Double Dragon

"Not a bad punch and kick game, a classic, worth a look"

Double Dragon is THE classic side scrolling action game. It came first and all other games of this type owe something to it. But how good a game is it? A pretty good one. Here's the deal: you are Billy Lee, and a second player, if playing, is brother Jimmy. You make your way through five levels of kick-and-punch action. Nothing complex here: just fight, fight, fight. There are several types of enemies, including several huge musclemen who go by the name Abobo. Weapons can be found and used, including whips, baseball bats, boxes, barrels, knives and dynamite. Your arsenal includes punches, kicks, superkicks, dropkicks, throws, and repeated knees to the head. These moves are learned one at a time through experience. There is no save feature.

Graphics: 7/10

Good for an NES game. Characters are on the small side, but colored good, and each level is completely different than the one before it. A nice touch is when Abobo's eyes grow wide as he charges at you.

Sound: 6/10

Upbeat and average. That music from the first level is forever etched in my head.

Gameplay: 8/10

The game gets very difficult in the last two levels. Control is excellent, and you are nearly always able to pull off a move when you want to execute it. Computer opponents display some degree of intelligence, backing off and then jumping in for a dropkick. It's fun to throw an enemy off a building or down a hole by their hair. It's more fun to do this after kneeing them in the head a couple of times. A nice addition is a one on one fighting game, in which you pick from one of six combatants and fight with a friend to the death. Weapons such as nunchuks and knives are available for use.

Replay: 8/10

A pretty fun game to play over, considering you just pick up and play. As stated above, I think the moves are fun enough that you wouldn't mind playing the game to do them again. Also, it's easy to derive pleasure from wielding a baseball bat with reckless abandon, as few games give you the opportunity to do so.

Overall: 7/10

A classic. Not too deep, nothing complex, but fun, plain and simple. I think this game is worthy of a purchase. It started the Double Dragon series on the right foot, but that's not why it's recommended; it's a good side scrolling fighting game, and those games are very rare (non- existant, actually) today.

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 11/01/99, Updated 11/01/99