Plot. Billy and Jimmy Lee are twin brothers who learned to fight in the rough, violent streets of New York City. Their combination of street smarts, and martial arts expertise, have made them tough fighting machines that people called them, the Double Dragons. But now, Billy Lee is faced with the toughest challenge of his life: his girlfriend Marian, was captured by the Black Warriors, a ruthless street gang led by the mysterious Shadow Boss. Armed with a variety of weapons, including his skills in martial arts, Billy must fight the gang through the slums, factories, and wooded outskirts of New York, in order to save his girlfriend, and confront the Shadow Boss...who is none other than his brother Jimmy.
Concept. Players guide Billy Lee on four missions which includes five sub-stages after completing the first half of the stage. Players fight against different bosses such as Abobo, Chin, Big Boss Willy, and finally Jimmy Lee himself.
Design. The designs of the NES are well done, and I find it a lot better than the Arcade Version, for example, the first stage had a good view of New York City. And my other favorite stages are: the factory, the forest, the caves, and the temple.
History. Double Dragon had a cult following ever since it's released. In 1988, Double Dragon II: The Revenge was released for the Arcades and then released on the NES in 1989. In 1990, Double Dragon III: The Rosetta Stones was released on not only the Arcades and NES, but also on the Tiger Handhelds, and the Game Boy as well. The game series was so popular that it spawned it's own animated show, that I remember watching as a child with my cousin after school. In 1994, a movie was released starring Scott Wolf as Billy, Mark Dacascos as Jimmy, and Alyssa Milano as Marian. The cartoons were cool, but I HATED the movie, they should have never done it. Why? They messed up the storyline, crappy acting, and boy, Robert Patrick's acting was the worst. The first game was remade for the Game Boy Advance in 2003, featuring a new expanded storyline and gameplay.
Rantings. Let me tell you the one thing I hate about this game, the Abobo bosses. I always got killed badly in the third stage before the caverns. I mean, I can't stand them. The other boss that I hate, was the Big Boss Willy, who was a coward with a machine gun. I hated that guy so much, that I would throw my controller against the wall. The enemies I hated were the Chin Taimei guys, these guys gave me nothing but grief for almost two decades ever since I played the game.
Good Aspects. The good thing is that this game defines the beat-em-up genre. I believe that games like Double Dragon were inspired by many movies such as: Enter The Dragon, Bloodsport, The Warriors, and so on. Another thing is that martial arts heroes like Bruce Lee, Jim Kelly, Bolo Yeung, and Jean Claude Van Damme, inspired the main characters of the game. The game has good replay value, and it is worth playing. It is also available on the Wii Virtual Console for 500 Wii Points.
Overall. This game will continue to live on as one of the greatest old school games of all time. Double Dragon gets a 7 out of 10