 The oldest of old school beat 'em-ups gets yet another modern update, this time with an emphasis on tag team combat. Double Dragon typifies a certain kind of retro franchise, that while extremely influential in its day, and still receiving a regular supply of new entries, never makes any attempt to expand beyond its original remit. We complained as much when it came to the recent RayStorm compilation, and the fact that 2D shooters are all still stuck in the early '90s. That doesn't mean they're not fun but at some point it would be nice to see some forward momentum, and you could say very much the same thing about beat 'em-ups. Although it wasn't the first (that honour goes to 1984's Kung-Fu Master), Double Dragon helped to popularise the concept of the 2D scrolling beat 'em-up and the theme of gang warfare, rather than just straight martial arts. The original 1987 coin-op was actually inspired by post-apocalyptic fiction like Fist Of The North Star and Mad Max, although that fact quickly became obscured by the various home adaptions, including the highly popular NES version. Technically, Double Dragon is part of the wider Kunio-kun franchise, although given the lack of distinct gameplay features or characters, to the average player its various sequels and spin-offs are almost indistinguishable from similar franchises like Final Fight and Streets Of Rage. That creates a real problem for each new Double Dragon game that comes along, especially given how well Streets Of Rage 4 turned out. PIC 1 Double Dragon Gaiden does not make a good first impression, with some very low budget graphics, that aren't particularly reminiscent of any of the original games, and seemingly no unique gameplay ideas. Thankfully, there is a bit more to it than it first appears, although it's no shock to find that the storyline, about dealing with the city's gang problem by punching everyone in the face, is entirely inconsequenti){kind=link}
The oldest of old school beat ’em-ups gets yet another modern update, this time with an emphasis on tag team combat.
Double Dragon typifies a certain kind of retro franchise, that while extremely influential in its day, and still receiving a regular supply of new entries, never makes any attempt to expand beyond its original remit. We complained as much when it came to the recent RayStorm compilation, and the fact that 2D shooters are all still stuck in the early ’90s. That doesn’t mean they’re not fun but at some point it would be nice to see some forward momentum, and you could say very much the same thing about beat ’em-ups.
Although it wasn’t the first (that honour goes to 1984’s Kung-Fu Master), Double Dragon helped to popularise the concept of the 2D scrolling beat ’em-up and the theme of gang warfare, rather than just straight martial arts. The original 1987 coin-op was actually inspired by post-apocalyptic fiction like Fist Of The North Star and Mad Max, although that fact quickly became obscured by the various home adaptions, including the highly popular NES version.
Technically, Double Dragon is part of the wider Kunio-kun franchise, although given the lack of distinct gameplay features or characters, to the average player its various sequels and spin-offs are almost indistinguishable from similar franchises like Final Fight and Streets Of Rage. That creates a real problem for each new Double Dragon game that comes along, especially given how well Streets Of Rage 4 turned out.
PIC 1