Double Dragon (1988)

Preliminary: Some of the angling/depth mechanics are poorer than I expected (I've always known the NES version of this, but never the arcade version, so I expected more from it... seemed the NES version was quite comparable), like I know I was angled in the right row to hit an enemy but I guess I had to be a couple pixels illogically farther up to properly hit. But I was getting used to it. And regardless, I was having fun. This was a game I always enjoyed. I loved the Whip weapon, loved the woman bad guys being tough, and loved playing with my brothers. I hope the fun sticks despite the slight clunkiness in the controls, the depth mechanic being a bit off, no jump kick it seems? :(, and potentially repetitive gameplay based on these first couple minibosses/er, giants.

Look: 7/10 I have a lot of nostalgia for the NES version's look, not so much for this one. Still, this is the foundation for the NES one. Plus I like this background ha.

And the overall idea of a gritty urban landscape (tho eventually out in the country?) (oh apparently I'm going to the enemy's secret base out there, and the base/cave is cool inside)

Sound: 6/10 Surprisingly mediocre, tho I did like the Stage 3 jingle. Most of the jingles were... odd tho.

Play: 7/10 Overall, quite disappointed with the clunkiness and poor depth mechanic and hitboxes for being an 1987 arcade game. I wish there were a way to crouch. However, I know how fun this can be with 2 players cooping, cool idea with that. Plus, it really started the true brawler genre after all. The death mechanic is very forgiving, as long as you have coins that is ha. I was wondering if I wanted to keep pushing through, but I read that there are only four stages, and I am already partway through Stage 3 so here goes nothing. I am now on "Invading the Enemy's Base" but have to end for the night. The gameplay feels quite repetitive and clunky, having to use the same basic tactics on the enemies, just more of the large ones and more of them on the screen. But it was still keeping its momentum for the most part.

Feel: 8/10 My nostalgia for the NES game at my grandma's of course boosts this Feel. For the most part, I was disappointed. But it's still a fun brawler, and I bet with a second player it'd be a super fun brawler! The mechanics and controls could be better, but so it goes. Certainly better than most the proto-brawlers' mechanics!

Attachment: 7/10 Sheeeeesh the enemies at the enemy base take foreverrrr to kill. And the clunkiness, like defaulting to the left direction, is really taking its toll. Might be time to drop this, even tho I'm so close to the end. Yeahhhh, I dunno. Maybe it's something about the enemies crouching but me not having that option. Maybe it's just getting tired of it heh. This definitely would be better 2-player, but as it is, wound up passable. The nostalgia helps boost the overall score, but it turned out disappointing.

Completion: A bit after "Invade the enemy's base" Playtime: 30 mins

Double Dragon is one of those games that gets a lot of praise and credit, and frankly I'm not sure how much of it is warranted. Is it a fun game? Yes. Is it a good time? Sure, especially when you play with a friend. However, even the arcade game is known for it's horrible glitchy slowdown when too many things are on the screen. So how do you translate that to an NES game? Well, about that...

Double Dragon was one of the most anticipated arcade to home console ports in a long time. If you were around during the Street Fighter II/NBA Jam/Mortal Kombat days, Double Dragon's hype was at a similar level.

One of the things many developers did with NES versions of arcade games was to change elements to make them fit the nature of a home console better. Home consoles are not meant to take your quarters. Tecmo, for example, changed Ninja Gaiden, Tecmo Bowl and Rygar drastically for the NES. Konami made some changes to games like Contra, Gradius and Life Force. Capcom added things to games like Commando, Trojan, Section Z and Bionic Commando to make them fit the NES platform better. Technos did the same with Double Dragon on the console, to mixed results.

Gone is the "double" in Double Dragon. One of the biggest selling points in the game, brawling with a buddy, is gone. Sure, there is a one-on-one fighting mode that you can play with a friend, but this is weak and doesn't make up for taking out the option for two player co-op. Instead, Billy Lee fights against his brother Jimmy Lee, who has kidnapped Marian with his gang the black warriors.

Limitations are masked the best that they can, but they are noticeable. To make up for the lack of a co-op mode, players gain hearts with experience to unlock new moves. These include a drop kick, hair pull, elbow punch and spin kick. This does add some level of variety and challenge to the affair. Other limitations include the fact that only two enemies appear on screen at the same time, and they are always the same type of enemy.

The game does the best it can to follow the arcade scenarios, but adds some platforming, which is beyond frustrating. Super Mario Double Dragon ain't when it comes to platforming.

The game is short, but challenging, with no continues. Mission 4 can get quite cheap with a moving wall that is almost impossible to avoid. Many times, after you get by it multiple times, you then have to face a bunch of people with very little energy. And that's just the first HALF of the level.

Again, NES Double Dragon is fun, but the flaws really stand out. Double Dragon II is the far superior NES game to play, and the one I'd recommend for the console.

Doesn't hold up the way so many classic NES games do. In terms of tactics and techniques learned and utilized as one advances through the levels, it's one of the least strategic games ever. All you do is mash the kick button from beginning to end. Or, if an Adobo's coming for you, execute a mindlessly repetitive series of jump kicks. Some of the platform jumping in the latter missions gets a bit tricky, but it's hardly what you'd call scintillating level design. Like so many other things, it's mostly just needlessly frustrating, depending not on skill but luck and perseverance--and how infuriating is it that you always fall in slow motion, and that you can never quite make it to the very end of the platform without plummeting off prematurely?

Nonetheless, I suppose Double Dragon is historically significant. It's the beginning of a memorable series: Double Dragon II is inarguably a classic. So's River City Ransom, also made by Technōs. Just don't make the same mistake I did, thinking this game is more than a primitive framework for its later successors. It doesn't even have a two-player co-op mode.