Dragon Ball’s first video game had original Toriyama characters that vanished

The 1986 game Shenron no Nazo introduced three new fighters created by Akira Toriyama. They were never seen again, especially outside Japan.

Dragon Ball: Shenron no Nazo—released for the Famicom in 1986—was the first video game to bring the original Dragon Ball manga to life. And what a game it was! Fans could finally play as Goku, racing to collect those seven elusive Dragon Balls.

Where Dragon Ball gaming began

Meet the hidden characters

The game needed new enemies for the story, and Toriyama was asked to create something new. He made 3 new character creations:

• MB Army Leader (new military boss with new enemy group)

• Asura (robot fighter that looked like an insect and had a cannon for an arm)

• Kurilien (4-armed alien assimilated with Rabbit Gang, had sharp teeth, huge head, a little wild-looking, like a Krillin version)

Toriyama made full concept art for the characters, and the developers turned them into pixel sprites for the game. And they were designed to fit into the world of Dragon Ball with the same kind of humor and action.

What changed in the American version?

When it came to the US in 1988, it was completely changed. It was renamed Dragon Power, and all Dragon Ball names and characters were removed. Goku became a nameless kung fu hero. Bulma’s underwear scene was replaced with a sandwich. The original villains, including Toriyama’s new characters, were either erased or redesigned.

The game was later released in Europe in 1991 with the Dragon Ball name restored, but some of the edits from the US version stayed in place.

What was the gameplay like?

Shenron no Nazo was a mix of side-scrolling levels and top-down areas. You could punch, shoot ki blasts, and explore different environments. It wasn’t perfect. The controls were tricky and the game was hard, but it was still more advanced than most anime games at the time.

You could collect the Dragon Balls in any order. It also had lots of characters from the manga and some new ones made just for the game.

Why the original characters still matter

Why the original characters still matter even though they were one-time characters that represented something special. Toriyama realized he could do something that didn’t follow the manga. These designs were bold, weird, and fun, just like early Dragon Ball.

Now they are forgotten. But they will be remembered as part of how Dragon Ball games started introducing new characters later, like Android 21 in FighterZ or the time-traveling villains in Xenoverse.

A piece of gaming history

A piece of video game history Shenron no Nazo is a rare gem. It’s not just a retro game. It’s the Beatles of Dragon Ball games, and it’s the beginning of Dragon Ball games as we know it, with the original creator involved in the process. And for those who are diehard fans and want to challenge themselves with some product, the game still holds up.

You can still find copies of the game in Japan or try it with an emulator, but be warned, it’s in Japanese, and it’s hard. For those who want to say they played this before, it’s worth playing to see how it all began, and it keeps reminding us in the anime, “It’s not about who’s the strongest. It’s about breaking your limits, over and over again.”

 So, power up, press start, and discover the Dragon Ball game that dared to break the limits of the manga.

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