Double Dragon is a beat them up action arcade video game developed by Technōs Japan and distributed in the USA and Europe by Taito in 1987. The game was published for the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) in North America by Tradewest in 1988.
Double Dragon was one of the few NES games that I really enjoyed playing during the late 1980s. I always find myself trying to play this game back after a few years.
The Story
Billy Lee's hot girlfriend, Marian, has been kidnapped by the savage street gang of the mysterious Shadow Boss! Using whatever weapons come to hand, Billy Lee must pursue the gang through the city and wooded outskirts of the city to reach the hideout for his final showdown with the Shadow Boss.
The Graphics and Sound
The graphics are good for a NES game. The characters are a bit small, but have good colors. And each level is featured differently. The fighting animation is done well with each technique being shown nicely.
The game's music got the classic Double Dragon theme song which is upbeat and above average. The first level's music is unforgettable and the sound effects are decent.
The Gameplay
Our hero, Billy Lee, has 11 martial arts techniques. However, the techniques are not available when you start the game, except for punches, straight kicks, and head butts. You gotta earn them by collecting your 7 hearts. So you have to build up your heart points.
Each time you build up 1000 heart points, you get a heart. It is important that you not only try to earn all of the techniques early, but you must learn how to use them because it is kinda fun that way.
Later areas have some falling hazards, so when you go through those areas, be careful!. The controls are not too great but they are decent
The game is short with only some 4 levels, but they are quite challenging enough, especially with the game giving you no continues or some password feature. Unfortunately, the levels got no secrets, so there is no replay value once you have beaten the game.
There's a two-player fighting mode where you and the 2nd player can fight each other with the characters in the game.
My Verdict
Double Dragon is a classic NES game. It is not too deep and not complex. It is fun and simple. I think it is a good side-scrolling action fighting game, and those games are quite rarely made today.
Get this gaming gem on the NES or play it on emulators.