Double Dragon
双截龍
- Year
- 1988
- Developer
- Technos Japan
- Publisher
- Tradewest (NA) / Technos (JP)
- Platform
- FC / NES
- Hardware
- Family Computer (8-bit)
- Genre
- Beat 'em up
- Players
- 1 player (2 players in Mode B)
- Controls
- D-pad + A (punch) / B (kick)
- Series
- Double Dragon series
Gameplay Screenshots
About This Game
The NES conversion of Double Dragon is not a straight port of the 1987 arcade brawler - it is a different game built on the same story. Billy Lee fights through the Black Warriors gang to rescue Marian, but the NES version adds a level-up system: hearts earned from defeated enemies unlock new moves, from the elbow smash to the spin kick.
It also adds an exclusive mode. The arcade game's two-player co-op was replaced with two single-player modes: Mode A, the full story, and Mode B, a versus fighting mode where a second player controls an enemy. Its stages expand on the arcade original - the factory, the forest and the dojo are all NES-only additions - and the elbow smash, once learned, trivialises most of the game.
- Level-up system: collect hearts to unlock elbow smash, spin kick and more
- Mode A story campaign and Mode B two-player versus
- Stages exclusive to the NES release, including the factory and the dojo
- Weapon pickups - bats, whips and rocks - carried over from the arcade design
Version History
- Famicom Japanese version1988-04-08
Original Japanese release by Technos.
- NES US version1988-06
The version on this page, published by Tradewest.
- Arcade original1987
Technos' arcade brawler with two-player co-op; the NES game is a separate design.
Tips & Strategy
Grind hearts in the first stage
The level-up thresholds are low early on. Farming the first street section until you have the elbow smash makes the second stage twice as easy.
The elbow smash is the answer
Once unlocked it outranges and outdamages every other move, and enemies walk straight into it. Learn the spacing and use it on everything.
Watch the walls in the dojo
The late-stage interior fights give you almost no room to retreat. Back into a corner deliberately so enemies line up in front of you.
Mode B is a training tool
Playing as an enemy in Mode B teaches you each opponent's attack range faster than dying to them in Mode A.
Download Resources
Resource packs for this game are provided through the button below.
⬇ Coming soon