Overview and Gameplay
Raditz’s arrival begins a card-driven retelling of the early Dragon Ball Z story, continuing through Garlic Jr.’s forces and the battles with Nappa and Vegeta. Goku, Piccolo, Gohan, Krillin, Yamcha, Tien, and Chiaotzu travel across connected maps, train, and fight in turn-based encounters.
Movement depends on the star value of a chosen card, while combat cards determine attack strength, defense, and access to special techniques. Victories and training raise BP, levels, HP, and BE, so keeping the wider party prepared is often important.
Controls And Mechanics
- Directions: Move the cursor and selected character.
- A: Confirm choices, complete movement, and advance dialogue.
- B: Cancel commands or undo map movement one space at a time.
- Start: Begin from the title screen or open the map menu.
- Support cards can heal characters, alter battle cards, reduce encounters, or trigger special effects.
- The Tenkaichi mode supports hot-seat tournament battles using saved-character passwords and one shared controller.
Version Notes
This is the original Japanese Famicom release. Its text is Japanese, and it did not receive an official North American or European NES edition. “Assault of the Saiyans” is a common unofficial English rendering.
Release And Credits
- Released: October 27, 1990
- Developer: TOSE
- Publisher: Bandai
- Original platform: Family Computer
