9.4 /10 1 Votes
4.5/5 Emuparadise Series Double Dragon | 4.8/5 CoolROM Initial release date 3 March 1995 Genre Fighting game | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Release date(s) Neo-Geo
JP: March 3, 1995 (arcade)
JP: March 31, 1995 (home)
Neo-Geo CD
JP: June 2, 1995
PlayStation
JP: April 26, 1996 Developers Technōs Japan, Imperial Entertainment Platforms PlayStation, Neo Geo, Neo Geo CD Publishers SNK, Technōs Japan, Urban Planet Similar Double Dragon games, SNK games, Fighting games | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Double Dragon (ダブルドラゴン) is a 1995 fighting video game spinoff of the Double Dragon series developed and published by Technōs Japan. It is based on the 1994 Double Dragon movie, which in turn was based on the original arcade game. It was originally released for the Neo Geo (in AES and MVS formats) and later released for the Neo Geo CD and PlayStation (the latter ported by Urban Plant). It was Technōs Japan's last Double Dragon game before the company went out of business, and the fourth and final Double Dragon game released in arcades.
Contents
Overview
The game plays like a conventional one-on-one fighting game. One of the unique aspects of Double Dragon is the lack of specific punch and kick buttons like other fighting games. Instead, there are four attack buttons of varying strength and speed, which can perform punches or kicks depending on the character's position. The player's character and his or her opponent have a super move meter called the "charge meter", overlaid over the character's health gauge. The less health the character has, the quicker it will fill up. "Charge moves" are usually performed by executing the command of a regular special move and pressing two attack buttons simultaneously at the end instead of just one. Other techniques available in the game include dashes, air guards, air throws, and down attacks (which allows characters to jump over and attack their opponent while they are momentarily unconscious on the ground).
The characters and settings are inspired by the Double Dragon movie, which featured prominently in the game's intro. This includes the appearances of a submerged Hollywood Sign, the appearance of the Dragon Wagon in Billy's stage, the Lee brothers' transformation technique, Marian's depiction as a gang leader, and the inclusion of Koga Shuko as the game's final opponent. However, the characters are depicted in a more anime-like style and only five of the game's twelve fighters are actually featured in the movie; Burnov and Duke are from previous Double Dragon games and the rest are new characters created specifically for this game.
Characters
There are ten regularly selectable characters in the game and two boss characters, for a total of twelve characters. In the single-player mode, the player competes against all ten of the regular characters (including a clone of their own) before facing against Duke and Shuko in the game's final two matches. The first opponent can be chosen by the player.
In the home versions, both Duke and Shuko, are playable by entering a secret code.
Reception
On release, GamePro gave the Neo Geo AES version a negative review. They praised the charge meter and the accuracy of the controls, but criticized the "remarkably subdued graphics" and concluded, "Normally, Double Dragon would just be average, but the silly aspects (the announcer) and goofy fighters (with some very standard moves) get in the way." Reviewing the Neo Geo CD version, Maximum found the game lacked originality, had poorly defined sprites, and suffered from subpar gameplay compared to other Neo Geo CD games. They scored it two out of five stars.