What platforms is DJ Boy on?

DJ Boy was released on Arcade, Sega Mega Drive/Genesis.

When did DJ Boy release?

DJ Boy was first released on December 31, 1989.

DJ Boy

Dec 31, 1989FightingHack and slash/Beat 'em upArcadeSega Mega Drive/Genesis

DJ Boy — frequently asked questions

What platforms is DJ Boy on?: DJ Boy was released on Arcade, Sega Mega Drive/Genesis.
When did DJ Boy release?: DJ Boy was first released on December 31, 1989.

About DJ Boy

DJ Boy, also known as DJ Kid, was designed as a standard side-scrolling beat'em up game partially based on the hip-hop culture of the U.S. cities. What made the game unique at the time was the fact that many of the characters rode around on roller skates rather than walking or running. DJ Boy skates across various stages and utilizes hand-to-hand combat moves in order to defeat opponents, culminating with a battle with a boss at the end of each level. Along the path, the player also encounters prizes, which then can be used later to purchase Power-ups from a store located at the end of each level (in the home version, the arcade simply tallied these as points). In the console versions of the game, as another game, River City Ransom, the "prizes" consist of coins that are dropped by defeated enemies, or food items like burgers that restore health.

Summary via IGDB.

Game details

Developer: Kaneko
Publisher: Kaneko
Game modes: Single player
Themes: Action, Comedy

Details via IGDB.

Every version compared

Prices, contemporary reception and the studio credited for each release

Platform	Year	Loose	Complete	Sealed	Period reviews	Fake risk
Sega Genesis	1990	$11	$35	—	4 reviews	Low

Also released on: Arcade · Sega Mega Drive/Genesis. We haven’t priced or authenticated those versions yet.

Collector value & authenticity

Sega Genesis · PriceCharting sold data · Verified 2026-10-29

Loose

$11

Complete

$35

Sealed

—

Other releases and variants

Release	Loose	Complete	Sealed
European (PAL) release	$19	$45	—
Japanese release	$11	$40	—

How often it sells

Loose: about once a month
Complete: about once a week
Sealed: about once a year

Sales frequency from PriceCharting's completed-sale records, as of 2026-10-29.

Price over time

Loose
Complete

A loose copy sold for about $2.49 in Apr 2008, $11.50 five years ago, and $11.22 as of Oct 2026.

Show as table

Month	Loose	Complete
Jan 2009	$2.94	—
Jan 2010	$3.21	—
Jan 2011	$2.79	—
Jan 2012	$2.75	—
Jan 2013	$3.50	—
Jan 2014	$4.77	$10.00
Jan 2015	$5.78	$8.39
Jan 2016	$6.99	$13.75
Jan 2017	$9.50	$18.49
Jan 2018	$10.33	$26
Jan 2019	$7.23	$24
Jan 2020	$9.70	$22
Jan 2021	$10.23	$23
Jan 2022	$11.83	$36
Jan 2023	$13.64	$34
Jan 2024	$9.99	$18.99
Jan 2025	$10.39	$27
Jan 2026	$9.95	$36
Oct 2026	$11.22	$35

Monthly price estimates from PriceCharting's completed-sale records, sampled quarterly, through Oct 2026.

Release record

Territory	Date	Product number	Barcode	Known board
North America	1990	33016	021996000010	171-5703 · MPR-13313-SY
Europe / PAL	May 1992	1139-50	—	171-5703 · MPR-14560-F
Japan	19 May 1990	G-4032	—	171-5703 · MPR-13117-H

Source: Product numbers: MAME's Mega Drive software list and the No-Intro serial records in the libretro database, published where both agree on the same cartridge dump, or from the libretro records alone where MAME lists no number for that dump. Board and ROM numbers: MAME's software list

Region: NA+EU+JP
Released: 1990
Authenticity: Low

Modern re-releases, such as Sega Ages, the Genesis Mini and Nintendo Switch Online, are not tracked hereLow counterfeit risk

Sega Genesis prices, all games & how to spot a fake

A roller-skating brawler that British magazines found simple, and a cheap cart in North America.

Kaneko's DJ Boy came to the Genesis from the arcade, a beat-'em-up in which the heroes fight on roller skates. The Genesis cartridge reached Japan on 19 May 1990, North America in 1990 and Europe in May 1992.

Reception was mixed. Sega Pro reviewed the import and found plenty of originality but called it simple and too easy, and Mega later placed it fourth in its list of the ten worst Mega Drive games.

What the press said at the time

Computer + Video Games Issue 104	June 1990	Graphics 91, Playability 93, Overall 90%
The Games Machine Issue 33	August 1990	67%
Mean Machines Sega Issue 3	December 1992	78%
MegaTech Issue 17	May 1993	51%

“It’s a fairly difficult game, not that much easier than the coin op in fact. … DJ Boy is not a game you'll tire of easily.”
— Computer + Video Games, June 1990

“Dodge, kick, punch, collect, game over. yawn. You have four units of energy but only one life and no continue plays so itll be a long time before you get past the first major adversary”
— The Games Machine, August 1990

“D.J. Boy is Kaneko’s first title for the Genesis, and it’s a winner.”
— GamePro, February 1991

“DJ Boy is a beat ‘em up on wheels, and while it’s great fun to play, but suffers from one flaw - it’s too darn easy.”
— MegaTech, March 1992

How the Sega Genesis version differs

In the home version, prizes can be spent on power-ups at a store at the end of each level, where the arcade game simply counted them as points.

Also on other platforms

Arcade

Kaneko

Arcade. The arcade game has a different story, following two rollerskaters named Bob and Tom whose boombox is stolen.
Arcade. Game Machine ranked the arcade game seventh among table arcade units in Japan in October 1989.

Before you buy

Among US carts this sits below the median. The European cart usually costs noticeably more than the US one, while the Japanese Mega Drive cart usually costs about the same loose and a little more complete, and has a different cartridge shape. A complete US copy means the case, cartridge and manual.