Double Dragon

"A classic game with some strange spinoffs."

Double Dragon's popularity was overwhelming in arcades across the nation. It could be played as a fighting game straight forward, or as a street fighter, ala Final Fight. The whole deal, though, is that it was an original idea. Released in the late 1980's, Double Dragon grew to be a hit, launching four sequels (Double Dragon V being a disgrace) and moving on to many systems, including Game Boy and Super Nintendo. In the original fare, Billy Lee is out to get the Shadow gang that has taken his girlfriend, Marian. His true enemy eventually becomes an ally, but that's a different story. And no, it's not the alien-like Abobo! I'll tell you later! So how will be win? Is his name intimitating? What's the point of saving your girlfriend in NYC where you can always find...nevermind. ONTO THE REVIEW!!!


GRAPHICS: Pretty nice. The characters move stiffly, but you know what each enemy looks like and what you look like. Each stage looks like a real city street, or a forest, or a cave, or wherever you are, containing the backgrounds that other early NES games lacked. Billy performs basic moves, like punching and kicking, but it is also in his ability to pull off nifty-looking special moves. The enemys look like real punks, and Abobo is quite weird (he's the shirtless alien-head guy). Some nice weapons are at your disposal. Pulling off a throw move is quite fun, especially watching your foes tumble into a pit! Hahahaha! There is no slowdown whatsoever. Each stage and enemy is creative, although enemies sprites are usually the same guy wearing a different colored shirt and different hair color. (9/10)

STORY: El lame-o! Billy's girlfriend has been kidnapped by the evil Shadow Master for some odd reason, and he takes it within himself to catch them. Why not call NYPD? It would be just as easy. Billy is also on the search for his missing twin, Jimmy. Huh! Wonder how THAT ties in? :P I mean, there could be mroe to it, like if Billy was an ex-member of the Shadow gang and quite when he realizes his actions, and the ex-group gets revenge by kidnapping Marian. Then Billy would have the choice of giving up and joining again or get killed. I mean, that's all I can think of to expand, but there really isn't much you can add on such a plain presence. (5/10)

GAMEPLAY/CONTROL: The game isn't that hard at all, and is really only a challenge if you have one life left or you are surrounded by Abobos. Regular enemies can be killed in a matter of two or so punches. The weapons can be used to wipe all enemies out in two seconds. Linda's Whip can beat the crap out of ANYTHING! Only some enemies present a significant threat. Each stage is pretty straight forward, rannging from walking the streets, to a nature trail, to climbing a building. There is only a minimal amount of stages, so don't be surprised if you go, ''That's it?'' No surprises are really shown either. Extra lives are gained by quite high scores, so I suggest you pull off the special moves that are most likely mentioned in the instruction manual. Pulling off combos also racks up your score. Try finding ways to use your surroundings to defeat your foes. There isn't much else to add, since my gameplay and control section is usually my longest. The controls can be slightly awkward at points, and you might click a button and wonder why your guy just sits there. You also wish you could move a little fastler like the bad guys do, or have an actual chance at living. Try using different button combonations, which most come out being useful attacks, while others are a waste of time. (8/10)

SOUND/MUSIC: The music isn't really all that involved with the game, and tries for an alterantive sound and kind of fails. Some music is decent, like the title screen and first few stages, but none of it really stands out. The sounds are unnoticable and you only here a little ''biff'' sound when you get hit. (7/10)

OTHER STUFF:
-Players: 1-2. Two is only a fighting mode.
-Fun Factor: 8. You'll like it. That's about it.
-Replay Value: 5. You won't find anything new.
-Rent or Buy: Your choice. I'm pretty indifferent about this stuff, aren't I?

Doubel Dragon was a decent premise, but just could have offered a little more. Well, there are your good days and your bad days. Then there's those funny ones. I guess this game falls in that category. Decent, but it needs a little beef.

OVERALL: 8/10

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 03/03/00, Updated 03/03/00