The Double Dragons series is recognized for popularizing the beat-em up genre and defining the two player co-op experience. But despite their status as pioneers this series made a lot of mistakes, with technical issues, clunky mechanics and broken continuity as the main culprits. Many following games of the same genre would vastly improve their shortcomings and render some of their titles outdated. But despite this there are two games in the series that are truly worth revisiting: Super Double Dragon and Double Dragon Advance.

Super Double Dragon was released for the SNES in 1992. There isn’t much of a story here although we can assume twin brother’s Billy and Jimmy Lee are once again battling the evil organization the Shadow Warriors. That’s all that’s needed to enjoy massive amount of martial arts violence that follows.

The gameplay here is your standard beat em up protocol: you walk through various areas fighting enemies and powerful bosses using your fists, feet, and any weapons you can find. You’ll face punks, killers, kung fu masters and every 80s cliché that can throw at you. Two notable gameplay mechanics stand out. You now have the ability to block enemy attacks and if timed correctly you can catch certain opponent’s arm in a grapple. Successfully doing this cancels their attack and making them vulnerable to your own combo. This simple improvement opened up a whole new level of strategy for fighting and defense, something that was ahead of its time. Similar games only relied on a strong offense, back attacks, and moving strategically for defending against damage.

Another mechanic is the Dragon Power gauge, which would fill up if a certain button is held and releasing it would allow a special attack to be performed. The longer the button is held the better the special attack but there is a simple catch: you cannot attack while charging and getting hit by an enemy will drain the gauge completely.

This game’s biggest flaw is its lack of story. Normally this wouldn’t be such a problem due to the expectations of the genre. But Muneki Ebinuma, the game’s leading designer, wanted to implement cut scenes in the game to create a more story driven experience. But due to time constraints this never happened and we barely got any story as a result.

The Japanese version of Super Double Dragon, retitled Return of Double Dragon, is actually best version of the game available. Its enhancements include improved weapon mechanics, better enemy placement, different difficulty levels, and an extended final level, among other tweaks.

Double Dragon Advance was released in 2003 for the GBA. This game was a retelling of the very first Double Dragon. Billy Lee’s girlfriend Marian gets kidnapped by the Shadow Warriors and it’s up to him and his brother Jimmy to get her back. The story is the same as the original but more emphasis is put on the brother’s quest with story sequences between each level. This game feels very much like the movie The Warriors from 1979, with the Lee brother’s fighting from one lead to the next.

The gameplay itself is once again standard protocol for the beat em up genre. It mirrors the arcade version distinctively but the fighting mechanics, weapons, enemies, and new stages are all based on elements from other games in the series. Even the original twist ending, if you beat the game with two players, is still intact. The blocking mechanic from Super Double Dragon returns as well (though the counter grapple has been changed to a weaker counter throw).

One interesting game mode is One Player Double Dragon, which allows a single player to control both brothers during the main story. The catch is you can only control one brother at a time, forcing you to think quickly and manually switch between the two characters on the fly in order to survive a battle. The other mode is Survival Mode, a battle against endless waves of enemies until you lose. Both of these extra game modes are recommended only for highly skilled players.

Once again lead designer Ebinuma was forced to cut may great ideas due to time constraints. But Ebinuma managed to takes the resources he had and created the best experience with it, even giving the game a proper story that he failed to do with Super Double Dragon.

Both of these games are must plays for any fan of the Double Dragon series or beat em ups in general. Though both games are fairly short and can get difficult, it’s the only real flaw both games share. Super Double Dragon is a solid SNES title no matter which version you play; the hardcore fans will want to play both just to compare the differences. Double Dragon Advance works perfectly as a handheld game and is the best version of the original Double Dragon that is playable, hands down.

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Grade:
Super Double Dragon C+
Double Dragon Advance B+