Double Dragon

"This somewhat faithful port of the original Double Dragon arcade game would have been more acceptable if released a few years earlier."

Ah, Double Dragon - the pinnacle of the 80's beat 'em up scene, especially on the home console. So while the 8-bit system releases on the NES/Famicom and Master System/Mark III were nice - I was hoping to eventually re-live the arcade experience on something that could better deliver it - like the Sega Genesis/Megadrive. When that opportunity rolled around (years later), the result was not exactly what I had hoped for. Read on to understand exactly why..

Graphics 7/10

The visuals were rather accurate to the arcade version, although a bit of the graphics have been scaled down and the background environments are missing some objects. I'd also like to mention I didn't notice any flickering sprites while playing, which often plagued the earlier home versions of this game (especially on the NES). Unfortunately, the animation was only average and the graphical quality wasn't on par with other 1993 beat 'em ups on the Genesis/Megadrive. I suspect the reasoning behind these faults was due to the game being created for the earlier and less powerful cart types.

Sound 6/10

One of the weaker areas of the game - the sound alternated between sounding thick and heavy to high-pitched and grating. Some areas of music presented better than others - the start of stages 1 and 3 were great, but the boss theme was so tinny. The battle noise was average at best, featuring simple bleeps and blurts rather than actual death cries that the genre usually showcased by that period of time. Again, I think the weak type of cart Double Dragon was programmed into was to blame for this for the most part.

Control 7/10

Yeah, I remember the original arcade version enough to recall that it was very easy for an enemy to break through a combo you were performing and jab you a few times. However, it seems much more of a problem here - with nearly every other attacking having a second or so pause that basically welcomes an opponent to pound you. Trying to retreat a bit and then immediate attack doesn't result in you landing blows every often - and the enemies get very cheap a few stages in. Surprisingly, there isn't any lag like in the arcade when the number of baddies exceeds 3 or more at once. You can mess around with the button placement scheme in the options menu, but it doesn't help the fluidity of the game much. Double Dragon is still playable - especially with a second Lee brother helping it, but man can it get frustrating.

Game-play 6/10

I hate scoring a Double Dragon game low - especially a port of the original hit - but it feels so old when compared to other 1993 beat 'em ups. While the head-butts, face-kneeing, throws, and other trademark moves are still fun to use - they feel rather stiff when compared to what move-lists modern brawlers (at the time) offered. The fights can sometimes drag on, the game isn't very long, and there are several annoying bugs that can slow things down every more. While playing this game to refreshen my memory for the review - Abobo got caught on one side of the bridge and I had to walk back a ways to defeat his fixated body. Although a staple of the series - I get angry at myself and the game when I'm trying to shake of an enemy pincher-attack and accidentally press down and fall off a ledge. A lot of these kinks would have been more common-fare in the 80's (which is where Double Dragon originated), and having this ported created roughly 5 years into the Genesis lifeline brings about a dated feel to its mechanics.

Replay value 3/10

There is two player co-op to ease the cheap enemies away and bring about more excitement to the combat. Playing alone or with a friend greatly changes how the game feels - though it is usually better having someone to back you up. However - the versus mode included in the earlier NES port of Double Dragon was not re-created, which could have increased the reasonings to stick this cartridge back into your Sega console.

Overall 6/10

If Double Dragon had been released alongside Altered Beast or Golden Axe - I would have felt it deserved something like an 8/10 rating. Instead, it was pushed back to 1993 where the classic Streets of Rage 2 was already the unfaltering icon for beat 'em ups. While spending the $4 or so it costs to get this at a flea market wouldn't be a waste of money - serious Double Dragon fans would be better off buying the remake released a few years ago on the GBA.

Reviewer's Score: 6/10, Originally Posted: 08/13/07