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. 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. This re-release marks the game’s debut outside Japan. As with other Hudson Soft games, it has been licensed by Konami.
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
External links
- Neokid’s translation patch at RomHacking
- Sky Yoshi’s translation patch at RomHacking
Gamer24h Editor's Take
Put under the Gamer24h team's microscope, Doraemon raises the bar considerably with both its storytelling and technical polish. Thanks to Hudson Soft's meticulous craftsmanship and Hudson Soft's strong presentation, the high production quality is evident in every moment of the game. Masterfully blending Action-adventure, Shoot 'em up mechanics with modern standards, the game's fluid gameplay makes hours fly by unnoticed. All in all, the Gamer24h team stands firmly behind our rating. This is a unique journey you won't want to miss.