Return of Double Dragon SFC is still a top class beat em up and Double Dragon II PCE isn't too shaby either. Aside from the original and the above games though, the series went into the toilet fast. Can't wait for Double Dragon Advance
The only cool thing about Double Dragon is my friends and I made a music video using footage from the game. I don't even remember what song it was, but I think I still have it on an old beta tape someplace.
I always liked Final Fight better anyway.
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"I've watched while the maggots have defiled the earth. They have
built their castles and had their wars. I cannot stand by idly any longer." - Otogi 2
As people have said, Double Dragon I & II are quite good by the standards of their genre. It's a shame Technos let it go to hell after that, other than the decent SNES game.
I think the first two DD games are much better than Final Fight. It's in large part because the stages seem much more interesting, particularly in DD II; There's a definite and satisfying progression, and some nice jumping bits to negotiate. In comparison, the FF stages only scroll to the right with little in the way of real obstacles, making them tedious as hell.
I think DD has more technique to the fighting, too, particularly with the grab and back-turned moves.
I've been playing the NES DD games quite a bit lately on my Axim, DD2 seems to be the most fun to me, part 1 is good for different reasons, although a tad frustrating since it's a bit harder. Back in the day I enjoyed part 3 once I got over the annoying difficulty (you only have ONE friggin life until later) but I played it some today and it was decent, but I'd rather be playing the other games.
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I do most of my posting from my phone and its crappy 10 bps connection. Please forgive my spelling errors and double posts.
Originally posted by Ammadeau
The only cool thing about Double Dragon is my friends and I made a music video using footage from the game. I don't even remember what song it was, but I think I still have it on an old beta tape someplace.
Nice. I have home-made TG16 Splatterhouse and TV Sports Football music videos lying around my house somewhere (various Motley Crue Dr Feelgood songs). And yes, they are on Beta tape.
Double Dragon kicks ass. I own all 3 NES games, the 1st two PCB's, the PCE DDII, and the SNES game. They all rule, and all get frequent play.
I'm going to hijack the thread for a minute, and say I hate Double Dragon 3. So very much.
Why is it so hard? Why did they divert from the formula that worked? What is the end of the game like, because I'll never see it? How do you screw up such a *simple* formula?
DD3 arcade or DD3 NES? DD3 NES was hard but could be won, and ended up kicking ass when all was said and done. DD3 arcade was hard and just plain sucked.
Originally posted by Chibi Nappa
DD3 arcade or DD3 NES? DD3 NES was hard but could be won, and ended up kicking ass when all was said and done. DD3 arcade was hard and just plain sucked.
DD3 NES. I'm basing this off of hatred when I was young, because I've bought DD 1 and 2 for NES recently, but keep passing on 3. I have no frothing demand for it, because it's horrible.
Originally posted by Regus
The series has aged like shit in my opinion. What was mindless fun back when I was eight, is now a stomach churningly bad ordeal.
Mindless fun beats the shit out of 80% of the new stuff, imo. You must not be a fan of the Final Fight or Streets of Rage series, either?
Originally posted by Roufuss
Mindless fun beats the shit out of 80% of the new stuff, imo. You must not be a fan of the Final Fight or Streets of Rage series, either?
You got it.
I burned out on beat em ups when I was younger, I think the last one I put any effort into was Maximum Carnage.
I played the hell out of Streets of Rage and it's ilk, but I just got so damn sick of playing them, they just started to bore me. Plus, I never liked Streets of Rage or Final Fight to begin with. The TMNTs and Alien vs Predator are gold though, it's got to be the licenses.
On that note, I'd like to contrict myself by saying that I am really looking foward to Viewtiful Joe!
Maximum Carnage was fun as well. I do see your point though, because during the snes / genesis days the beat em up was the king of all games, espically in the arcade.
I didn't play them for a long time, either, but I pop one in every once in awhile for a good hour or two of mindless fun.
Anything that's a crossover with the Battletoads or a one-on-one Street Fighter-clone shouldn't be considered as a true Double Dragon game. Not that BT/DD was a bad game, but I don't see it as a true DD game for several reasons. I don't think Technos ever gave Tradewest their blessing to do DD5 (the lack of Technos' name in the copyrights is a clear indication of that) and the Neo-Geo game was just an unfortunate product of the fighting game craze back in the mid-90s, so that could be set aside too. Pretty much everything between Super DD and DD Advance is not a true DD game.
With that said, the only bad DD game is the Arcade version of DD3. The NES version was fine once you got used to the insane difficulty (all you need to do is master the timing of the Whirlwind Kick) and Ranzou was a kick-ass ninja (much better than the Karate Champ-rejects from the Arcade version). DD1 and DD2 were both great games when they were released at the Arcades and DD2 only got better as an NES game. Super DD was probably the best game in the series, aside from the sucky ending (the JPN version wasn't much better in this respect, but it made up for it with an added level and slightly retooled gameplay).
With that said, I think the series has aged really well. It's a shame Technos didn't release their later Kunio beat-em-ups here (Jidaigeki and Shodai were cool and so was Kunio-tachi no Banka). I can't wait till the GBA games are released.
Originally posted by Roufuss
DD3 NES. I'm basing this off of hatred when I was young, because I've bought DD 1 and 2 for NES recently, but keep passing on 3. I have no frothing demand for it, because it's horrible.
It's really very good once you adjust to the difficulty. In many places it is even better than DD2 NES with the variety of characters and moves. You really should have at least a little frothing demand for it.
i love the Streets of Rage series (it's also one of the best multiplayer games out there when drunk). and what Capcom and Konami did in the genre is excellent.
but to think that Streets of Rage is better than Double Dragon, let alone best in the genre, wel then, that's just a clear case of your standard TNL Sega Fanboy being blinded once again by teir love for Sega. because the work that Capcom, Konami, and Technos did in the genre is better then anything Sega did.
oh, and yes, 19 peple at TNL have no idea what they're talking about.
If you ignore the fact that the game can be beaten on one credit with just the elbow, then DD1 arcad eis just fine.
If you ignore the slowdown due to rushed programming, then DD2 arcade is even better(Theres actually quite a bit of hidden depth, chain combos[yes] and insta headhold setups are great).
If you can get past the addition of platforming sections, then DD1 and 2 NES are still a pleasure.
If you can get past the the lack of heavy replay and character variety, then Super DD is tops.
I've never been a fan of any version of 3(Bimmy and Jimmy!) and none of the other games count.
The DD series has aged fairly well, even though SoR is better.
You can waltz through the first DD using the elbow punch, but you'll have a low score. The best thing to try is a standing kick-kick combo that is a bit risky but can give you up to 700 points.
Double Dragon 2 is still good, but the slowdown is an annoyance. The gameplay is better than the first game, and the enemies have wised up to the elbow punch trick somewhat.
As an arcade game, DD3 leaves a lot to be desired. The enemy variety is lacking, and the character designs are rather lame, lacking the personality of the ones in the first two installments. Later bosses are cheap. Clearly DD3 is made to be a pure quarter vacuum. Having to reach for another quarter to buy a weapon bites, especially when you've bought the weapon and find it useless. If you die, you lose any tricks or weapons you paid for. If you die after buying tricks, a power-up, and weapons- you're out 75 cents, because you lose those.
Super Double Dragon on SNES is the game DD3 should've been in the first place.
The Genesis/SNES fighting game does not deserve to be called Double Dragon V. It's just disgraceful.
MK2 on XBLA plz - let the unfolding of gameplay begin!!
