Dragon Ball: Daimaō Fukkatsu

Dragon Ball: Daimaou Fukkatsu, translated as Dragon Ball: The Great Demon King's Revival, is a role-playing video game released exclusively in Japan by Bandai on August 12, 1988, for the Famicom. It is the second Dragon Ball video game for that platform and the first RPG based on the Dragon Ball series. The game uses a board-style map that Goku traverses by drawing Fortune Cards, with each card producing a different outcome: a King Piccolo card triggers an enemy encounter, a Shenlong card might restore health or strengthen a companion, and a Fortuneteller Baba card causes a random event. Passwords save the player's progress between sessions.

Combat is handled through a card-based system in which both Goku and the opponent are dealt a hand of Battle Cards. Players flip cards in sequence, and the combination of card types and the order of their reveal determines the attack outcome, animated in a panel above the card display. Attack Cards are classified by kanji into punch, kick, combo, Power Pole, Special Attack, run away, and random attack types. Star Cards control Goku's movement across the map, while Kanji Numbered Cards serve a defensive function. Goku's Special Attacks grow stronger with repeated use, progressing from Rock Scissors Paper and the Kamehameha up to more powerful versions as the game advances.

Daimaou Fukkatsu retells the King Piccolo Saga with several meaningful deviations from the source material. Krillin is killed at Kame House rather than at the World Martial Arts Tournament, setting Goku on a quest that takes him from West City to Jingle Village, the Pirate Cave, Fortuneteller Baba's Palace, Pilaf's Castle, the Sacred Land of Korin, and Penguin Village. Each location yields Dragon Balls and narrative encounters before the quest culminates at Piccolo's Mansion and the Dark Castle.

The game is notable for its willingness to blend the Dragon Ball universe with other Toriyama properties. At Penguin Village, Goku encounters Arale Norimaki, Gatchan, and Senbei Norimaki from Dr. Slump, continuing a crossover tradition that Toriyama himself established in the original manga. The story ends with NBS News announcing King Piccolo's defeat, a whimsical coda that captures the original series' lighter tone. Goku can reach a maximum level of 14, and the game features a substantial cast of enemies including unique palette-swapped variants of major fighters.

Dragon Ball: Daimaou Fukkatsu holds a foundational place in Dragon Ball gaming history as the first RPG in the franchise, establishing a card-based combat system that was directly reused and refined in the subsequent Gokuden series. Its influence can be traced through Dragon Ball 3: Gokuden and even the later J Legend Retsuden compilation for Nintendo 3DS, which included the game as part of its preserved collection of classic Jump-franchise titles.

Released in 1988 during the height of Dragon Ball's original manga run, the game reflects the franchise at a creative peak, adapting one of the most dramatic story arcs of the original series with the limited but inventive tools available to Famicom developers. It remains a significant piece of Dragon Ball history for collectors and fans interested in the origins of the franchise's interactive legacy.