Double Dragon V: The Shadow Falls

"You're pretty good for as bad as you are"

You said it Billy. Your bad grammar betrays your cool personality on the flawed Double Dragon toon. When I first heard of this game, I grimaced, rolling my eyes and speaking outloud how much worse can it get, being that there was already a "fighting" game on the form of Neo Geo's Double Dragon movie. That game was a killjoy to play by the way, so I guessed just how bad this game would be, especially since it was made strictly for game consoles for the likes of SNES and Sega Genesis, the latter being the version I am reviewing by the by.

I suspected there would be little difference if I reviewed one version or another, my assumptions taking the best of me. I found out that, as silly as this title was from the beginning, it was surprisingly better than what I had tried otherwise.

Well blow me down, eh?

Gameplay - 7

Incredibly enough, DD5 is fun to play, even with some moves that are obviously rip offs from previous fighting games, and characters that love to be godmodders all the way. It is interesting to note that while the game makes absolutely no sense in terms of continuality, or the fact that has little resemblance to anything you knew about Double Dragon period, this game can be a nice distraction every now and then.

Special moves are a pain to execute, but I found myself ignoring them altogether, being that I can beat the game as easily using "normal" attacks than struggling trying to get a fireball out of Jimmy Lee's tattooed chest. On that note, some of these moves are quite bizarre and creepy, but not as fun as to try to execute them while your opponent takes advantage and busts a few ketchup packets out of your pocket.

Modes include tournament and versus mode, and it also includes an attribute system to disperse various points to each trait you wish your character to excel at. Although it wouldn't matter much, it is a curious addition to the game overall.

Story - 1

There's not much here storywise. Then again, neither was the cartoon the game was modeled after either.

Graphics/Sound - 5

Gurgled sound effects and music compliments of the dissipating Sega Genesis sound chip which was showing its age way too soon in m opinion, but this version did quite well graphics-wise. I did enjoy the design on some characters, making them look so delightfully cartoonish that it seemed a shame (and at the same time, joy) to beat them up with the Lee brothers. The looks of agony on some of them are quite priceless.

Some of the backgrounds are quite interesting and are not as dull as other fighting games that spawned during the 90s. I can't give enough points due to the sound, but most of what I've given here goes for the visual aspect of the game anyway.


Play Time/Replayability - 5

You can play the game if you just ignore the horrid grammar and the gurgled noises on it. It is enjoyable enough to have a few matches, and just as hilarious as it is to smack a skeleton that supposedly, bleeds ketchup.


Final Recommendation - 5

It could go either way this time around. The game, as I stated, has little relation to the entire premise of the Double Dragon mythos, but it is a fun brawler to kill time with. You can ignore the title and any attempt of making this an official par of the series console-wise, focusing instead on playing with the different modes and just having a good time splattering ketchup all over the place.

Reviewer's Score: 5/10, Originally Posted: 12/03/07

Game Release: Double Dragon V: The Shadow Falls (US, 08/01/94)