Numerous guides for Dragon Ball video games have been released in Japan. Guide books for these video games generally contain walkthroughs, character and item information, and overviews of the game’s story. The first few of these guide books were released under the Jump Comics banner, but would eventually go on to be released under the V-Jump label (V-Jump being Shueisha’s video games-focused magazine which began in the early/mid-1990s). In addition to video games, Shueisha has also released guide books for the various “Collectible Card Games” (CCG) available in arcades throughout Japan over the years.
The first few game guides were listed in Daizenshuu 7, which was released on 25 February 1996 — for some reason, the “Dragon Ball: The Great Demon King’s Revival” and “Dragon Ball Z: The Super Saiya Legend” guides were omitted in the book’s listings. These game guides have been retrofitted into our comprehensive list below, which extends beyond that of Daizenshuu 7 into the present era:
Console/Portable Video Game Guide Books (Dragon Ball)
The first Dragon Ball game related books were released under the “Jump Comics Selection”, the same sub-section of Jump that released the “Film Animation Comics”. The majority of the game guides listed under this section are for video games from the Nintendo Famicom system, although the last two are from the Super Famicom system. Over half of the illustrations featured on these game guide covers were actually drawn by Akira Toriyama, although almost all of them were originally drawn for Weekly Jump and not specifically for these guides. These guides also came with fold-out posters, some of which were also drawn by Toriyama.
In early 1993, Shueisha launched the new monthly magazine V-Jump which would cover Jump-related video games, such as Dragon Quest, Dragon Ball, Yu-Gi-Oh, One Piece, and Digimon. As part of this decision, Shueisha discontinued publishing game guide books under the “Jump Comics Selection” line, and instead began publishing them under the “V-Jump Books Game Series” line. Not every video game released has received a game guide, though the majority have. The contents of each guide varies depending on its respective game design and genre.
The sixth game guide released by V-Jump on 17 October 1997 covers the last three video games released in the 1990s before the series’ revival in 2002: these games include “Dragon Ball Z: Hyper Dimension”, “Dragon Ball Z: The Grand Legend of Dragon Ball”, and “Dragon Ball: Final Bout”.
JAN 4-8342-1053-7
Dragon Ball: The Mystery of Shenlong
| Released: | 15 December 1986 |
| Retail: | ¥360 |
| Publisher: | Shueisha Publishing Co., Ltd. |
JAN 4-8342-1069-3
Dragon Ball: The Great Demon King’s Revival
| Released: | 15 August 1988 |
| Retail: | ¥390 |
| Publisher: | Shueisha Publishing Co., Ltd. |
JAN 4-8342-1017-0
Dragon Ball Z: Assault! The Saiyans
| Released: | 05 November 1990 |
| Retail: | ¥450 |
| Publisher: | Shueisha Publishing Co., Ltd. |
JAN 4-8342-1018-9
Dragon Ball Z: Complete Book of Carddass Secrets
| Released: | 15 April 1991 |
| Retail: | ¥500 |
| Publisher: | Shueisha Publishing Co., Ltd. |
JAN 4-8342-1020-2
Dragon Ball Z II: The Violent God, Freeza!!
| Released: | 12 August 1991 |
| Retail: | ¥500 |
| Publisher: | Shueisha Publishing Co., Ltd. |
JAN 4-8342-1142-8
Dragon Ball Z: The Super Saiya Legend
| Released: | 10 February 1992 |
| Retail: | ¥500 |
| Publisher: | Shueisha Publishing Co., Ltd. |
JAN 4-8342-1143-6
Dragon Ball Z III: A Violent Battle With the Artificial Humans
| Released: | 15 August 1992 |
| Retail: | ¥500 |
| Publisher: | Shueisha Publishing Co., Ltd. |
JAN 4-8342-1146-0
Dragon Ball Z: Super Martial Legend
| Released: | 24 March 1993 |
| Retail: | ¥500 |
| Publisher: | Shueisha Publishing Co., Ltd. |
JAN 1067301021003
Dragon Ball Z Side Story: The Plan to Eradicate the Saiyans
| Released: | 14 September 1993 |
| Retail: | ¥1,000 |
| Publisher: | Shueisha Publishing Co., Ltd. |
JAN 1067301061009
Dragon Ball Z: Super Martial Legend 2
| Released: | 25 January 1994 |
| Retail: | ¥1,000 |
| Publisher: | Shueisha Publishing Co., Ltd. |
JAN 1067301131009
Dragon Ball Z: Super Martial Legend 3
| Released: | 07 November 1994 |
| Retail: | ¥1,000 |
| Publisher: | Shueisha Publishing Co., Ltd. |
JAN 1067301150703
Dragon Ball Z: Goku’s Soaring Legend
| Released: | 03 January 1995 |
| Retail: | ¥1,000 |
| Publisher: | Shueisha Publishing Co., Ltd. |
JAN 1067301290850
Dragon Ball Z: Ultimate Battle 22
| Released: | 12 September 1995 |
| Retail: | ¥1,000 |
| Publisher: | Shueisha Publishing Co., Ltd. |
ISBN 4-08-108060-7
Dragon Ball: Strongest Martial Arts Bible
| Released: | 17 October 1997 |
| Retail: | ¥1,050 |
| Publisher: | Shueisha Publishing Co., Ltd. |
ISBN 4-08-779192-0
Dragon Ball Z: Legendary Super Warriors
| Released: | 09 August 2002 |
| Retail: | ¥1,200 |
| Publisher: | Shueisha Publishing Co., Ltd. |
ISBN 4-08-779224-2
Dragon Ball Z
| Released: | 13 February 2003 |
| Retail: | ¥1,000 |
| Publisher: | Shueisha Publishing Co., Ltd. |
ISBN 4-08-779276-5
Dragon Ball Z 2
| Released: | 05 February 2004 |
| Retail: | ¥1,000 |
| Publisher: | Shueisha Publishing Co., Ltd. |
ISBN 4-08-779283-8
Dragon Ball Z: Dramatic War in the Skies
| Released: | 31 March 2004 |
| Retail: | ¥1,000 |
| Publisher: | Shueisha Publishing Co., Ltd. |
ISBN 4-08-779303-6
Dragon Ball: Advance Adventure
| Released: | 29 November 2004 |
| Retail: | ¥1,000 |
| Publisher: | Shueisha Publishing Co., Ltd. |
ISBN 4-08-779317-6
Dragon Ball Z 3
| Released: | 01 March 2005 |
| Retail: | ¥1,200 |
| Publisher: | Shueisha Publishing Co., Ltd. |
ISBN 4-08-779341-9
Dragon Ball Z: Sparking!
| Released: | 06 October 2005 |
| Retail: | ¥1,100 |
| Publisher: | Shueisha Publishing Co., Ltd. |
ISBN 4-08-779344-3
Dragon Ball Z: Intense Battle in the Skies
| Released: | 06 December 2005 |
| Retail: | ¥950 |
| Publisher: | Shueisha Publishing Co., Ltd. |
ISBN 4-08-779366-4
Dragon Ball Z: The True Martial Arts Tournament
| Released: | 25 April 2006 |
| Retail: | ¥1,000 |
| Publisher: | Shueisha Publishing Co., Ltd. |
ISBN 4-08-779371-0
Super Dragon Ball Z
| Released: | 30 June 2006 |
| Retail: | ¥1,100 |
| Publisher: | Shueisha Publishing Co., Ltd. |
ISBN 4-08-779385-0
Dragon Ball Z: Sparking! NEO
| Released: | 05 October 2006 |
| Retail: | ¥1,100 |
| Publisher: | Shueisha Publishing Co., Ltd. |
ISBN 4-08-779416-4
Dragon Ball Z: The Distant Legend of Goku
| Released: | 27 March 2007 |
| Retail: | ¥1,100 |
| Publisher: | Shueisha Publishing Co., Ltd. |
ISBN 4-08-779436-9
Dragon Ball Z: Sparking! METEOR
| Released: | 09 October 2007 |
| Retail: | ¥1,200 |
| Publisher: | Shueisha Publishing Co., Ltd. |
ISBN 4-08-779463-6
Dragon Ball Z: Burst Limit
| Released: | 10 June 2008 |
| Retail: | ¥1,100 |
| Publisher: | Shueisha Publishing Co., Ltd. |
ISBN 4-08-779476-8
Dragon Ball DS
| Released: | 18 September 2008 |
| Retail: | ¥1,150 |
| Publisher: | Shueisha Publishing Co., Ltd. |
ISBN 4-08-779486-5
Dragon Ball Z: Infinite World
| Released: | 09 December 2008 |
| Retail: | ¥1,300 |
| Publisher: | Shueisha Publishing Co., Ltd. |
ISBN 4-08-779503-9
Dragon Ball Kai: Attack of the Saiyans
| Released: | 30 April 2009 |
| Retail: | ¥1,150 |
| Publisher: | Shueisha Publishing Co., Ltd. |
ISBN 4-08-779513-6
Dragon Ball: The World’s Greatest Adventure
| Released: | 23 July 2009 |
| Retail: | ¥1,150 |
| Publisher: | Shueisha Publishing Co., Ltd. |
ISBN 4-08-779527-6
Dragon Ball: Raging Blast
| Released: | 12 November 2009 |
| Retail: | ¥1,350 |
| Publisher: | Shueisha Publishing Co., Ltd. |
ISBN 4-08-779545-4
Dragon Ball DS2: Charge! Red Ribbon Army
| Released: | 12 February 2010 |
| Retail: | ¥1,200 |
| Publisher: | Shueisha Publishing Co., Ltd. |
ISBN 4-08-779570-5
Dragon Ball: Tag VS
| Released: | 30 September 2010 |
| Retail: | ¥1,200 |
| Publisher: | Shueisha Publishing Co., Ltd. |
ISBN 4-08-779574-8
Dragon Ball: Raging Blast 2
| Released: | 11 November 2010 |
| Retail: | ¥1,250 |
| Publisher: | Shueisha Publishing Co., Ltd. |
ISBN 4-08-779585-3
Dragon Ball Kai: Ultimate Martial Legend
| Released: | 03 February 2011 |
| Retail: | ¥1,100 |
| Publisher: | Shueisha Publishing Co., Ltd. |
ISBN 4-08-779614-0
Dragon Ball: Ultimate Blast
| Released: | 08 December 2011 |
| Retail: | ¥1,200 |
| Publisher: | Shueisha Publishing Co., Ltd. |
ISBN 978-4-08-779651-3
Dragon Ball Heroes: Ultimate Mission
| Released: | 28 February 2013 |
| Retail: | ¥1,250 |
| Publisher: | Shueisha Publishing Co., Ltd. |
ISBN 978-4-08-779691-9
Dragon Ball Heroes: Ultimate Mission 2
| Released: | 07 August 2014 |
| Retail: | ¥1,350 |
| Publisher: | Shueisha Publishing Co., Ltd. |
ISBN 978-4-08-779708-4
Dragon Ball XENOVERSE
| Released: | 05 February 2015 |
| Retail: | ¥1,400 |
| Publisher: | Shueisha Publishing Co., Ltd. |
ISBN 978-4-08-779721-3
Dragon Ball Z: Extreme Martial Arts Legend
| Released: | 11 June 2015 |
| Retail: | ¥950 |
| Publisher: | Shueisha Publishing Co., Ltd. |
ISBN 978-4-08-779742-8
Dragon Ball Fusions
| Released: | 04 August 2016 |
| Retail: | ¥1,200 |
| Publisher: | Shueisha Publishing Co., Ltd. |
ISBN 978-4-08-111178-7
Dragon Ball XENOVERSE 2
| Released: | 02 November 2016 |
| Retail: | ¥1,400 |
| Publisher: | Shueisha Publishing Co., Ltd. |
ISBN 978-4-08-779755-8
Dragon Ball Heroes: Ultimate Mission X
| Released: | 27 April 2017 |
| Retail: | ¥1,400 |
| Publisher: | Shueisha Publishing Co., Ltd. |
ISBN 978-4-08-779766-4
Dragon Ball FighterZ Bible
| Released: | 01 February 2018 |
| Retail: | ¥1,500 |
| Publisher: | Shueisha Publishing Co., Ltd. |
ISBN 978-4-08-779774-9
Super Dragon Ball Heroes: World Mission – The World Guide
| Released: | 04 April 2019 |
| Retail: | ¥1,350 |
| Publisher: | Shueisha Publishing Co., Ltd. |
ISBN 978-4-08-779782-4
Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot – World Traversal Guide
| Released: | 16 January 2020 |
| Retail: | ¥1,350 |
| Publisher: | Shueisha Publishing Co., Ltd. |
Collectible Card / Data Carddass Game Guide Books
Starting in the mid-2000s, V-Jump began publishing supplemental magazines covering Bandai’s Data Carddass arcade games, which was itself eventually supplanted by the Dragon Ball Heroes series. Many of these magazines contain card data, control instructions, and usually come with bonus Data Carddass cards for that respective arcade game. However, these guides are all pre-dated by the two supplemental daizenshuu released in 1996 that cover the original “Dragon Ball Carddass” series’ that ran from 1988 to 1995.
ISBN 4-08-102058-2
Dragon Ball Z – Premium Guide
| Released: | 19 December 2005 |
| Retail: | ¥680 |
| Publisher: | Shueisha Publishing Co., Ltd. |
EAN 4-910045-410961
Dragon Ball Z 2 – Ultra Guide
| Released: | 21 July 2006 |
| Retail: | ¥500 |
| Publisher: | Shueisha Publishing Co., Ltd. |
EAN 4-910113-240179
Dragon Ball Z 2 – Ultra Guide II
| Released: | 15 December 2006 |
| Retail: | ¥500 |
| Publisher: | Shueisha Publishing Co., Ltd. |
ISBN 4-08-779429-6
Dragon Ball Z: Explosive Impact – Master Card Book
| Released: | 02 August 2007 |
| Retail: | ¥1,100 |
| Publisher: | Shueisha Publishing Co., Ltd. |
ISBN 4-08-779469-5
Dragon Ball Z: W Explosive Impact – Winning Guide
| Released: | 17 July 2008 |
| Retail: | ¥920 |
| Publisher: | Shueisha Publishing Co., Ltd. |
ISBN 4-08-779516-0
Dragon Ball Kai: Dragon Battlers – Dragon Strike Guide
| Released: | 06 August 2009 |
| Retail: | ¥950 |
| Publisher: | Shueisha Publishing Co., Ltd. |
ISBN 4-08-779533-0
Dragon Ball Kai: Dragon Battlers – Dragon Strike Guide 2
| Released: | 10 December 2009 |
| Retail: | ¥1,000 |
| Publisher: | Shueisha Publishing Co., Ltd. |
ISBN 4-08-779553-5
Dragon Ball Kai: Dragon Battlers – Dragon Strike Masters Guide
| Released: | 27 May 2010 |
| Retail: | ¥1,250 |
| Publisher: | Shueisha Publishing Co., Ltd. |
ISBN 4-08-108088-7
Dragon Ball Heroes: Heroes Guide
| Released: | 13 January 2011 |
| Retail: | ¥980 |
| Publisher: | Shueisha Publishing Co., Ltd. |
ISBN 978-4-08-108091-5
Dragon Ball Heroes: Heroes Guide 2
| Released: | 19 May 2011 |
| Retail: | ¥980 |
| Publisher: | Shueisha Publishing Co., Ltd. |
ISBN 978-4-08-779604-9
Dragon Ball Heroes: Heroes Guide 3
| Released: | 15 September 2011 |
| Retail: | ¥1,000 |
| Publisher: | Shueisha Publishing Co., Ltd. |
ISBN 978-4-08-779619-3
Dragon Ball Heroes: Heroes Guide 4
| Released: | 19 January 2012 |
| Retail: | ¥1,100 |
| Publisher: | Shueisha Publishing Co., Ltd. |
ISBN 978-4-08-779631-5
Dragon Ball Heroes: Heroes Guide 5
| Released: | 17 May 2012 |
| Retail: | ¥1,150 |
| Publisher: | Shueisha Publishing Co., Ltd. |
ISBN 978-4-08-779642-1
Dragon Ball Heroes: Heroes Guide 6
| Released: | 15 November 2012 |
| Retail: | ¥1,200 |
| Publisher: | Shueisha Publishing Co., Ltd. |
ISBN 978-4-08-779652-0
Dragon Ball Heroes: Heroes Guide 7
| Released: | 14 March 2013 |
| Retail: | ¥1,200 |
| Publisher: | Shueisha Publishing Co., Ltd. |
ISBN 978-4-08-779667-4
Dragon Ball Heroes: Heroes Guide 8
| Released: | 12 September 2013 |
| Retail: | ¥1,200 |
| Publisher: | Shueisha Publishing Co., Ltd. |
ISBN 978-4-08-779677-3
Dragon Ball Heroes: Heroes Guide 9
| Released: | 16 January 2014 |
| Retail: | ¥1,150 |
| Publisher: | Shueisha Publishing Co., Ltd. |
ISBN 978-4-08-779686-5
Dragon Ball Heroes: Heroes Guide 10
| Released: | 15 May 2014 |
| Retail: | ¥1,150 |
| Publisher: | Shueisha Publishing Co., Ltd. |
ISBN 978-4-08-779697-1
Dragon Ball Heroes: Heroes Guide 11
| Released: | 13 November 2014 |
| Retail: | ¥1,200 |
| Publisher: | Shueisha Publishing Co., Ltd. |
ISBN 978-4-08-779725-1
Dragon Ball Heroes: Heroes Guide 12
| Released: | 16 July 2015 |
| Retail: | ¥1,200 |
| Publisher: | Shueisha Publishing Co., Ltd. |
More Dragon Ball Heroes Guides To Be Listed…!
Dragon Ball Heroes Anniversary / Super Guides
For the card-based arcade game’s fifth anniversary in 2015, a special “Fanbook” was released containing brief interviews, card information, and the 29th chapter of Dragon Ball Heroes: Victory Mission. In the meantime, ongoing regular mission-specific guides continued to be released, while in 2018 this style of larger “Super Guide” was brought back for an eighth anniversary guide. Larger anniversary and event-based guides have continued on a roughly annual basis to this day.
JAN 4910113240162
Bandai Official Fanbook Dragon Ball Heroes 5th Anniversary Mission
| Released: | 19 November 2015 |
| Retail: | ¥880 |
| Pages: | 124 |
| Publisher: | Shueisha Publishing Co., Ltd. |
ISBN 978-4-08-779769-5
Super Dragon Ball Heroes 8th Anniversary Super Guide
| Released: | 08 November 2018 |
| Retail: | ¥1,375 |
| Pages: | 128 |
| Publisher: | Shueisha Publishing Co., Ltd. |
ISBN 978-4-08-779772-5
Super Dragon Ball Heroes Ultimate Tour 2019 Super Guide
| Released: | 07 March 2019 |
| Retail: | ¥1,375 |
| Pages: | 128 |
| Publisher: | Shueisha Publishing Co., Ltd. |
ISBN 978-4-08-779781-7
Super Dragon Ball Heroes 9th Anniversary Super Guide
| Released: | 07 November 2019 |
| Retail: | ¥1,375 |
| Pages: | 128 |
| Publisher: | Shueisha Publishing Co., Ltd. |
ISBN 978-4-08-779783-1
Super Dragon Ball Heroes Big Bang Mission Super Guide
| Released: | 12 March 2020 |
| Retail: | ¥1,375 |
| Pages: | 128 |
| Publisher: | Shueisha Publishing Co., Ltd. |
ISBN 978-4-08-779788-6
Super Dragon Ball Heroes 10th Anniversary Super Guide
| Released: | 26 November 2020 |
| Retail: | ¥1,485 |
| Pages: | 128 |
| Publisher: | Shueisha Publishing Co., Ltd. |
ISBN 978-4-08-779788-6
Super Dragon Ball Heroes 11th Anniversary Super Guide
| Released: | 11 November 2021 |
| Retail: | ¥1,540 |
| Pages: | 112 |
| Publisher: | Shueisha Publishing Co., Ltd. |
ISBN 978-4-08-779803-6
Super Dragon Ball Heroes 12th Anniversary Super Guide
| Released: | 10 November 2022 |
| Retail: | ¥1,540 |
| Pages: | 112 |
| Publisher: | Shueisha Publishing Co., Ltd. |
ISBN 978-4-08-779812-8
Super Dragon Ball Heroes 13th Anniversary Super Guide
| Released: | 09 November 2023 |
| Retail: | ¥1,595 |
| Pages: | 112 |
| Publisher: | Shueisha Publishing Co., Ltd. |
Wafer Guides
The “Dragon Ball Super Warriors Seal Wafer” series is comprised of collectible stickers packed in what otherwise appears to be a traditional collectible/trading card packaging. The packs include stickers and a wafer snack, and are notable for showcasing a numerical power rating for the respective characters on each sticker. Thus far, a single guide book has been released covering this sticker series.
ISBN 978-4-08-779789-3
Dragon Ball Super Warriors Seal Wafers Z Super Seal Guide
| Released: | 22 February 2021 |
| Retail: | ¥1,485 |
| Pages: | 128 |
| Publisher: | Shueisha Publishing Co., Ltd. |
Other Game Guides
The “Design Works” books for “Dragon Ball Z: Burst Limit” and “Dragon Ball: Raging Blast 2” were exclusive bonus items for those that pre-ordered the video games or otherwise purchased during the launch window. The books contain character models and artwork from their respecitve games alongside other respective information.
Dragon Ball Z: Burst Limit – Design Works
| Released: | 05 June 2008 |
| Retail: | Not For Sale |
| Publisher: | Bandai Co., Ltd. |
Dragon Ball: Raging Blast 2 – Design Works
| Released: | 11 November 2010 |
| Retail: | Not For Sale |
| Publisher: | Namco Bandai Games Inc. |
Crossover Video Game Guide Books
Beginning back on the Nintendo Famicom in 1989, various Jump franchises have “cross over” with each other in different video games. Some of these are confined to just a few series (like the Dragon Ball + One Piece + Naruto video game Battle Stadium D.O.N.), while others — generally those celebrating some sort of Shueisha or Jump brand anniversary — go for a much larger roster and base of series.
ISBN 4-8342-1080-4
Famicom Jump: Hero Retsuden
| Released: | TBD |
| Retail: | ¥400 |
| Publisher: | Shueisha Publishing Co., Ltd. |
ISBN 4-8342-1141-X
Famicom Jump II: Saikyō no Shichinin
| Released: | TBD |
| Retail: | ¥500 |
| Publisher: | Shueisha Publishing Co., Ltd. |
ISBN 978-4087797718
Jump Force
| Released: | 14 February 2019 |
| Retail: | ¥TBD |
| Publisher: | Shueisha Publishing Co., Ltd. |
More Crossover Game Guides To Be Listed…!
International Game Guides: United States
Listings coming soon…!