What is Double Dragon? A brief history, how to play it and more

Daburu Doragon aka Double Dragon is a video game of the beat-em-up genre that was made the infamous video game publisher Technos Japan and was sold in Europe and in the US by Taito. If the beat ’em up genre is your thing then this game is likely a good fit for you. This is one of the rare games that we run into that actually has a rich history (for instance, did you know that it was a follow-up to the game Nekketsu Koha Kunio-Kun. It included many of the same things as Renegade (as the predecessor was called upon its American release) but it added a bit of a flair that was simply not found in the previous game. Of these new features, the most important is that it allowed for players to work together (cooperative gameplay) and the ability for players to take enemy weapons to use for themselves after they disarm them.

Video of Double Dragon gameplay

Download a Double Dragon ROM here

Gameplay

There are several different versions available for play but in this article, we’re going to go over the gameplay of the Arcade Version.

Arcade

In this game players are able to play as either Jimmy (Spike) or Billy Lee (Hammer), the Double Dragons in their quest to take back Billy’s significant other Marian. Each character has their own barrage of special fighting techniques that can be performed by pressing on either one of the action buttons or moving the joystick around (individually or in sequence). There are a variety of sequences that he buttons can be pressed in – each of which will lead to a different attack or combo being thrown. For instance, players can utilize movements from kicks and regular punches al the way to elbow blows and throws. If you’re playing using cooperative gameplay you can basically jump an enemy and have one player grab the enemy from behind while you attack without any distraction. However, the same thing can happen to you if you aren’t careful (enemies have the very same ability). Every game begins with the same number of lives as well as a set amount of life in the life gauge but that very same life can (and will) be depleted as the player takes on hits. If you just so happen to reach zero on the life gauge you will lose a life – the same goes if you let the timer reach zero, fall off the screen, fall into a bed of spikes, river, or a hole. Yeah, there are a few ways to die.

There are a number of different enemies who you’ll encounter in the game.  For the most part, these enemies will carry Melee type weapons that you can knock out of their hands and use to fight them with. These weapons are: throwing knives, bats, dynamite, and whips.

These enemies are:

Enemies

Rowper: Is a member on the lower end of the gang spectrum who uses bats, dynamite, and knives (much like william) but also manages to use oil drums, boxes, and rocks to attack his you.

Abobo: A gang member who wears no shirts and throws items at you.

Jick: Looks very much like Abobo other than his beard, mohawk, and use of sunglasses.

Willy: Leads the gang and carries an undroppable machine gun that kills you as soon as it’s bullets connect.

Jeff:  Head swap of the brothers and leads the second stage

Linda: Carries a whip only and is the only female gang member.

There are 4 distinct missions in the game: the city slum, forest, gang’s hideout, and a factory. If any player defeats the final boss the game ends. But, if both players manage to make it to the boss those 2 players are then forced to fight one another to see who will win Marion, the love interest.

Other versions:

  • Famicon/NES
  • Game Boy
  • Home Computer

To play the game online you can go here

Fun Facts about Double Dragon

  • It’s the king/queen of DLC
  • They had a cartoon for kids (it wasn’t the best)
  • A misspelling of the characters name in the 3rd rendition led to players being created who go by the names Bimmy and Jammy

Conclusion

And there you have it all you need to know about Double Dragon. If you have any other information that you feel may be helpful feel free to add it to the comments or email us and we’ll make sure to get it added.

This information was taken from Wikipedia