Double Dragon
01 Aug 1987
All releases
01 Aug 1987 - Arcade
09 May 2007 - Xbox 360
Tags
The player character has a repertoire of martial art techniques which they can perform by using the joystick and three action buttons (kick, jump, and punch) individually or in combination. Techniques range from basic punches and kicks, to more elaborate manoeuvres like hair grabbing moves and elbow strikes. When playing with another player, one can assist the other by grabbing their partner's opponent from behind. Caution should be taken, though, as some enemies are able to do the same thing to the players. The player begins the game with a certain number of extra lives and a life gauge which depletes as the player takes hits. If the life gauge runs out or the time limit reaches zero, the player will lose a life. There is a small variety of enemy characters that the player will face through the course of the game. Certain enemies carry melee weapons, which can be knocked out of their hands and picked up to use against them. Available weapons include baseball bats, whips, throwing knives, and dynamite; in addition, rocks, oil drums, and boxes can be found in certain places. The game is divided into four different stages or "missions," which consist of a city slum, a factory, the woods, and the gang's hideout. The game normally ends if a single player defeats the final boss alone. However, if two players manage to complete the game together, they are then forced to fight each other in order to determine who will win Marian's affections.
The player takes control of martial artist Billy Lee, or his twin brother Jimmy (also known as Hammer and Spike in the supplementary materials for the American arcade release), as they fight their way into the turf of the Black Warriors gang in order to rescue their common love interest Marian.
| Audio | Subtitles | Interface | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Japanese | ✓ | ||
| English | ✓ |
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Nes (zerado)
2h09min
01/10/21
So I had one more hour to kill, so I decided to play this, and well it seems to be not as fun as I had with The Punisher arcade game. This was also tough, but not in a fair way like The Punisher way, it was more in a enemy can easily stun lock you way and drain your entire credit way.
From what I have read online, the common consensus seems to be that this is one of the cases where the NES version was better than the arcade version, so if you can only play one, go with that.
And I know I am unfairly comparing the 8bit double dragon arcade game with the 16 bit punisher arcade game, but the fact is, I have played the NES version before a little and it didn't feel this stiff or stun locky.
I won't deny that this game, and perhaps the arcade version of the game itself, has a great legacy upon gaming itself but still, playing this was more tedium than fun, even with/without the infinite credits that an emulator provides.
Maybe this is the case of it being fresh when it first arrived but haven't aged well kind of thing, or maybe it only became such a classic because of the NES port, but the fact is, even though this was only 20 minutes long, it was the most tedious and boring 20 minutes of my life.
There were few good ideas in terms of presentation here, mainly the final level or mission 4, which introduces a little platforming and the background there are alright looking when compared to the bland backgrounds of the rest of the game, but (and I know i am using a lot of buts) overall, it didn't manage to make me impressed with either its presentation (outside of the, as stated, few background elements in mission 4 and the title screen where the art is actually awesome) or its gameplay. Btw, the frame rate was also bloody horrible, and from reviews I have seen, it was also the case with the original arcade machine.
Worst part, the damsel in distress here is not even that good looking. Like I know not to judge a person by their looks, but there was zero story here outside of "girl gets kidnapped, go save her" like most arcade game, so it is not like i can gauge what kind of person she is to feel anything for her.
And in terms of looks, well I would swipe left unfortunately, as unlike Prince of Persia, where the women were hot enough to go through all that pain for, here, she is not worth it outside of showing common decency of saving a fellow human being in peril. If I was in place of the main character when she kissed you for saving her, I would've said, "no thanks ma'am, you are not my type. I only saved you because I am a hero of justice, and have no interest in any rewards, outside of monetary rewards, that you have to provide me. I am sorry, I know you are probably a wonderful human being, but I am just not into you. For me you are no different than the old men and cats stuck on a tree that I save daily. I am sorry, I am pretty sure there is someone wonderful out there for you, but that wonderful is not me."
Anyway, stick to the NES version if you "supposedly" wish to play a good game. Only play the arcade version if you are, like me, interested in gaming history and giving everything a fair chance.
Who knows? Maybe you'll like what I couldn't. And that is alright. I hope you have a wonderful time with this.