DOUBLE DRAGON on ANYTHING ELSE!

And here we have Double Dragon games on the likes of GBA and Atari ports. Some were good, others were meh.

DOUBLE DRAGON ON GAMEBOY AND GBA:

Double Dragon
Tradewest, 1990

The first game in the series seems to be a hybrid of the Arcade and NES versions, while having enemies and music from the 8-Bit version. What sets it apart from it is the fact you get to use most of the moves without ever having to earn experience points of any kind, making this game a lot more enjoyable in that retrospect. One aspect of it is that it is more of a platformer than a beat'em up, having you jump over dubious pits and losing more lives than anything else thanks to such. It is quite a chore to defeat Abobo here, being that not even jump kicks seem to knock him off and he is a lot more savage than in the NES version. Personally I haven't ever gone far enough thanks to those damn pits and difficult jumping trials, but it is a solid title overall.
Double Dragon 2
Acclaim, 1991

This version is a peculiar one, being that it is designed way differntly from the Arcade and NES counterparts to the point of being its own title than a version of said game. Nothing here resembles what Part II was in other versions, including the enemies you face against. Another curious thing of this is that you do not have jump capabilities. Pressing both buttons makes Billy do a super uppercut to escape enemies ganging up on you or on bosses. A curious entry indeed but still very playable and enjoyable.

Double Dragon 3
The Arcade Game
Sales Curve Interactive, 1992

Holy crap what happened here. Gotta wonder why the third entry of the series overall never got a decent port ANYWHERE. While the Genesis and NES versions weren't good in their own right, they at least were a lot more playable than this garbage. Nothing on this game makes me ever want to play it again after that first time and quite frankly, it doesn't matter how many lives it gives you, you end up losing most of them before you even get to go through the second stage. What a mess even for GB standards. Make sure to pass this one up.

Double Dragon Advance
2003, Atlus

This was one of the finest ports ever done for the GBA. The game incorporates all previous titles plus those on the NES and mash them up quite nicely, including moves from said games and even adding some on their own, like running and dashing towards your foes. A very nice shoutout to al lfans of the games. The story mirrors the one from the very first entry on the series, and has a better ending if two players beat it at the same time instead of having to beat up your dragon bro. All this plus remixes of classic DD tunes and cutscenes between stages. If you don't own this game I just feel sorry for you.

SEGA MASTER SYSTEM

Double Dragon
1988, SEGA

The SEGA Master System adaptation didn't need no Experience Hearts to do most of the DD patented moves and was two player Co-op to boot. The downside was the awful sound effects and the fact gameplay wasn't that polidhed in comparison to the NES version. The control was effy when it came to hit/kck enemies and the headbutt animation was laughable to the point it looked like you were about to kiss anyone while performing it. The game had l9imited continues and chances were that you would run out by the time you got to Round 4, being that enemies hit like bricks and your health simply flies out the window. FUN FACT: Using an Atari 2600 controller gave you all the handicappedness of using only one button which performed kicks only, which meant you would not even make it past Mission 2 here. Speaking of which, there *was* a system where all you had wasa single button to play an adaptation...

SEGA GAME GEAR

Double Dragon
1993, Virgin

The Game Gear version was very different adaptation for it had its own story rather than based on the Arcade hit. The gamepay was also pretty different, being that it had a more rudimentary method to defeat opponents. Its also the sole game in the series that lets you use guns and shotguns to dispose of your enemies. Enemies here were pretty varied too, from cyborgs to ninjas and even punks on skateboards and motorcycles. It is pretty entertaining despite being so different, but the music is kinda meh at best.

ATARI SYSTEM VERSIONS

Double Dragon
1988, Activision
Atari 2600


Quite simply the worst adaptation besides Part III on the Game Boy, the limitations on the Atari 2600 were too much for anyone to even try playing the game past the first screen, the moves were left using a combination of the joystic and the sole button the Atari VCS controllers sported. By the time you managed to defeat just one of the opponents tossed at you, 4/5s of your health were already gone. It didn't helped that the enemies would practically dance around you hitting you from anywhere while you tried to land a single hit on them. I will say that Atari was pretty ambitious on adapting this title and even making it two player co-op, but quite frankly I would just stay away from this one altogether. Oh yeah, this would be one of the few Atari titles to actually have an ending once you beat the game, something unseen on games for said system before.

Double Dragon
1989, Activision
Atari 7800


DD for 7800 was more or less a graphical enhancement of the 2600 version being that it had the same soundbytes used in that system's version, including the soundtrack of the first mission on an endless, pinful loop. Its gameplay was not as good, but it at least would allow you to last a bit longer, if that is ever any type of consolation. If anything, this would be the version to get should you ever wanted to buy an Atari adaptation, since it also supports 2 player co-op and even when you make the moves the same way as in the 2600 version, it at least has two buttons to have more variarty in gameplay as the NES version did.

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