Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot is not a particularly difficult game by any means. For the most part, players can get through the entire game with absolutely no grinding. This is an RPG perfectly content in jamming its side-game with a host of content while generally just allowing the main game to exist. That said, it’s not like Kakarot is completely devoid of challenge.

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If anything, hard bosses in an easy game just make them all the more memorable. At their best, Kakarot’s hardest boss fights are a reminder of the fire and the fury that comes with Dragon Ball Z’s increasingly chaotic action. At their worst, they’re tedious battles designed seemingly to punish players for no apparent reason.

Updated on May 17, 2023, by Axel Bosso: Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 4 is launching sometime this year, and the excitement for the subseries comeback seems to be off the charts. That's why we are updating older articles in the series, like this one from Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot. Let's explore once more which are the toughest bosses in the game.

10 Goku Versus Raditz

Raditz preparing a ki attack with his both hands.

Thankfully, we’re kicking off with one of the good hard fights. Goku’s fight against Raditz is a wake-up call for anyone just spamming their way through combat. Not every boss is going to be this frantic, this engaging, or this downright memorable.

The battle against Raditz really captures the hopelessness of Goku’s fighting against him. Underleveled and barely doing anything damage, you might even erroneously believe you're actually meant to lose this fight. Raditz does not let up, chasing Goku around the boss arena and punishing him whenever possible. It’s just a shame not every boss can be this intense.

9 Goku Versus Vegeta

Goku preparing a Kamehameha for Vegeta, who's up in the sky.

Funny enough, this only refers to Goku’s first fight with Vegeta, and not the encounter against his Oozaru form – that one is actually surprisingly and jarringly easy. If nothing else, the first battle against Vegeta really captures the weight of the battle in the manga. Goku and Vegeta are locked in a brutal match to the death, one where they keep pushing each other.

In gameplay, the upper hand is going to switch back and forth as you chip down Vegeta’s health. By the end of the battle, he’ll go hog wild, giving you plenty of chances to initiate a Beam Struggle. It’s one of the most energetic and exciting fights in the game – especially since Goku’s move set is so limited, but still varied enough for dynamic gameplay.

8 Vegeta Versus Zarbon

Zarbon about to grab Vegeta by his back.

The Frieza arc isn’t that much more difficult than the Saiyan arc in the grand scheme of things, but it has its fun throwing some rather challenging bosses at you. Vegeta in particular gets to square off against two of the game’s toughest bosses essentially back to back. Zarbon is a surprisingly dangerous opponent, one who’s both fast and a heavy hitter.

There isn’t much room to grind on Namek either, so it’s likely Vegeta will be at his most basic level with his most basic skills by this point in the game. If you don’t know how to dodge and maneuver around enemies, Zarbon can be an incredibly cruel fight.

7 Piccolo Versus Cell

It’s kind of funny that Imperfect Cell is the most dangerous version of Cell as far as gameplay is concerned. It’s all due to one little detail, too: Imperfect Cell can heal. Not just that, he heals by draining your health. It’s entirely possible to chip Cell down to one bar only for him to heal back up to three – possibly even four depending on how soon he grabs Piccolo.

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This can extend the fight for quite a long time, and he has a very nasty habit of doing this move consistently. There’s really no way around it. You’ll need to beat Cell down, dodge the lunge he does to heal, and then finish him off from there. It can be a bit challenging, but it does help Cell’s introduction have a bit more weight.

6 Goku Versus Burter And Jeice

Goku facing at Burter and Jeice.

Considering you will have just gotten control of Goku back after quite a long time, the jump in difficulty from Recoome to Burter and Jeice can be pretty overwhelming. They’re not too difficult if you can manage to get just one’s focus – but you won’t, that’s not how Kakarot works. They will attack with fury and never let up.

It’s equally important not to just waste Kaioken. The biggest mistake players make here is transforming and then watching Goku’s health drain. This is a long fight with two full-length bosses at once. Take out one without Kaioken before even humoring the idea of transforming, but even then, it’s best to save it for when victory is guaranteed.

5 Vegeta Versus Dodoria

Dodoria creating a Ki grenade with his both hands.

It’s honestly hilarious that Dodoria of all people is the single hardest boss fought on Namek. And by a mile too. Dodoria is downright vicious. He hits hard, his attacks have great range, and one slip-up can result in Dodoria ripping through Vegeta’s health bar like it's paper. Like with the fight against Zarbon, you will need to work with whatever Vegeta already has.

It’s a tense, potentially long fight that’ll frustrate anyone who hasn’t mastered dodging or blocking yet. Given that Vegeta takes out Dodoria rather effortlessly in the manga and anime, it’s certainly interesting that this is one of the hardest boss fights in the game. It’d make more sense if Gohan were fighting Dodoria here with its difficulty.

4 Vegeta Versus Android 18

Vegeta threatening Android 17 and 18 while Android 16 is behind them.

Android 18 is, overall, just a tough boss fight. She hits hard, moves fast, and has an answer for most of Vegeta’s attacks. The name of the game becomes getting 18 stuck in combos for as long as humanly possible before she inevitably breaks free and starts going to town on Vegeta. Surging helps, especially if it’s saved for when she has two or three health bars, but this is a hard battle with no clear easy way out.

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Which is fitting, narratively. It’s at this point in the Cell arc that Vegeta has to come to terms with his relative lack of power. This fight ultimately results in Goku, Gohan, Vegeta, and Trunks training in the Room of Spirit and Time.

3 Piccolo Versus Android 20

Android 20 behind Piccolo, about to drain his energy.

Kakarot’s main story bosses don’t get much harder than this. Android 20, otherwise known as Dr. Gero, is essentially a harder version of the Imperfect Cell boss that Piccolo fights later on. Dr. Gero is far more persistent when it comes to healing, and he can heal much more than Cell can.

Piccolo should be strong enough to endure Dr. Gero’s attacks at this point in the story, but do not expect an easy fight whatsoever. Matters are made even worse given that Android 20 can absorb Ki, healing himself in the process. This is more of an issue during the Android 19 fight, but it means you have to take even more precautions fighting 20.

2 Dragon Team Versus Mira

Goku SSJ3 about to hit Mira with his fists while Mira is chargin his red Ki.

One of Kakarot’s super-bosses, Mira not only ties the game to Xenoverse, he offers some much-needed post-game content. Granted, he’s locked behind defeating every single Villainous Enemy, but the reward is certainly interesting in its own right. Plus, Mira puts up one hell of a fight – be as highly leveled as possible for this fight.

Even being high level and having access to every Super Attack, Mira has some of the most devastating attacks in the game. His version of the Kamehameha is utterly lethal, as is his Dark Spirit Bomb. A full party of Goku, Vegeta, and Gohan is basically necessary to take Mira out. No one else can really compete.

1 Dragon Team Versus Gotenks And Vegito

Gotenks and Vegito charging their Ki with red glowing auras.

Mira isn’t the hardest boss in the game even if the toughest challenge is directly related to him. Along with fighting Mira, Towa (also from Xenoverse) brings with her possessed versions of Gotenks and Vegito for the player to fight. This is a very hard fight as both Gotenks and Vegito are relentless.

Gotenks is aggressive right out the gate, but Vegito becomes a complete monster when near death. If Gotenks is still alive by the time Vegito starts spamming Super Attacks, you might as well just give up and start over. This is the absolute hardest Kakarot gets, and an understanding of the main mechanics is the only way of overcoming this hurdle.

Next: Dragon Ball Fighterz: Every Dramatic Finish, Ranked