Dragon Ball has been around for quite some time, so it stands to reason that there would be some pretty weird video games alongside that long history, and that's not even including the fan made ones. One such game was a Japanese mobile racing game aptly named Dragon Ball Racing, which was essentially a Mario Kart-style go-kart racer released in 2009 that allowed you to choose from a variety of characters, including Goku, Bulma, Vegeta, and more.
Unfortunately, this racing game never made it to the West and eventually fell into obscurity, becoming a lost medium and in danger of never seeing the light of day again. Thankfully, video game saviors have stepped in again, as a BlueSky user named RockmanCosmo not only managed to archive the game, but it's currently playable as well.
Dragon Ball fans have saved and archived the Mario Kart style racing game
Dragon Ball Racing (trial version) and Naruto Keitai Ninjutsu Taisen have been preserved by 2Souls! Both were released exclusively for i-mode keitai. Our copy of #DragonBall Racing is a trial version, so it only has Goku and one map. Check out my answer on playing the #Naruto i-mode fighting game. — RockmanCosmo (@rockmancosmo.bsky.social) 2025-06-17T22:58:30.568Z
If you want to play the game and experience a very special piece of Dragon Ball history for yourself, you can find a playable version of the title at the Keitai Archive (thanks to GamesRadar), a site dedicated to preserving titles that were released on pre-Android phones in Japan. Dragon Ball Racing is one such title, and if you can outrun all the Japanese and get into the race, it's actually a pretty fun way to kill ten or fifteen minutes.
Unfortunately, this whole thing has one downside. This version of Dragon Ball Racing that has been archived is just a trial version of the game, which is extremely limited compared to the full version. For example, you can only play as Goku and you can only race on one track, which is based on Kame House from the manga and anime.
Still, the world is definitely a better place now that we have Goku racing karts, and if Bandai Namco knows what's good for him, I expect this mysterious Dragon Ball game announcement next January to be a full-on remake.
