Double Dragon
Double Dragon is a classic beat 'em up video game series initially developed by Technos Japan Corporation, who also developed the Nekketsu Kouha: Kunio-Kun series. It has had several sequels and has been ported to several different platforms.
Double Dragon
The arcade game that started it all was released in 1987 by Technos. The twin brothers, Billy and Jimmy Lee (also known as Hammer and Spike), use their martial arts skills to fight the Shadow Warriors. The Shadow Warriors are a gang of thugs who have kidnapped Billy's girlfriend, Marian. Billy and Jimmy not only use their martial arts moves in their quest to rescue Marian, but also weapons they find along the way: baseball bats, whips, knives, sticks of dynamite, oil drums, and even big rocks. This game allowed two players to play simultaneously.
This game was very successful at the arcades and was ported to several consoles, including the Nintendo Entertainment System, Sega Master System, and Game Boy.
The Nintendo Entertainment System version did not allow two players to play simultaneously. Only Billy Lee was the playable character. Jimmy Lee was actually the leader of the Shadow Warriors in this version.
Double Dragon II: The Revenge
Due to the success of the first Double Dragon game, an arcade sequel was made by Technos in 1988. The Shadow Warriors have murdered Marian and the Lee brothers are out to avenger her death. This game is very similar to the first Double Dragon game. The biggest difference is the way the players control their characters. The first version had designated punch and kick buttons, while this version had left and right attack buttons. The attacks depended on which way the character was facing. If facing left, the left attack button is the punch button, while the right attack button is a back kick button. If the character is facing right, then the reverse is true.
Like the first game, this game was also ported to several different consoles. The Nintendo Entertainment System version did allow for two players to play simultaneously. It ignores the fact that Jimmy Lee was the leader of the Shadow Boss in the first NES game.
Double Dragon III: The Rosetta Stone
In 1990, Technos released the third game of the series. This time, Billy and Jimmy Lee are on a journey to complete their martial arts training when they meet up with an old fortune teller named Hiroku. Hiroku asks the Lee Brothers to collect the three Rosetta Stones and take them to Egypt. In Egypt awaits the "World's strongest enemy." From there, the Lee Brothers travel to different countries searching for these Rosetta Stones. The game includes a third character named Sonny and allows for three players to play simultaneously. The controls from Double Dragon II were not used for this game, instead the controls are similar to the first Double Dragon game. This game was radically different from the previous two games with its graphics and animation. It also had shops where players could purchase things such as weapons, special moves, and even new characters to use. Weapons could only be purchased from these shops; they could no longer be taken from the enemy characters. Purchasing things in these shops required players to insert quarters, making this a more expensive game to play. Double Dragon III was not as popular as the previous two titles.
Like the previous two Double Dragon games, several ports were made of this game. The NES version of this game had the same basic plot, but removed the purchasing system. Players started off with a specific weapon (which had limited usage) and obtained other characters by defeating them in combat.
Super Double Dragon
This game was developed by Technos in 1992 as an exclusive game for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System. In Japan, this game was called, "Return of Double Dragon" which played on the Super Famicom (japanese version of SNES). Super Double Dragon is a completely revamped version of the original Double Dragon game; Marian gets kidnapped by the Shadow Warriors and the Lee Brothers try to save her. This game did allow two players to play simultaneously. A unique feature that was added to this sequel was a power meter. Players could charge up the power meter to perform power moves, such as spinning backfist, spinning jump kick, and the cyclone spin kick.
Double Dragon V: The Shadow Falls
This description still needs to be done.Double Dragon Advance
This was developed by Atlus in 2003 as an exclusive game for the Game Boy Advance. Atlus had purchased the rights to Double Dragon and Nekketsu Kouha: Kunio-Kun after Technos Japan Corporation went bankrupt. Double Dragon Advance is a graphically upgraded and expanded version of the original Double Dragon. It has eight levels instead of the original four. Even though it is based on the first Double Dragon game, it also borrows moves, enemy characters, and levels from Double Dragon II and Super Double Dragon.