This includes the appearances of a submerged Hollywood, the Dragon Wagon vehicle, Billy and Jimmy's ability to transform themselves and the inclusion of Koga Shuko as the game's final boss. The characters and stages are inspired by the 1994 Double Dragon live-action film (featured prominently in the game's intro). The fierce men who have been drawn to Bloody Town by invisible power. Some were looking for the ruler of darkness, some to heal the scars of the past, some to rescue their loved ones, and some to their own justice. The Lee brothers were not the only ones who stood up. Their purpose was to find and defeat the dark ruler who polluted the city. However, the city has been transformed into a world of weak meat and strong food dominated by violent organizations. They have returned to the city where they were born and raised for the first time in 10 years. It is an experience guaranteed to build friendships… which is why the ending is so devastating.Billy and Jimmy, the Lee brothers, received a letter from their martial arts master. The game requires constant communication and teamwork. You can each tackle half the bad guys, or one player can take on the bulk of the work, protecting his friend. I can even imagine a scenario in which Marian and Jimmy staged her entire kidnapping, to get Billy into a situation where they could rub him out, scott free.īut the twisted genius of the ending isn’t what it does to the plot it’s what it does to the player.ĭouble Dragon really is a fantastic co-op experience. When the police show up at Black Warrior headquarters, Jimmy can tell a tearful story about how Billy was killed by Abobo, and no one will doubt him. We can only assume that she and Jimmy have been secretly involved for years, all the time dreaming of the day when they can get rid of poor, dumb Billy. But if Jimmy beats his brother – her boyfriend – to death, and then she drops to the ground and kisses him… wow. When they don’t, Jimmy has to reveal his true motives and attack his brother.Īnd what about Marian, hanging there on the wall, watching everything unfold? What is she thinking? Well, if Billy wins, then her smooch and embrace are entirely natural. In fact, he was probably rooting for the hordes of gang members to finish Billy off. But when they turn on each other, we understand his true motives: Jimmy wants Marian for himself. At the beginning of Double Dragon, you assume Jimmy’s motivation is simply helping his brother, because that’s what brothers do. However, necessity is the mother of invention, and the “brother against brother” ending is a masterstroke on two levels.įirst of all, it elevates the narrative to classic noir. So they just made us fight until there was only one person for her to kiss. Most likely, the programmers already had an ending where Marian walks up to Billy (Player 1) and kisses him, and they didn’t want to figure out a different one for when there are two players. I understand that this duel probably served a practical purpose. THWAK, I said, instantly jump-kicking him in the face. A couple of jump kicks later, the last bad guy hit the floor and disappeared. At this point, we were low on health and cheering each other on loudly enough to scare everyone out of the World Music section of the store, which was probably just as well. But finally, we entered a room and saw Marian chained to the wall. Joe and I weren’t particularly adept, and the quarters balancing on the screen started to disappear at an alarming rate. The fighting raged through the city streets, a factory, a forest, and finally the headquarters of the street gang, which appeared to be some sort of Pagan temple. Joe and I cracked our knuckles and proceeded to crack dozens of digital skulls. Then a garage opened and our two protagonists emerged: Billy and Jimmy, karate masters with tempers as fiery as their mullets. We watched as the lovely Marian was gut-punched and dragged away by the Black Warriors. Our plan was to use only three dollars in quarters to win Double Dragon (and possibly pick up the new Britney Spears album while we were there). Instead, we headed to Cutler’s Records, which had a row of classic arcade machines in the back. One rainy Saturday afternoon, my roommate Joe and I were contemplating the possibility of doing some actual work. I finished it I don’t think I really beat it. But my most mind-blowing gaming experience was when I beat the Double Dragon arcade machine.Īctually, scratch that. For others, it was Snake visiting Arlington Cemetery. For some people, it was Sephiroth turning your girlfriend into a shishkabob. Anyone who grew up with a controller in his sweaty little hands had at least one moment when a video game touched him emotionally.
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