Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot is like any good Dragon Ball game in that it lets you use the actual Dragon Balls. Because Kakarot follows the manga almost perfectly, you’ll gain access to the Dragon Balls shortly after the Frieza Saga.
In case you need a refresher or are new to the anime series, the Dragon Balls are seven orange orbs with mystical powers. Each one has little stars inside that range from one to seven. When someone gathers all seven and says a special phrase, they summon Shenron, the guardian of the Dragon Balls. Shenron will grant his summoner one wish within its powers and then the balls turn to stone for a year and scatter across the planet. You can do this same thing in Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot. Here is how it all works.
Updated May 25, 2023 By Ben Jessey: Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot is one of the best Dragon Ball games in recent memory. And as any good DBZ game should, it lets you find and use the Dragon Balls.
We created this guide to show you exactly how to do that and inform you of what you can wish for. We've now returned to the guide to make it as easy to understand as possible.
When You Can Collect The Dragon Balls
Kakarot is very faithful to the original story of Dragon Ball Z, and this choice impacts the Dragon Ball mechanic.
During the first story arc, Goku sacrificed his own life for Piccolo to defeat his estranged brother, Raditz. Goku’s friends gather the Dragon Balls to bring him back to life, though the Dragon Balls can only revive someone once.
The balls turn to stone and scatter, then the story shifts to Planet Namek, and the focus becomes finding the Namekian Dragon Balls. Since wishing on the Namekian Dragon Balls is central to the story at this point, they aren't available for free use either.
It's not until after the Frieza Saga that the Dragon Balls are unlocked for repeated use.
After recapping the results of Goku and Frieza’s battle on the burning planet of Namek, you resume control of Gohan and Bulma informs him the Dragon Balls are active.
Now in full control, you can fly around the world searching for the precious Dragon Balls. This is where Kakarot deviates from the manga and television show slightly, allowing this freedom to summon Shenron.
How To Collect The Dragon Balls
Fortunately, the game gives you the best tool for tracking Dragon Balls right away: the Dragon Radar, which serves as your map for each region. But before you actually use that, you can go into the larger World Map to get a general idea of where the balls are located.
Some regions will have a little orange ball on them, which indicates that they contain a Dragon Ball.
When you enter a place with a Dragon Ball, open up the region map to find its exact location, then fly over to the spot.
The orb will be sitting on the ground and look like a shining ball of light from a distance. It's possible to mistake it for the usual item drops. However, when you get close to it, it will emanate a mystical sound.
Once you collect a Dragon Ball, it will be added to your inventory and you'll be on to the next one.
After you get them all and make your wish, you will have to wait 20 real-world minutes before you can collect them again. And they will spawn in different places.
How To Make A Wish
Once you’ve collected all seven Dragon Balls, it’s wishing time. Pull up the game menu and navigate to the Dragon Ball section to summon Shenron. This act earns you the Wish Maker achievement or trophy.
When the Dragon Balls first become available, you only get one wish before the balls are scattered again.
As you progress through the story, the ability to make multiple wishes is unlocked. Finishing the Cell Saga awards you a second wish, and then finishing the Buu Saga (and subsequently the main game) bumps you up to three wishes.
Wishing For Resources
It turns out Super Saiyans have to buy and cook things just like everyone else. To help with this, you can use the Dragon Balls to wish for Zeni, Z Orbs, and items.
All of these three can be farmed via repeatable wishes. The corresponding wishes are:
|
Wish |
What It Does |
Is It Worth Wishing For? |
|---|---|---|
|
I want Z Orbs! |
This will give you 10,000 each of the blue, green, and red Z Orbs, plus 10 rainbow Z Orbs. |
Z Orbs are used to unlock new fighting abilities in each character’s Super Attack tree. You can find Z Orbs throughout the game world, and sometimes collecting Z Orbs can be a soothing experience, but wishing for more orbs is a solid quick haul. |
|
I want to be rich! |
This will give you 30,000 Zeni. |
While most games value the ability to purchase items, it should be the last thing on your Kakarot priority list. Yes, having healing items for battles does come in handy, but wishing for more Zeni can be extremely wasteful. |
|
I want rare items! |
This one can drop a bunch of food or Awakening Water. |
While certain cooking ingredients can be obtained through Shenron, there’s also the scenario of getting a rare item you don’t have any use for and selling it for Zeni. So, rare items are sometimes worth wishing for, but not always. Unfortunately, you don't know until you've made the wish. |
Later in the game, you get higher quantities of what you wish for. For instance, you begin to get 20,000 blue, green, and red orbs, plus 20 rainbow ones when you wish for orbs.
Special Boss Wishes
The Dragon Balls also have a series of one-time wishes. These special wishes will resurrect the villains you fight throughout the story for rematches.
|
Boss |
Spawn Location |
|---|---|
|
Raditz |
Lucca Village |
|
Nappa |
Blake Bog |
|
Dodoria |
Kame House |
|
Zarbon |
Kame House |
|
Ginyu Force |
Yamcha's Hideout |
|
Appule |
Blake Bog |
|
Cui |
Gizard Wasteland |
|
Cell Jrs |
Kodaiho Lands |
|
Captain Ginyu (A Part Of The Captain's Comeback Sub-Story) |
West City |
|
King Cold |
Kodaiho Lands |
|
Androids 19 And 20 |
Darlinge Polynya |
|
Babidi |
World Tournament Arena |
They'll be powered up and have special dialogue acknowledging that they were brought back to life.
Defeating them will also net you a lot of Z Orbs — another reason why completing these rematches should be done as soon as they become available, instead of wishing for more resources.
Of course, each rematch can only happen once. After that, you'll get the defeated villain's Soul Emblem.