>>535281885
On the more positive side the worldbuilding is definitely a highlight, and it being used as an actual story tool instead of background dressing was always good to see. Not just that there's a bit of lore that will connect some things together, but that it's actually setup for a thing that happens later (the pirate cave dating back to King Piccolo's time, or the pure-hearted Saiyans that tried to stop King Vegeta being there for Goku learning to control the Oozaru state and also Yazai getting introduced properly later). Even when it's a bit more referential it's still usually based in something tying back to Dragon Ball (like characters developing skills after watching Gundam shows, or Godzilla and Gamera showing up through their connection to Arale resulting in an eventual fight against Godzilla using the Kamehameha).

I also find the idea that in spite of the absurd gains he got Goku was actually held back a bit during the Quest, but how that's actually a net positive overall, to be interesting. That (Path to Power) Goku would've kept growing at an accelerated rate even beyond what he was in the movie, but in the process didn't have as many people that could match him and that caused him to be more reckless trying to find strong foes to fight, ultimately resulting in him unlocking Super Saiyan against King Piccolo and Shura but causing the obvious problems that'd result in the process, is an interesting take for one of those "what if" scenarios. If anything feels like it's a reaction to Vegeta one-shotting his way through earlier Dragon Ball in DB Sai, or how so many of those similar "what if" stories featuring Goku going Super Saiyan that early somehow keep trying to make things go back on the rails of canon.