Double Dragon II

So would this be Quadruple Dragon, then?

Review Date: April 18, 2021

Release Date: January 1, 1990

Platform: NES

Publisher: Acclaim

Genre: Beat ‘Em Up

Anecdotes: It’s time to double our Double Dragon fun by doubling the number of games! For the most part, gameplay is very similar to the first game. For those that liked the first game, they’ll probably like the second. The same holds true for those that didn’t.

Description: Billy and Jimmy are back for more, but this time, they can play together as the game contains a two player mode. Per Wikipedia: Players control Billy and Jimmy Lee, who are on a mission to avenge the death of Billy’s girlfriend Marian after she is killed during an attack by the Shadow Warriors.

Positives:

-There is a lot more variety in the settings. The number of missions jumped from 4 to 9. There will still be cases where Billy has to go through a door, but the doors are obvious here and aren’t Abobo-created holes in the wall.

-It takes a little getting used to, but A hits right and B hits left. This is useful for when Billy is attacked from behind. He doesn’t have to turn around to attack anymore. He can even go back and forth if he’s attacked on both sides. Just don’t press both buttons at the same time or Billy will jump.

Negatives:

-While the easiest mode is insultingly called “Practice,” it has a big flaw: the game cuts off after mission 3. The “normal” mode ends after mission 8. I don’t get this at all. There’s no reason to deny players looking for an easier experience a chance to see every level.

What plane has space like this to fight in? It’s bizarre, but even more bizarre is the fact that the door randomly opens every 30 seconds or so, so that people can fall out of it.

-And then there’s the fun of platforming. First off, this is a Beat ‘Em Up game; why is there any platforming in it at all? The first game did this, too, but the second did nothing to correct it. It’s still two buttons to jump, the jumping is still stiff, and none of it should be necessary. The only reason any jumping should be in this game is to jump kick. When I played, nearly all of my deaths were due to either missing jumps, falling off ledges, or getting tossed over an edge. Mission 5 had tons of fall deaths, between the jumps under the waterfall and getting thrown around by an Abobo.

Seriously. Why is this screen necessary?

Screenshots:

Billy will take care of her and move on.
Why is that step there? I tried just holding right, thinking Billy would just go up or stop, but instead he fell off the screen.
“Hey, let’s go shoot a bunch of bullets at Billy!” Of course, it isn’t getting hit by the bullet Billy needs to worry about, it’s falling off the cliff that’s the real issue.
No, please don’t beat me with those Lummi sticks!
Billy has no idea where he’s going and he knows it will kill him, but he’s doing it anyway. Only in video games.

Final Opinion: The whole game just screams “average” to me. It’s not great, but it’s not lousy, either.

Grade: C

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