Double Dragon |
NES |
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Review by Matt Paprocki |
Tradewest |
Beat-em-up |
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Graphics: 9 |
Sound: 9 |
Gameplay: 8 |
Overall: 8 |
![]() In order to explain the absence of Jimmy Lee, Tradewest has shifted him over to the over side, joining him with the Shadow Warriors. Player's head forward towards their goal taking out the various thugs, earning experience which turns into a larger move set. Yes, experience. It's probably one of the more debated aspects of the game and an odd design choice. If you play right, you can easily earn all you need with the very first opponent, so it's not exactly difficult to get what you need. Plus, in the end, you'll have far more moves than you did in the arcade. The plusses seem to far outweigh the negatives.
Aside from that annoyance, the other issues are those relentless cheap shots from opponents. Even when dishing out a combo, Williams and the others manage to get a shot or two in before it's all finished. It slowly drains the life meter and dying is never fun, regardless of how generous the game is when sending players back. No continues mean you'll probably have to play through a few times. While the sprites offer up a surprising amount of detail, the backgrounds really steal the show. All of the small touches from the arcade are present, and those late additions specific to this version are simply spectacular. Billy and his foes are decently animated and feature a wide palette of colors, which keeps things from seeming too repetitive.
Beat-em-ups would come and go on the NES. "River City Ransom" is generally regarded as stealing the crown on the system and there's a strong case for "Mighty Final Fight," but you always come back to "Double Dragon." That says something and it's not just blind nostalgia either. This is a true classic, arguably even better than the arcade game it's based on... if it had a co-op mode that is. |