the other hand, is more limited in terms of its combat. While it definitely has a wealth of dodging, guarding and countering mechanics on par with Xenoverse 2, the number of moves you can choose from and how they impact combat are limited to the playable characters.
It’s likewise pretty rigid in terms of modifying characters as they level up, only really allowing you to choose which of their techniques you want to develop further; and even then, you can only develop them up to where they’d be based on the story.
As such, it’s safe to say that Xenoverse 2 edges out Kakarot in this department, and that fans of the series will find much more enjoyment from playing it for hours on end.
Winner: Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2
