AlthoughDragon Ball Z: Kakarotis treading waters that have been explored several times over, there’s no doubt that fans of the franchise are looking forward to the upcoming release. That’s partially due to Bandai Namco’s promise that this would be the most in-depth telling of Goku’s story that has ever made it into a video game, and several aspects of the game revealed so far point to this. Not only doesDragon Ball Z: Kakarotinclude filler content like Gohan’s baseball games, but it also explores more of the universe with completely original content like the character Bonyu. Combine this with the variety of playable characters, a tried-and-true combat system, and how to the detail each Saga appears to be (Yakon and PuiPui confirmed), the hype is understandable.
However, there are other anime franchises that deserve the same treatment, with one high runner-up being that ofBleach. It’s an incredibly popular anime, adapted from Tite Kubo’s manga of the same name, and has quite a few games released related to it. There’s one key difference inBleachandDragon Ballgames:Dragon Ballhas appeared on a variety of consoles up into the most recent generation, whereasBleachhas a majority of handheld games (14 total), 6 PS2 games, 3 mobile games, 2 games on the Wii, 1 on the GameCube, and its last major console entry was on the PS3,Bleach: SoulResurreccion, back in 2011.
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Among these, the majority are fighting or action games, with the occasional action RPG spread throughout. Even then, those were mostly on the handheld games, so it’s sorely missing a solid entry on consoles. It’s also important to note a major difference that explains the major gap in releases; namely, theBleachanime and manga ended back in 2012.Dragon Ball Z,on the other hand, is still going strong with its latest iteration,Dragon Ball Super.
Still, a properly-done action RPG of Bleach done in the same vein asDragon Ball Z: Kakarotwould likely be well received, even on thenext-gen PS5 and Xbox Project Scarlett consoles. As the newDBZaction RPG dives through each major Z arc (from the arrival of Raditz through the defeat of Kid Buu), Bleach could begin with the very first season and story arc where Ichigo Kurosaki becomes a Soul Reaper through the very last season of the Fullbringer arc.
This is only slightly longer than the episode count ofDragon Ball Z(291 vs. 366), so the game’s would likely be comparable in length, meaning a Bleach action RPG could easily explore fan-favorite filler content and unique side quests in a similar vein. Allowing players to explore this while playing as a variety of characters, such as Ichigo, Rukia, Uryu, and/or even Kon, would also do a lot to draw attention, adding real content to the game’s overall length. Combine this with good combat, and it sounds like a winning formula.
It doesn’t have to be, or maybe even shouldn’t be, anything groundbreaking.Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot’s combatis highly reminiscent ofDragon Ball Z: Xenoverse, and that’s okay. As long as wielding Ichigo’s Zanpakuto feels as it should and understandably different from Uryu’s Quincy Spirit Weapon, Ginrei Kojaku, it would likely create enough of a change that players remained interested.
Overall, a solidBleachanime action RPGseems like a pipe dream at this point, and it’s not something that seems likely to happen. That said, it is a good dream and one that many fans of the anime would likely welcome given the opportunity.
Dragon Ball Z: Kakarotlaunches on July 31, 2025 for PC, PS4, and Xbox One.
