Page 14 - OSG Presents Classic Gamer Magazine #7

classic
classic

Double Dragon, which was released and astonishes all do-gooders by
on the Super Nintendo. launching out of the moon with an enor-
In this version of the game, the mous spaceship, the Colossus. Billy
two brothers are drawn back to their and Jimmy Lee join forces with the Bat-
old neighborhood in Bloody Town, a tletoads to battle classic enemies from
once peaceful city now ruled by vio- both game series.
lence. The story revolves around
Koga Shuko and his quest for the Double Dragon V: The Shadow Falls
Double Dragon medals. (1994)
Oddly, this game alters many of Atari Jaguar, Sega Genesis and
the characters from their original Super Nintendo
conceptual design. For instance, This dreadful entry into the series
Marian, the weak and previously de- was inspired by the equally dreadful
ceased damsel in distress, is now animated Double Dragon cartoon s e-
revived as a lethal combatant. ries. Billy runs a martial arts dojo with
Duke, formerly known outside of Ja- his brother Jimmy Lee, and does battle
pan as Big Boss Willy, has shaved one-on-one with the enemy. This game
his beard, abandoned his machine is a fighting game similar to the Neo-
gun, and become a martial artist to Geo arcade Double Dragon, and not a
be reckoned with! side scrolling beat-em up.
If you look closely during the
Cheng Fu stage, you can spot an Double Dragon Advance (2003)
original Double Dragon arcade cabi- GameBoy Advance
net situated in the large white boat in When Technos of Japan went bank-
the background. rupt, Atlus purchased the rights to Dou-
ble Dragon. While this version is an
Rage of the Dragons update of the original 1987 Double
While not an officially licensed Dragon game, Atlus added so much
Double Dragon game, independent supplemental content, that it became its
game manufacturer Evoga, in coop- own game. Not only has this rendition
eration with publisher Playmore, re- been given a visual overhaul, but four
leased a sequel to the Neo-Geo additional levels have been introduced
Double Dragon fighting game in to double the amount of game levels.
September of 2002. The game features the The premiere console-specific Double This title also borrows characters, scenarios
return of the two Lee brothers, Billy and Dragon title was Super Double Dragon for and attack moves from Double Dragon II and
Jimmy, and also the return of Abobo, who has the Super Nintendo. This title featured a dis- Super Double Dragon.
been slightly renamed as Abubo. tinctive power meter feature that allowed play- The Double Dragon legacy continues in
If you can’t get enough Double Dragon, ers to charge up the power meter to perform other formats as well. The Lee brothers can
there are numerous ports of the coin-op power moves, such as the spinning jump kick, be found on the silver screen, as an action
games for over a dozen home console sys- spinning back-fist, and the cyclone spin kick. figure line, on television as a Saturday morn-
tems and classic computers. In addition to ing cartoon, as a board game, on telephone
the arcade games, there were also original Battletoads and Double Dragon: The Ulti- calling cards, in handheld LCD games by Ti-
Double Dragon games that premiered and mate Team (1993) ger Electronics, as part of a comic book se-
were only available on home consoles: NES, Super Nintendo, Sega Genesis and ries, on trading cards, in an audio soundtrack,
Game Boy on a beach towel, on iron-on patches, and
Super Double Dragon (1992) The Battletoads’ arch-nemesis, the Dark more!
Super Nintendo Queen, enlists the aid of the Shadow Boss

Classic Gamer Magazine July 2004 14