Dragon Ball: Revenge of King Piccolo

Dragon Ball: Revenge of King Piccolo is a 3D beat-'em-up action game for the Nintendo Wii, setting it apart from the fighting games that dominated the Dragon Ball franchise at the time of its release. Players guide Goku through a series of stages populated with waves of enemies, using the Wiimote and Nunchuk to deliver standard melee combos, ki-powered attacks, and the iconic Kamehameha wave. An in-game currency system based on Zeni allows players to purchase power-up items that strengthen Goku between stages, introducing a light RPG element that rewards thorough exploration and efficient combat. Two health meters are tracked simultaneously on screen: one for physical endurance and one for ki reserves, requiring players to balance aggressive offense with strategic resource management.

A multiplayer versus mode rounds out the feature set, allowing two players to compete head-to-head using the game's expanded roster of playable fighters. The character selection includes major heroes such as Krillin, Yamcha, and Tien Shinhan, as well as notable adversaries like Mercenary Tao, General Blue, and the demonic servants of King Piccolo. Each character plays differently, lending replayability to the competitive mode. The game's visual presentation deliberately reproduces Akira Toriyama's original pen-and-ink line work in three-dimensional form, resulting in an art style that bridges the classic manga aesthetic with the technical capabilities of the Wii hardware. A variety of collectibles are also hidden throughout stages, rewarding thorough players with additional content.

The boss encounter design follows the narrative arc closely, culminating in multi-phase confrontations against iconic villains from both the Red Ribbon Army Saga and the King Piccolo Saga. Players face a wide array of named bosses including Major Metallitron, the Pilaf Machines, and ultimately both forms of King Piccolo himself, across a progression that mirrors the original story with high fidelity.

Revenge of King Piccolo adapts a substantial portion of the original Dragon Ball manga and anime, opening with Goku's earliest adventures during the Red Ribbon Army Saga and concluding with the defeat of King Piccolo. The narrative scope is broader than most Dragon Ball Wii titles of its era, encompassing Goku's encounters with the Red Ribbon organization, his training at Korin Tower, his appearances before Fortuneteller Baba, the World Martial Arts Tournament circuit, and the full escalation of the King Piccolo threat. Key supporting characters including Bulma, Krillin, Master Roshi, and Korin appear in cutscenes that stitch the stage progression into a coherent story, maintaining the tone and pacing of the source material throughout.

The playable roster reflects the rich character tapestry of early Dragon Ball. Heroes such as Goku, Yamcha, Jackie Chun, Chiaotzu, and Tien Shinhan are joined by an unusually diverse selection of villains including Tambourine, Drum, and both the old and young forms of King Piccolo. Non-playable characters including Kami and Mr. Popo make brief appearances in the end credits, signaling the story's direction toward what would follow in Dragon Ball Z. The inclusion of Arale Norimaki from the Dr. Slump crossover adds a surprising guest fighter to the playable lineup, a nod to the shared universe between Toriyama's two major franchises.

Released in October 2009 across North American, European, and Australian markets after its July Japan launch, Revenge of King Piccolo arrived during a period when the Wii was the dominant family gaming platform and publishers were actively seeking to expand Dragon Ball beyond its traditional fighting game format. The decision to design the game as a beat-'em-up rather than a one-on-one fighter positioned it as a companion piece to the earlier Game Boy Advance title Dragon Ball: Advanced Adventure, which had similarly adapted the original Dragon Ball saga in a side-scrolling brawler format.

Published by Namco Bandai under the Bandai label, the game represents one of the more ambitious attempts to adapt the pre-Z Dragon Ball era for a home console audience during the 2000s. Its emphasis on faithful visual reproduction of Toriyama's original artwork distinguished it aesthetically from many of its contemporaries, and the inclusion of both a story mode and a multiplayer versus component gave it broader appeal than a purely narrative-driven experience would have offered. The game remains a notable entry in the Wii's Dragon Ball library and a respectful adaptation of the classic saga.