While many more memorable villains like Vegeta and Frieza came later, Raditz is still Dragon Ball Z's first adversary. . Just like in the anime, he appears right at the start of the game and kidnaps Gohan, prompting Goku and Piccolo to chase after him. Although there were a few battles before, Raditz is definitely the first hard battle in the game and this guide will give you tips on how to beat it.
How to Beat Raditz
Depending on the number of sub-quests you have taken so far in the game, your level of combat expertise for Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot may vary. This could be one of your first fights or you could have a lot under your belt by this point if you've really explored the map. Either way, Raditz is your first real threat you need to be prepared for.
Before starting the fight, you will already be asked to eat the boiled fish dish that Chi Chi prepared for you before. This will give you a small boost when entering the fight, which can already help.
The first part of the fight has you controlling Goku with Piccolo as the support character. Piccolo not only helps deal damage, but can also help take some of Raditz's attacks, giving you time to power up. You shouldn't have too many problems here, just be careful to avoid Raditz's ki attack barrages. Accelerate with X on PS4 and attack with melee attacks using Circle to deal lots of damage, throwing a Kamehameha for good measure when Raditz is stunned or directly in your line of sight.
After reaching a certain point, a cutscene will trigger where Piccolo says he has a plan, but forces you to distract him while he activates his new technique. This leads to the rest of the battle where Goku takes on Raditz solo. This is definitely where the difficulty increases, as Raditz is only focusing on you at this point.
Raditz is starting to use his super attacks now that he has you one-on-one, with Double Sunday being especially dangerous. This dual beam attack has Raditz circling around trying to hit you with both beams, so just try to avoid it until it's done before returning to attack.
When Raditz tries to attack you with continual ki attacks, it's a good time to block and use your Vanish attack against him to appear right behind him and begin to lengthen into him. Sometimes he will cover the arena with these ki attacks, so be very careful. Whenever you see him start glowing red when you attack him, start backing up or he'll hit you with one of his strongest attacks.
Since this is easily the longest fight you'll have had so far, you may start to lose health and worry about what to do next. That's what the Vitadrink item you received earlier is for, so use it in battle when your health is low if you need to.
As long as you're careful to watch Raditz's strongest attacks and don't extend your attacks to make yourself vulnerable too often, you should be able to take out Raditz eventually. Keep attacking and he'll be down before too long.
