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in: Stubs, Double Dragon games, Beat 'em up games, 1993 Game Gear games

Double Dragon (Game Gear)

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Double Dragon, known in Europe as Double Dragon: The Revenge of Billy Lee, is a side-scrolling beat 'em up game developed and published by Virgin Interactive in 1993 for Sega's Game Gear.

Despite being called simply Double Dragon in the US and using promotional artwork from the first arcade game for the box art, it is a unique entry and not a port of that game. It was originally known as Double Dragon Xtra, though the "Xtra" name was dropped later before the game's release.[1]

Plot[]

Double Dragon provides three completely different storylines that contradict each other:

According to the back of the box, Billy and Jimmy Lee were members of a street gang called the Dragon Lords. When they attempted to leave the gang, Jimmy was murdered. Billy now vows to avenge his brother's death.

The instruction manual follows the original arcade's plot. Billy Lee and his girlfriend Marian are attacked by members of the Black Warriors Gang, with Marian being kidnapped and taken to the gang's hideout at the Samurai Mansion. Billy decides to take on the entire gang to save her.

However, the events depicted in the game itself, which are the most likely to be considered canon, it is revealed that Billy is fighting a mystical organization called the Dragon Clan, which has captured Jimmy and placed him under their thrall.

Gameplay[]

The object of the game is to take control of its protagonist, Billy Lee, in his search of his brother Jimmy's whereabouts by taking it to the streets and beating down numerous thugs, members of the "Dragon Clan".

The game consists of six large levels, each divided in several sub-stages, which include skid row at night, uptown during the day, the harbor, a subway train, the countryside and a mansion. At the end of each stage, the player must face a larger and more difficult enemy (or boss) in order to proceed to the next level, repeating this process until finally reaching the final stage, where they must confront the main antagonist of the game and, on success, obtain the ending.

Billy has a health bar, which consists of four segments at the beginning of the game but gains another segment at the start of each stage (up to a maximum of eight). He loses health as he is hurt by enemies and loses a life if he runs out of health. Health segments turn from red to yellow before disappearing. Enemies also have health bars that are shown after they are attacked. If Billy is carrying a weapon, he drops it if an enemy knocks him down. The player starts the game with three continues and gains more at certain points thresholds.

Development[]

The game was entirely developed by Virgin Interactive, with no involvement from Technōs other than its licensing; as such, it implements many aspects not seen in most other installments of the Double Dragon franchise, such as the ability to use firearms. Furthermore, in contrast to the gameplay style and aesthetics already established by previous games, the Game Gear version takes a unique approach that is more similar to other beat 'em ups, such as the Streets of Rage series.

Credits[]

  • Executive Producers: Stephen Clarke-Willson (Dr. Stephen H. Clarke-Willson) and Neil Young
  • Producer and Manual: Lyle J. Hall (Lyle Hall II)
  • Manual Editor: Robin Kausch
  • Programming: Matthew From (Matt From)
  • Creative Art Direction: Stan Gorman
  • Art Assistance: Kevin Norr and John Weir
  • Animation: Tom Tanaka
  • Background Graphics: Michael A. Field (Mike Field)
  • Composer: Matt Furniss (of Krisalis)
  • Sound Driver: Shaun Hollingworth (of Krisalis)
  • Quality Assurance: Scott J. Duckett (Scott Duckett), Michael Gater, John Geoffroy, Danny Lewis (Daniel Lewis), Eugene Martin, Justin Norr, Adam Ryan, Bijan Shaheer, and Noah Tool
  • Special Thanks: William Anderson (Bill Anderson), David Bishop, Ian Mathias, and Matthew Spall

Reception[]

Game Pro's Scary Larry rated Double Dragon on Game Gear with a total score of 4.5 points out of 5, commending the spectacular graphics, detailed sprites, smooth screen scrolling, and funky music.[2] The editors of Electronic Gaming Monthly gave the handheld title an average 60%, calling it a decent game while pointing out faults in the choppy gameplay and hit detection.[3]

Paul and Ade from Sega Force Mega had and unfavorable take on Double Dragon, scoring it 50%. They lambasted it as an boringly average title for its slow action, sprite flicker, and substandard sound.[4] Gary Whitta and Paul Rand of Computer & Video Games gave their own views, with both praising the game's graphics while criticizing the "iffy" animation. They rewarded Double Dragon with an overall 83%, despite their unanimous agreement in Streets of Rage 2 being the better game for the Game Gear.[5]

References[]

  1. ↑ "Double Trouble! Double Dragon Extra hits the streets!", Sega Force Mega, Issue #1 p. 79 (March 1993)
  2. ↑ Scary Larry, "Game Gear Pro Review - Double Dragon" Game Pro, Issue #44, p. 176 (March 1993)
  3. ↑ Steve Harris, Ed Semrad, Martin Alessi, and Sushi - X, "Review Crew - Double Dragon", Electronic Gaming Monthly, Issue #46, p. 34 (May 1993)
  4. ↑ Paul and Ade, "GG Review - Double Dragon Extra", Sega Force Mega, Issue #1 p. 82 (August 1993)
  5. ↑ Gary Whitta and Paul Rand, "Double Dragon", Computer and Video Games, Issue #23, pp. 10-11 (December 1993)

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