Double Dragon

by Tradewest

Product Details

• ASIN: B000E7FTPA
• Media: Video Game
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,203 in Video Games (See Top 100 in Video Games)

Product Description

Double Dragon is the story of Billy and Jimmy Lee, twin brothers who learned to fight on the cold, tough streets of the city. Their expert knowledge of the martial arts combined with their street smarts, has made them both formidable fighting machines. But now Billy is faced with his greatest challenge. Marian has been kidnapped by the Black Warriors, the savage street gang of the mysterious Shadow Boss! Using whatever weapons come to hand - knives, whips, bats, rocks, oil drums, even dynamite - Billy must pursue the gang through the slums, factories, and wooded outskirts of the city to reach the hideout for his final confrontation with the Shadow Boss... his brother Jimmy!

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars YES!!!!!! I FOUND IT, June 17, 2006

By 

morgoth "we lamas are traditional enemies of ... (omaha, NE) - See all my reviews

= Fun:5.0 out of 5 stars 

This review is from: Double Dragon (Video Game)

I had been looking for this game forever. I just got a nintendo like a month ago and hadn't played it in like 10 years at least. Best thing i ever did:) Nintendo was so freakign long ago that I forget if I had ever played this outside of the arcade. WELL I NEVER HAD, the nintendo isn't quite as good as the arcade, but only becasue the game is shorter and has a few less types of enemies. But you will still be able to pick up the bats and the chains and everything. Have fun whoopin some butt in one of the greatest nintendo games ever!

5.0 out of 5 stars Reliving My Childhood, January 16, 2012

By 

Todd J. Dafoe - See all my reviews

= Fun:5.0 out of 5 stars 

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Double Dragon (Video Game)

The original Double Dragon still holds up as one of the best games made for the original NES system. It's still as much fun to play now as it was when I was a kid.

3.0 out of 5 stars 3.5 stars - the arcade port came home to the NES, October 5, 2011

By 

BX Lounger (The Bronx, NY) - See all my reviews

= Fun:3.0 out of 5 stars 

This review is from: Double Dragon (Video Game)

Double Dragon was a mandatory staple in arcades across America back in 1987. Developed by Technos, the goal was to go through 4 stages filled with enemies and reach the main villain, Willy. If you managed to beat it on your own, you'd rescue Marion, the girl who was kidnapped by Willy. If you beat it with another player, the game made you face off against the other player to see who gets the girl. It was a fun game that had good graphics, good music and 2 player co op. What more could anyone ask for back then? How about an NES port of the same game? No one saw that coming. Technos developed it and Tradewest published Double Dragon in 1988 for the NES with some changes in the mix. For the most part, it turned out good.

The NES version had four stages filled with enemies and obstacles. There were weapons you could have picked up to use against the enemies. All of your moves from the arcade version were here but in a twist, you had to earn them by racking up points. Each time you reached a certain point level, the game rewards you with a heart icon, indicating a new move was available to use. You started with 3 hearts and had to earn 5 more. There were no passwords, battery backed saves or the ability to earn extra lives here. If you were to beat the game, you had to do it in one shot and with the three lives given to you. The game did not feature the two player co op mode instead opting for the 2 player alternating mode where players took turns to play the main mode. Ironically, Double Dragon featured a two player VS mode where you and another player chose from a small roster of characters and then fought inside an arena.

The PROS: The four stages in the arcade version were very short. Thankfully, adding new areas in the NES game extended the gaming experience. Bringing a port of an arcade game to the NES meant it wasn't going to look or sound exactly like what you saw in the arcades but Technos did a commendable job. The graphics and music are good and while the sound effects are a little different, they get the job done. The controls were also good and it was easy to pull off the special moves once you earned them. The two player VS mode was a novel idea even though it wasn't as fun as playing through the main mode.

The CONS: There were some changes made to this version that hurt it. The 2 player co op mode was excluded and instead you had to take turns when it came to having two players. Any weapons that you were able to use during the game were taken away from you in certain sections. The new areas that featured obstacles were very tricky to pass through without getting hurt. If you weren't careful, you'd either take damage or get knocked into a pit, losing one of your precious lives. Speaking of lives, you only got three of them and once they were gone, the game's over. It wouldn't be so bad except the game was notoriously HARD. The enemies got stronger in the later stages, the obstacles were hard to avoid as were the times you needed to jump onto moving platforms.

It was memorable to see an arcade game be ported to the NES and the changes it brought divided the opinion among gamers. Some liked the fact that they could play Double Dragon at home while others were bothered by the differences they saw between it and the arcade game it was based. Everyone agreed on one thing: it was a very difficult game to beat and you had to tip your hat to the people who did beat the game. If you are curious as to see how the game looks, check out some YouTube videos. If you want to feel what it's like to play a tough game, you can download it to the Wii from the Virtual Console Service for 500 points (US $5.00.)