DOUBLE DRAGON
Original Release: Technos, 1987, Arcade
Other Releases: Assorted computers (1988), Atari 2600/Master System (1988), Atari 7800/ST (1989), NES/Game Boy/MSX (1990), Sega Genesis/Atari Lynx (1993), Game Boy Advance (2003), Wii (2008), 3DS (2011), PS4/Xbox (2014), PC (2015), Switch (2018)
Not the first beat-em-up, but arguably the most important of the early crop and the one that set the direction for years to come
Double Dragon (Arcade, Technos, 1987)
Where to Buy: eBay
How to Emulate: Arcade Emulation Guide
Review by: C. M0use
Though it followed Kung Fu Master, Renegade and arguably several other titles as the first real "beat em up," Double Dragon set the long-term template for the genre and is usually the one people think of as the foundational title. Vaguely apocalyptic city setting, rescuing kidnapped girls, two-player co-op, the addition of weapons, and so on, all that started here.
It's still a little fun (after over 35 years now), mostly due to the range of moves available to you and the enemy scripting being a little sophisticated; one will try to bait you by being just outside your current strike range while another comes up from behind, and they also seem to understand the game's attack priority system.
But other than that, it really hasn't aged all that well. It has a serious problem with gameplay speed changes based on the number of sprites or weapons currently on the screen; it's zippy with up to two, beyond that it starts slowing down considerably, then will suddenly snap back when some enemies are defeated. It's also only composed of four levels that really aren't very long, so there is the occasional blatant quarter-sucking bit (most notoriously the Wall o' Unpredictable Blocks at the beginning of the final level).
Double Dragon (Atari 2600, Activision, 1988)
Where to Buy: eBay
How to Emulate: coming soon!
Review by: C. M0use
I feel so bad for the poor kids who saved up their pennies or begged their parents for this as a present, only to find it to be absolutely nothing like the arcade or NES games and basically in contention for being the worst arcade game port ever.
Inexplicably, this port was released in 1988 ... three years after the arcade game, over a year after the NES port, and about four years after everyone stopped caring about the Atari 2600. The only thing to identify it as a Double Dragon game, however, is the painful attempt by the 2600 sound chip to honk its way through the arcade title theme at the start of every game, and the first 10 seconds or so of the first level music from the arcade repeated over and over and over during the gameplay.
And, oh lawd, the gameplay. Billy and Jimmy look like South Park kids in beanies on their way to school, and their enemies seem to be generic pedophiles or something. There only seems to be one button that does anything, making you flail out with a weak punch, and occasionally mixing a random kick in. The enemies get to do those things too, but they also get to do some flying charge that I guess is supposed to be a jump kick, and that is basically indefensible.
The first two enemies you encounter are like the last bosses of the game, for all effective purposes. I'm guessing if you somehow get by them, more of the same pop out. No worries, though, as you'll be dead in record time. I mean, considering the limitations of the 2600, this was actually probably something of a programming achievement that someone had to work hard on ... but WHY? They had to know all this was gonna do was make children sad.
Videos
Double Dragon (NES, Technos, 1987)
Where to Buy: Amazon
How to Emulate: coming soon!
Review by: C. M0use
The NES port of Double Dragon obviously had no hope of competing with the original release graphically, but Technos instead took the wise approach of varying the game somewhat and making it more smooth and fun to play. You get less appealing visuals, but you can definitely argue that this is the better overall game. It has some glitches and things that don't work out all that well, but on the whole I'd agree with that assessment.
Graphics aside, the one really big loss is cooperative two player mode in the regular game, but that was partially made up for by the crazy two player brawl mode where you can play as some of the enemies like Roper and Linda. It's a shame you can't mix and match them (always has to be Abobo vs Abobo or whatever), but even so it was still pretty fun, kind of an early version of River City Ransom's fight engine where you could dash and stuff. It was a step up from Urban Champion at least. I also enjoyed how they played the morbid death music no matter who won the match. There are no winners in gang fights kids.
There's also a "move upgrade" system that didn't exactly work all that well, as you tend to just get the new moves around the same time in every game anyway, and the game also doesn't tell you what moves you get with each level so you pretty much needed the manual for that aspect. It didn't really impact the game much, though, since the basic kick + picking up weapons here and there would get you through most of the game anyway. This version was definitely easier than the arcade, but still something of a challenge as the enemies from Level 3 onward take a ton of life off when they hit you and you only have 3 players to get through the whole game.
This port also has numerous classic hilarious glitches such as walking up that one random wall at the beginning in order to get the Golf Club of Ultimate Devastation, and tricking the first boss Abobo into owning himself by falling off the conveyor belt into the pit. The NES port provides laughs aplenty, but it's also one of the better beat-em-up experiences on the console from a gameplay perspective.
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Videos
Double Dragon Reloaded (PC, Magggas, 2017)
Where to Buy: Freeware, download at Itch.io
Review by: C. M0use
This high-effort fan remake focuses on fidelity to the look and feel of the first two arcade games, but with a slew of improvements that integrate smoothly without changing the experience too much. Well, other than the part where you can randomly play as WWF Superstars characters, but since that was a Technos joint from the same time period it integrates surprisingly smoothly too.
The game was first released in 2017 and has been through several major overhauls since then, but the most recent version basically gives you the engine and look of arcade Double Dragon 1 with the enemy selection, expanded moves and level design of the Double Dragon Advance remake for the GBA. It has two-player co-op and a roster of about 20 or so playables: most of the enemies from the original game, a couple oddballs like Marian and Kunio, and a handful of the wrestlers from the WWF Superstars roster (who do fun slam moves as their grab attacks).
There are also some little tune-ups and tweaks. For example, the notorious slowdown of the original arcade game is entirely gone. Enemies are also a little faster and more aggressive about dodging your attacks and staying out of range, though I'd say it's debatable if it's actually more challenging overall given your expanded roster of moves and the new ease of doing stuff like the spin kick. And I'm not sure if this was in DD Advance but you can pick up and use the To-jo whompin' sticks the Chin and Chen enemies carry.
Aside from playing through the revamped DD1 (with either original or arranged soundtrack, the latter having tracks from the two official Technos cover albums for the first two games), there is also now a revamped version of Double Dragon 2 that has you chase Andre the Giant after he trashes your Harley. Also a Battle Royale mode that gradually tosses all the wrestlers together at once into the squared circle (imagine trying THAT with the original board!).
I'd dare say this is the superior way to play the original game if you get the itch, unless you're an absolute stickler for the authentic original experience. It does an excellent job staying within the boundaries of the original while making little improvements and additions that are fun, gives you a bunch of well-done new modes of play, and is technically still being worked on six years later (the last update, 5.1.1, was released in April of this year).
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