Dragon Ball Z: Super Butōden

Dragon Ball Z: Super Butoden is a 2D fighting game and the first installment in the Butoden video game series, released for the Super Famicom in Japan on March 20, 1993, and in France and Spain on November 30, 1993. The game begins with eight playable characters and offers five additional fighters as unlockable options, bringing the full roster to thirteen. Stages are massive horizontally scrolling environments divided by a color-coded split-screen border that communicates the distance between the two fighters at a glance.

Combat can take place both on the ground and in the air, giving players vertical freedom that distinguishes Super Butoden from more grounded 2D fighters. A radar positioned below the health and power bars tracks character positions across the large stages, helping players stay oriented during long-distance chases. Each character possesses unique special moves and super moves, including signature techniques such as Goku's Kamehameha, Vegeta's Final Flash, and Android 16's Hell's Flash. Super moves can be countered through dodging, blocking, or engaging in a beam struggle, adding a layer of interaction to the most powerful attacks.

Ki management works differently from later Butoden entries, requiring manual charging by holding down while in the air. Subsequent games shifted this to a ground-compatible input that was more convenient to access. Recovery after being knocked down takes a notably long time, leaving fallen characters vulnerable to follow-up attacks and making knock-downs a significant tactical event in competitive play.

The Story Mode spans from the Piccolo Jr. Saga of the original Dragon Ball series through the conclusion of the Cell Games Saga of Dragon Ball Z, covering a wide narrative arc across twelve battles. The mode presents a branching structure in which the player's choice of character at certain junctures affects who serves as the next opponent. A secret final battle against Perfect Cell is available as an optional challenge after the standard story path concludes.

Tournament Mode hosts up to eight players in a World Martial Arts Tournament bracket where all matches are held in the tournament arena. Each participant picks a character, and the winner of the bracket receives a blinking trophy. Combat Mode rounds out the package as a free-play option allowing the player to fight against the CPU or another player with any character from the complete thirteen-fighter roster, with adjustable match rules.

Super Butoden was one of the earliest Dragon Ball Z fighting games for home consoles and served as the foundation for a series that would run through four installments across the Super Famicom and Sega Saturn. Its commercial success in Japan and, notably, in France and Spain demonstrated that the franchise had meaningful appeal in European markets, helping lay the groundwork for future Western Dragon Ball Z releases.

A digital copy of the game was later bundled as a pre-order bonus for Dragon Ball Z: Extreme Butoden on the Nintendo 3DS, confirming the game's lasting reputation as a foundational title. The split-screen border distance indicator, aerial combat, and large scrolling stages were distinctive design choices that influenced how the Butoden series approached the Dragon Ball Z fighting game format in its early years. Super Butoden's release alongside a port of Dragon Ball FighterZ as part of a separate promotion further cemented its connection to the franchise's long fighting game lineage.