Double Dragon (ダブルドラゴン, Daburu Doragon) is a 1995 fighting game spin-off of the Double Dragon series developed and published by Technos 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 Technos Japan's last Double Dragon game before the company went out of business.
Overview
The game plays like a conventional fighting game of its time, that is battles are one-on-one and conducted on best two-out-of-three matches. One of the unique aspects of Double Dragon is the lack of specific punch and kick buttons like most 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 opponent have a super move meter called the "charge meter", which is overlaid on the character's remaining health. 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.
The characters and stages are inspired by the Double Dragon movie featured prominently in the game's intro. This includes the appearances of a submerged Hollywood, the Dragon Mobile vehicle, Billy and Jimmy's ability to transform themselves and the inclusion of Koga Shuko as the game's final boss. However, the game's 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 rest were 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 last two matches.
In the home versions, both Duke and Shuko are playable by entering a secret code.
- Billy Lee - Voiced by Hikaru Midorikawa
- The younger Lee brother, Billy is a master of the martial arts style Sousetsuken, a combination of numerous martial arts style learned by Billy and his brother, Jimmy. Billy has blond hair and wears a blue and red casual outfit in his default form. In his transformed form, he wears a blue martial arts gi. Has faster attacks than his brother Jimmy. Billy was the first player's character in the original Double Dragon, although his character design and ability to transform is taken from the movie.
- Jimmy Lee - Voiced by Kaneto Shiozawa
- The elder Lee brother. Jimmy has brown hair and wears an orange and black outfit in his default form. He wears a red martial arts gi in his transformed form and has stronger attacks than his brother Billy. Jimmy was the second player's character from the original Double Dragon. Like Billy, his design and transformation ability is based on his movie counterpart.
- Marian - Voiced by Yuka Koyama
- A childhood friend of the Lee brothers and female gang leader at Bloody Town. Fights using a street fighting style with techniques based on figure skating. Marian was the damsel in distress of the earlier Double Dragon games, although her depiction as a gang leader was based on the movie as well.
- Abobo - Voiced by Daisuke Gouri
- A former pro-wrestler from New York who works for Shuko. Abobo was the first stage boss in the original Double Dragon. In one of his super moves, he briefly turns into a bloated freak similar to the mutation he undergoes in the Double Dragon movie.
- Burnov - Voiced by Daisuke Gouri
- An obese pro-wrestler from Detroit feared as the "human bomb". He has a rivalry with Abobo. Burnov was the first stage boss in Double Dragon II: The Revenge.
- Amon - Voiced by Kaneto Shiozawa
- A master of the fictional ninjutsu form of "Ryuganinpoh". He seeks for the whereabouts of his missing family and believes Shuko might know something.
- Dulton - Voiced by Yusaku Yura
- A street brawler from Italy who is looking to take down Shuko.
- Rebecca - Voiced by Keiko Han
- A tonfa-wielding female martial artist from Holland. She was once romantically involved with a man named Eric, who turned out to be a spy for Shuko, and now seeks to get revenge.
- Eddie - Voiced by Yukimasa Kishino
- A kickboxer from Venezuela who trains Shuko's henchmen.
- Cheng-Fu - Voiced by Hisao Egawa
- A master of the Drunken Fist from Hong Kong.
- Duke - Voiced by Hisao Egawa
- Shuko's bodyguard and the last opponent before fighting Shuko himself. A master of the assassination style "Moukohisouken" from San Francisco. Duke was originally the final boss in the Super NES game Super Double Dragon.
- Koga Shuko - Voiced by Osamu Saka
- The final boss, Shuko is the evil dictator of Bloody Town. A powerful master of kobujutsu and ninpoh. Shuko was the main antagonist in the Double Dragon movie.
Credits
- Voice: Miyako Endo (Narration), Hikaru Midorikawa (Billy), Kaneto Shiozawa (Jimmy and Amon), Yuka Koyama (Marian), Daisuke Gōri (Abobo and Burnov), Yukimasa Kishino (Eddie), Keiko Han (Rebecca), Yusaku Yara (Dalton), Hisao Egawa (Cheng-Fu and Duke), and Osamu Saka (Shuko)
- Boss: Kunio Taki
- Leader: Kazuyuki Kurata
- Planner: Muneki Ebinuma and Minoru Yamaguchi
- Aoni Production: Yasuaki Sumi
- Program: Tadamichi Obinata, Naoki Kashiwabara, Shinji Hirao, and Yasuhiro Matsumoto
- Graphic: Hideki Hoshiya, Seiichiro Ishiguro, Takumi Ishikawa, Satoshi Kazato, Takahide Koizumi, Chihiro Kushibe, Akiko Maruyama, Kazumi Minagawa, Katsuhiro Nakamura, Koji Ogata, Kazutaka Ōhashi, Fujimi Ōnishi, Takeyoshi Suzuki, and Kōji Yamada
- Illustration: Tsuguyuki Kubo
- Sound Program & Tools: Robert C. Ashworth
- Composer: Chiaki Iizuka, Kiyomi Kataoka, Fumio Suzuki, and Reiko Uehara,
- Sound Effects: Taku Urabe (as Taku)
- Guitar: Osamu Sakai
- Sound Produce (Neo Geo CD): Akira Horie
- Guitar (Neo Geo CD): Keizo Numata
- Genic: Keinosuke Akichi, Akira Kitsuno, and Norihiko Yonesaka
- Espo Corp.: Daisuke Hatakeyama, Seiji Kawakatsu, and Kei Tamura
- Madhouse: Yuji Takae
- J.C. Staff: Eiichi Endō, Tomoko Kawasaki, and Nobuko Ogino
- Special Thanks: Teruo Ichimura, Kouji Matsuyama, Kensuke Nishi, Makoto Shigenobu, Toshiaki Tsugane, Yukiko Yamashita, and S. Yasuraoka (as Yasuraoka Special)
Reception
On April 15, 1995, Japanese publication Game Machine ranked Double Dragon for Neo Geo at number thirteen in their "Best Hit Games 25" with a score of 6.27 out of 10.[1] with Famitsu citing the CD version selling over 3,851 copies within its first week on the market.
German magazine Mega Fun reviewed the AES iteration, praising the game's graphics, technical speed, zoom effects, and appealing selection of fighters. With a score of 69%, Stefan Hellert wrote, "Despite all the positive approaches, Double Dragon still falls short of the NG showpiece brawling games and is only really indispensable for real fans."[2] Play Time (DE) April issue gave the arcade 73%, with Ul Schneider highlighting the zoom effects, impressive backgrounds, and special moves.[3]Christophe Delpierre of French publication Player One rewarded the title with an overall 80%, applauding its accomplished graphics, decomposition of movements, fitting music and voices, and special moves. [4] GamePro's July issue scored Double Dragon with 2.5 out of 5, commending the controls, special moves, and zooming effects while calling it an average game with subdued graphics, silly announcer, and goofy characters.[5]
Bruno Sol of Superjuegos covered the Neo Geo CD version of Double Dragon on August 1995,[6] rewarding it with a high score of 92%.[7] For his assessment, Sol said, "If last month SNK surprised us all with a masterpiece like FATAL FURY 3, Technos returns the ball with its debut feature, the reunion of the legendary DOUBLE DRAGON saga. After some really unfortunate episodes like DOUBLE DRAGON V, Billy and Jimmy get back on the right path. A more than recommended, essential title." Ação Games of Brazil also gave the CD title huge praise with their 4.5 out of 5 rating. The reviewer states, "The sound and visuals are stunning, including zoom in and out effects in fights. The slow access to the screens is compensated by the beautiful scenery and the very good definition of the graphics."[8] On December 2, 1995, Victor Lucas of The Electric Playground (now EP Daily) gave Double Dragon a rating of 8.5 of 10. In his quick review, Lucas summerized, "Imagine my surprise! I was expecting a remake of a fighter long past it's prime, what I got was a wholly entertaining, immediately accessible, quite brilliant, two player festival of punishment. The people at Technos really got it together for this one, which raises the level of the Double Dragon legacy forever."[9]
See Also
- Voltage Fighter Gowcaizer (Technos Japan's other Neo Geo fighting game)
- Rage of the Dragons
References
- ↑ "Best Hit Games 25 - #13 Double Dragon", Issue #493, p. 21 (April 15, 1995)
- ↑ Stefan Hellert, "Double Dragon", Mega Fun (DE), 05/95, p. 87 (May 1995)
- ↑ Ul Schneider,"Reviews - Double Dragon", Issue 6/95, Play Time (DE), p. 113 (May 10, 1995)
- ↑ Christophe Delpierre, "Double Dragon", Player One, No. 53 ,pp. 86-87 (May 1995)
- ↑ 71 The Axe Grinder, "ProReview - Double Dragon", GamePro, Issue #72, p. 69 (July 1995)
- ↑ Bruno Sol, "El Clasico Pasa a Mayores - Double Dragon", Superjuegos, Issue # 40, pp. 64-65 (August 1995)
- ↑ Bruno Sol , "El Clasico Pasa a Mayores - Double Dragon", Superjuegos, Issue # 40, pp. 66-67 (August 1995)
- ↑ "Debulhados - Neo Geo: Double Dragon", Ação Games, No. 129, pp. 18–19 (August 1995)
- ↑ "Reviews - Double Dragon" at The Electric Playground (December 2, 1995)
External Links
- Double Dragon (Neo Geo) at Double Dragon wiki
- Double Dragon (Neo Geo) at Double Dragon Dojo
- Double Dragon at Moby Games
- Double Dragon at Gaming History
- Double Dragon at Killer List of Video Games
- Double Dragon at GameFAQs
- Double Dragon (Neo Geo) at Strategy wiki
- Double Dragon (Neo Geo) at The Cutting Room Floor
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