Video Game Review #557: Double Dragon

Double Dragon

Sega Master System

Nostalgia Factor:

When I was a kid, I grew up playing both the NES and the arcade versions of Double Dragon. I know that popular sentiment is that the arcade game is better, but I'll be honest: I've always preferred the NES version.

Within the last few years I have become aware of the Sega Master System version of Double Dragon. I've read some online reviews. I watched the Console Wars episode that compares the two home versions of the game. The consensus seems to be that the Master System version of the game is better than the NES.

Being a big fan of the NES game, I knew that someday I would have to play the Master System version myself. Would I find that it is indeed better than the NES game, or would I find the opposite to be the case? Let's dive in.

Story:

This game has the same story as the other versions of Double Dragon. A bunch of goons gut-punch your girlfriend and drag her off to their lair. You have to fight through swarms of enemies to get her back.

Gameplay:

If you were going to compare this game to the other versions of Double Dragon I've played, I'd say this more closely resembles the arcade game than anything. It's a straight up beat 'em up. There's no platforming segments like in the NES game. You simply go from left to right, beating up enemies until you get to the end of the stage, where you fight a boss. Then you move onto the next stage. There are four stages in total. I'd say each one takes no more than ten minutes to get through.

The gameplay itself is questionable compared to the other versions of the game. I never had any trouble in the other Double Dragons with punching and kicking my enemies. It's a bit more challenging here, as the hit detection is not always perfect. Also, you can never seem to string a series of hits together against the enemy. You know, the ol' left, right, uppercut three punch combo. The enemy almost always will hit you in the middle of this and break it up. I found that the best thing was to run up, sneak a punch in, and retreat. And then just keep doing this over and over again. If there are weapons to pick up, like bats, whips, or boxes - use those and spam the heck out of them. But otherwise your best bit is the same attack and retreat combo that worked for me.

You can jump kick by pressing kick and punch at the same time, but I found this to be very tough to pull off in this game, for some reason. I mainly ignored this attack, although it does come in handy if you are surrounded and need to knock an enemy down. If you can get it to work.

Enemies do a TON of damage against you. I figured this out right at the beginning of the game, when I died fighting the first wave of enemies they throw at you. How embarrassing. I got used to this after a while, though, and adjusted my strategy. That is why attack and retreat is so important. Because the enemies' attacks are so strong.

As I said, the game is only four stages long and does not take too long to complete. What is interesting about this game, is that it has unlimited continues through the first three stages. I actually did not know this when I was playing through the game, and was trying my best to not die or take any damage. I did not want to get deep into the game, run out of lives, and then have to start over again. Turns out I had nothing to worry about.... for the first three stages that is.

In stage four, the final stage of the game, you suddenly do not have unlimited continues. If you hit a "game over" screen, it is game over for good. Then you must start the game over again. If you come into the last level with no lives, you are basically screwed. It's worth it to die at the end of stage three, continue, and then come into stage four with all of your lives.

The final stage of the game is hard AF, and I wound up having to use save states to cheese my way through it. I know, it is not exactly an honorable way to play the game. But as I've said in other reviews where I have had to use save states: I'm a dad. I work all day. I have an hour or two TOPS to play games each day. I have to maximize that time. I can't be playing Double Dragon for days on end, trying to beat it "the normal way". I'm sure I could have if I had the time to do so. But I just don't have the time, especially if I want to get around to the other games in my backlog. That's just the way things are for me right now.

Graphics:

This is the one area where I agree that the Master System version is better than the NES version: the graphics. It's like a hybrid between the NES and the arcade game, with things slightly favoring the arcade version. It's not necessarily a pretty game, but it is bright and colorful and it emulates the arcade version probably as closely as the Master System was capable of doing.

is that Rick Astley?

Sound:

The music and sound effects here are fine. I prefer the more raw, in your face music of the NES game. This is more like the "muzak" version of the soundtrack. It's fine, I suppose. But it really does nothing for me.

Overall:

This is a decent game. If you can get past the janky hit detection and adjust your gameplay accordingly, you should have a fun time with this. For the first three stages, at least. I can only imagine how frustrating it must be to beat this game without continuing in stage four, and without using save states. I'm sure it can be done, but it probably takes a shit ton of trial and error.

I'd put this below the NES version, and somewhere equal to the arcade game. It's been a while since I've played the arcade version. I remember liking it, but I also remember feeling that it is a generic, run of the mill beat 'em up that (aside from name recognition) doesn't really do a whole lot that's unique. This version is right on par with that. Maybe it is a little better?

Oh yeah, I'd be remiss if I didn't mention that this game offers a two player co-op mode, which the NES version does not. So it has that going for it. Not that I ever play with two players. But if that's your thing, I'm sure that it might be enough to sway you over to this version of the game than the NES. But the NES will always reign supreme for me. I gave that game an A when I first reviewed it. Both the arcade and the GBA versions got a B from me. While I literally just said that I like this maybe a bit more than the arcade version, I am actually going to give it a C+. It's an above average game, but am I ever going to circle back and play this again? I can't see that happening. The arcade version? For sure I will be returning to that version someday. So there you have it.

THE GRADE:

C+

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