Doraemon (1986 video game)

Doraemon
Front cover of Doraemon package
DeveloperHudson Soft
PublisherHudson Soft
DirectorKatsuhiro Nozawa[1]
ProducerYukio Osato[1]
ProgrammerKatsuhiro Nozawa
WritersKatsuhiro Nozawa[1]
Takahashi Meijin[1]
ComposerJun Chikuma[1]
PlatformFamily Computer
ReleaseDecember 12, 1986
GenresAction-adventure
Shoot 'em up
ModeSingle-player

Doraemon (ドラえもん, lit. "Doraemon") is a 1986 video game developed and published by Hudson Soft for the Family Computer exclusively in Japan. It is based on Fujiko F. Fujio's (the pen name of Hiroshi Fujimoto) Japanese manga series of the same name, which later became an anime series and Asian franchise. It was the tenth best selling Famicom game released in 1986, selling approximately 1,150,000 copies in its lifetime.[2] It is the third game created for the Doraemon license after the versions created for the Arcadia 2001 and the Epoch Cassette Vision. Even though the game is playable without any knowledge of Japanese, separate English translation patches by Neokid and Sky Yoshi were released in 2001 and 2016 respectively.

The game will be re-released by Hamster for the Nintendo Switch 2 and PlayStation 5 as part of the Console Archives on July 30, 2026.[3] This re-release marks the game's debut outside Japan. As with other Hudson Soft games, it has been licensed by Konami.[4]

Gameplay

In this game, Doraemon must travel through three different chapters to save Nobita and his friends, who have all been kidnapped. Each world is actually a different game with its own style of genre and gameplay system, and was designed by a different lead designer. The first chapter is an action game that takes place in a pioneer that scrolls continuously in four directions. The second chapter is a shooter game that scrolls through the evil den automatically in both horizontal and vertical directions. The third chapter is an aquatic adventure game where each screen scrolls over to the next. Each world must be completed by defeating a boss at the end. Then the player will advance to the next chapter until all three bosses have been vanquished. Power-ups can be obtained in each chapter to increase Doraemon's strength and health meter. One power-up from the next chapter can be found in the first two chapters to give you an advantage when you finally arrive there.

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Closing credits of the Doraemon game
  2. ^ "Japan Platinum Game Chart". The Magic Box. Retrieved 2009-03-13.
  3. ^ "8bitゲーム ドラえもん&完全攻略ブック 40周年メモリアルBOX". Shogakukan (in Japanese). 2026-02-06. Retrieved 2026-02-06.
  4. ^ "ファミコン『ドラえもん』も! コンソールアーカイブス始動。第1弾としてFC『忍者龍剣伝2』とPS『クールボーダーズ』が2月6日より順次発売【Nintendo Direct】". Famitsu (in Japanese). February 5, 2026.