is a 1987 beat 'em up video game developed by Technōs Japan and published by Taito for arcades. The game's development was led by Yoshihisa Kishimoto, and it is a spiritual and technological successor to Technos' earlier beat 'em up, Nekketsu Kōha Kunio-kun (1986), released outside of Japan by Taito as Renegade; Kishimoto originally envisioned it as a direct sequel and part of the Kunio-kun series, before making it a new game with a different cast and setting.
Double Dragon introduced several additions to the Kunio-kun belt scroll beat 'em up formula, such as a continuous side-scrolling world adding a sense of progression, two-player cooperative gameplay, the ability to arm oneself with an enemy's weapon after disarming them, and the use of cutscenes to give it a cinematic look and feel. The game's title is a reference to the two-player gameplay and Bruce Lee's martial arts film Enter the Dragon (1973), which was a major inspiration behind Kunio-kun and Double Dragon, while the game's art style and setting were influenced by the Mad Max films and the Fist of the North Star manga and anime series.
Double Dragon was one of the first successful beat 'em up games, becoming Japan's third highest-grossing table arcade game of 1987 before becoming America's highest-grossing dedicated arcade game in 1988 and 1989. It also received critical acclaim, with Electronic Gaming Monthly awarding it Game of the Year in 1988. Its success resulted in the creation of the Double Dragon franchise, including two arcade sequels and several spinoffs. It also ushered in a "golden age" for the beat 'em up genre, establishing the conventions for a wave of similar games from other companies during the late 1980s and 1990s. Home versions were released for the NES, Master System, Atari 2600, Atari 7800, Atari ST, Amiga, Amstrad CPC, Commodore 64, Game Boy, Sega Genesis, and Atari Lynx, among other platforms during the series' height of popularity. A remake titled Double Dragon Advance was released for the Game Boy Advance in 2003 and a reboot, sequel Double Dragons in 2026.
Gameplay
The game is displayed in a belt scroll format, like Kunio-kun. In contrast to the arena-like levels in Kunio-kun, Double Dragon takes place in a continuously side-scrolling world.
The player takes control of martial artist Billy Lee, or his twin brother Jimmy (also known as Hammer and Spike in the supplementary materials for the American arcade release), as they fight their way into the turf of the Black Warriors gang in order to rescue Billy's girlfriend, Marian. The player character has a repertoire of martial arts techniques which they can perform by using the joystick and three action buttons (kick, jump, and punch) individually or in combination. Techniques range from basic punches and kicks to more elaborate attacks such as throws and elbow strikes. When playing with another player, one can grab an opponent from behind, allowing the other to attack unimpeded; some enemies are able to do the same thing to the players. The player begins the game with a certain number of extra lives and a life gauge which depletes as the player takes hits, and must complete each stage within a time limit. One life is lost if either the life gauge or timer reaches zero, or if the player character falls off the bottom of the screen or into a hole, river, or bed of spikes.
Certain enemies carry melee weapons, which can be knocked out of their hands and picked up to use against them. Available weapons include baseball bats, whips, throwing knives, and dynamite; in addition, rocks, oil drums, and boxes can be found in certain places.
The game is divided into four different stages or "missions", which consist of a city slum, a factory, a forest, and the gang's hideout. The first three levels takes place in a single long map, with the change in background music indicating the presence of a boss character. When a boss is defeated, the remaining underlings will retreat and the player character will enter an automatic transition sequence where he will walk into the next stage. There's also another transition sequence near the end of the third stage just as the player reaches the entrance of the gang's hideout. The fourth and final stage is set inside the hideout on a separate map as the players fight their way through numerous traps until reaching the main hall where Willy awaits. The Double Dragon title theme plays during this period. The game normally ends if Willy is defeated by a single player, but if both Lee brothers manage to complete the game together, they will be forced to fight each other in order to determine who will win Marian's affections. Both life gauges are refilled, any extra lives are taken away, and the timer is reset for this fight.
Characters The Double Dragon duo were actually unnamed when the original arcade game was initially released in Japan, although the names Hammer and Spike were given to them in the cabinet and promotional flyer produced by Taito for the overseas version. The names Billy and Jimmy Lee were first established in the Famicom/NES version of the first game. Billy Lee Heir to the Chinese martial art, Sou-Setsu-Ken. Billy began learning Chinese Kenpou from his father at 12 years of age and mastered several martial arts forms during the following eight years until he turned 20, when he inherited the title of "Sou-Setsu-Ken Master" and established the Sou-Setsu-Ken Dojo with his twin brother to teach citizens how to defend themselves from the Black Warriors.
The Black Warriors gang consists of nine recurring members and their gang leader. Williams A thug in a tank-top and pants. He has a nasty gut punch. He also uses weapons like baseball bats, dynamite and throwing knives. Roper A stronger thug who wears a shirtless vest matching the color of his pants. He uses all of Williams' weapons, as well as heavy weapons such as oil drums, rocks and boxes. Linda The sole female thug of the gang who wears a tight purple leotard. Sometimes she will appear armed with a whip and can fight hand-to-hand. Zack Abobo A bald, mustached sub-boss who is a lighter skin-complexion than his brother. He is a strongman who has the ability to toss his opponent in the air. He also likes to throw heavy objects like oil drums and rocks. Jack Abobo A bearded, mohawked first boss who is a darker skin-complexion than his brother. He serves as end-boss of Mission 1 and is slightly stronger than Zack. Jeff This martial-artist is a head swap of the Lee twins who first appears as the end-boss of the second stage and later appears as a recurring underling in the final two stages. Mibobo (abbreviation for Midori no Abobo or "Green Abobo") A green-skinned palette-swap of Jack in white pants. He appears guarding the gates to the Black Warriors hideout at the end of Mission 3. Possessing all the moves of Jack, Mibobo also walks and attacks very fast, making him a much tougher opponent.
Willy Mackey The gang's leader and final boss of the game. He is armed with a machine gun that is capable dealing great damage to the player. Willy is the leader of the Black Warriors, known by his subordinates as "Big Boss" Willy while everyone else knows him as "Machine Gun" Willy, he originally started a biker gang known as the "Killers" until it grew in members after the nuclear war and became the dominant criminal organization in New York City by being under the anonymous Shadow Boss. Chin Taimei He was first introduced in the series in the NES/Famicom port of the game, basically being a replacement for Jeff in that version. Chin was a skilled Kung Fu practitioner and master of the Koh-oh Ken style who hailed from China. At some point, he joined the Black Warriors criminal organization merely as a way to fight strong opponents and improve his skills.
Development The game's development was led by Yoshihisa Kishimoto, who had previously created the 1986 arcade beat 'em up Nekketsu Kōha Kunio-kun, which was a semi-autobiographical game based on his own high school years and was localized as Renegade in the West. Following its release, he was asked by his seniors at Technōs Japan to create a follow-up, which they suggested should be two-player as that could earn more money in video arcades. He originally envisioned what would become Double Dragon as a Kunio-kun game, a direct sequel to Nekketsu Kōha Kunio-kun, before his seniors asked him to design an art style that would appeal to international audiences. This led to Kishimoto changing it to a spiritual successor with a new cast and setting, rather than a direct sequel. He came up with a new title, Double Dragon, with the "Double" referencing the two-player gameplay and the "Dragon" a homage to Bruce Lee's martial arts film Enter the Dragon (1973), which was a major inspiration behind Kunio-kun and Double Dragon. For the game's setting and art style, he replaced the high-school-themed setting of Kunio-kun with a disaster-ridden city inspired by the Mad Max films and the manga and anime series Fist of the North Star. Kishimoto also expanded the game world to make it a continuously side-scrolling world, adding a sense of progression to the game. This, along with the use of cut scenes, also gave it a cinematic look and feel.
The original arcade version displayed 384 colors on the screen, out of a 4096 (12-bit) color palette. The hardware used several 8-bit microprocessors running in parallel. Along with the multiple Hitachi HD6309 based processors, multiple processors were dedicated to sound, such as the Yamaha YM2151 FM synthesis sound chip.
Ports Famicom/NES
Double Dragon was ported to the Family Computer by Technōs Japan in 1988. The game was published for the Nintendo Entertainment System in North America by Tradewest, who was given the license to produce other home versions of the game as well, and by Nintendo in Europe. The NES version of Double Dragon was released for the Wii's Virtual Console service in April 2008 in Europe and North America. It was also released in North America on December 12, 2013, for the Nintendo 3DS and the Wii U although in Europe, the former was released on December 5, while the latter was released on March 13, 2014.Double Dragon for Wii U, Nintendo, Archived from the original on April 29, 2017
The most notable difference the NES version has from the arcade game is the omission of the arcade's two players cooperative game mode in favor of alternating play. The plot was altered as a result of this changeinstead of having both Lee brothers as protagonists, the NES version has players controlling Billy Lee as the lone protagonist, with Jimmy Lee serving as the antagonist and true leader of the Black Warriors.
Due to technical limitations of the NES that were not worked around, the game can only generate up to two enemies on-screen to confront the player and always as identical pairs. Additionally, any weapon on-screen (including the one carried by the player) will disappear when a wave of enemies has been defeated. A level-up system was also implemented. The player begins the game with only a limited repertoire of basic attacks and earns experience points by defeating enemies, gaining the ability to use more powerful techniques at specific thresholds. The player can achieve up to seven levels throughout the game.
The level designs are very different, with some stages featuring new areas (notably the cavern section in Mission 3) that feature greater emphasis on jumping over platforms or evading traps. Most of the enemies from the arcade version also appear, with the exception of Jeff and the mohawked variant of Abobo. A new enemy character, a Chinese martial arts master named Chin Taimei (shortened to Chintai in the localized version) serves as the boss of the second stage and appears as a recurring minor enemy for the rest of the game.
Mode B