Double Dragon 4 Download
Cecelia Seiner
Double Dragon is one of the hardest and well known side scrolling beat 'em ups in history. There were the quarter munching arcade games, and the NES home versions. There was whatever the Super Nintendo version was. They even had a Street Fighter-ish version of the game for Neo Geo. Double Dragon Neon was a modern version that made fun of itself during the Playstation 3/Xbox360 era. And yes, there's a movie out there somewhere, but do not look it up.
Double Dragon is iconic. I mentioned to a friend that Double Dragon was coming back, and she said "That's crazy!". Many have tried to take the mantle after Tecnos Japan let Double Dragon go, and now Modus and Secret Base get a shot. And I must say, they did this fan a solid.
The game starts off with your typical Double Dragon story, which usually involves girlfriend Marian getting captured, or kidnapped, or even in one version, killed. In this origin story the year is 199x The new mayor of New York City brings an unconscious Marian back to the Sosetsuken dojo. Billy and Jimmy immediately want answers. Turns out, Marian is a cop now, and got caught up in one of the gang conflicts. The mayor can't handle the city anymore. The four gangs that now run the city after a full nuclear war have pushed him to the limit. He enlists the Dragon brothers to help, but the hater Uncle Matin tries to stop them. The Dragons want to fight, and after Marian comes to, she wants to as well. It doesn't take long, and we're off to take back the streets.
Every character has different attacks too. Billy and Jimmy have different move sets, and are a little faster. Uncle Matin has a riot shield, and is the stronger of the original four, but of course, slower. Marian has a gun, and can shoot characters from across the screen. You would think that you could just fly through the game with her, but she has to reload, and it gets a little dicey when she cannot, and there's a screen full of characters. Everyone also has a special move. There's a special meter right under your life bar, and this indicates how much you can use these specials. If you have enough, you can chain two specials together. This meter has a cooldown, so you don't just spam your special, and you have up to three depending on the command you enter. You can also bind specials 2 and 3 to your L2 and R2 buttons, and change buttons around if you so choose.
Now, you chose a second character for a reason. The special meter doubles as a tag meter, and if this meter is full, you can tag in that other character. Once you tag that other character, they can jump in and you immediately take over that character. This is game changing for a beat 'em up, because you can tag this character in for any situation.
If you want that second character to come in to change it up, do it. You get grabbed by an enemy, the other character can jump in with a special and get you out of a jam. You can even be mid combo, tag your other character, and finish the combo. Be careful with this, because in some instances, when you're getting beat down, and you tag someone in, and whiff, you have no control over the previous character, and they will continue to take the beatdown you couldn't save them from. While your character is out, they do replenish some health. If one of you gets taken out, then you're on your own.
Staying alive is the name of the game here, and there are enemies everywhere. Some are your run of the mill enemies, some have weapons that SOME of your characters can pick up and use. Some are big and bulky and don't go down so easy. Some are scorpions. Actual scorpions. Scorpions that sting you and mess up your controls. If you're not careful, you will be facing a game over screen in no time.
Another cool element added here is something called crowd control. If you defeat 3 or more enemies with a special attack, you will get a splash screen with a bonus food item. If you take down three, you get a hot dog, four you get a burger, and five or more nets you the video game turkey, for a full health refill. I took full advantage of this. When my health was lower than I wanted it to be, I just waited until lots of people were on the screen, and unleashed my special. Worked like gangbusters. Food for everyone. Remember though that the tag meter and special meter are one in the same, so if you're procuring a hamburger for your partner, you may have to wait for a cool down.
I say maybe, because you can destroy things on screen. Boxes, slot machines, display cases, and even plants can be taken out in exchange for money, special meter refill gems, and sometimes even food. This is a side scrolling beat 'em up, after all. And there's nothing wrong with throwing enemies into this stuff either. Marian can usually take these out with one shot, as it takes Billy and Jimmy a couple of melee attacks. If I find a room with multiple things to break, I call in Marian to tear the place apart. The enemies also drop special refill gems, and money, and the money disappears if you don't go grab it. Sometimes money comes in bags, and if you pick up a health item while your life is full, you get money in exchange.
Each stage has two acts. At the end of each act, you can exchange money for temporary buffs for your run through. You can increase your maximum life, or even get a faster health regen. If you're a boss, and you don't need no stinkin' help, you can ultimately choose to take the money and continue fighting. You get one choice per character, per opportunity, and if you choose a buff that is, say, $700 a piece, that's $1400 out of your pot. Be very aware of your money, because you need it to continue if you lose.
I failed to mention that once both characters are down, you get the chance to use your money to resurrect both characters, and each time you do it, the price goes up. Most people would hate this feature. I actually love it. A lot. It keeps the game from being a one and done, and it also presents the ability to use everything at your disposal. Pick the right buffs. Use or lose specials. Fight for your lives. There are ways to make more money though, at a cost.
I touched on earlier that you can choose any stage in any order, and that still holds true. Once you choose a stage, it automatically makes the other three stages harder. Even the mid and main bosses have different move sets. You can also get bonus money if you meet certain requirements while playing. You can access those requirements with a push of the start button. The stages also have longer versions of themselves depending on when you choose them. So whichever stage you choose last, will be the hardest and longest version of that stage, compared to if you chose it first. There may be a boss you don't want to face in their final form. Trust and believe me when I say this...Do NOT fight the final version of Anubis. He does not mess around.
The music is nostalgic. Every catchy song from the Double Dragon series, old and new, is here. The victory fanfare is here too. The token exchange rate adds one hell of a replay value, as well as the inkling to team other characters up together, especially after unlocking them. You can also use the tokens to unlock tips for each character. In the last few years, I now have Streets of Rage, TMNT, and now Double Dragon for my modern console, and I'm trying not to be upset that online co-op comes later this year. 2 player Couch co-op is ok, but it's 2023. At least give me the option. I want it now. It's an extremely fun game, with some good nostalgic pixel art. I enjoyed it. I think you will too if you played any Double Dragon.
Double Dragon Gaiden: Rise of the Dragons comes during a time where we wouldn't mind some good ol' fashioned beat 'em up side scrolling games. A huge roster of characters and a great new tag team feature really push the franchise forward. While it gets everything right, it baffles me that we have to wait for online co-op. Still, that shouldn't deter you. Double Dragon fans should grab this right now.
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Other machines made by Taito during the time periodDouble Dragon was produced include: Daikaiju No Gyakushu - Giant Monster Counterattack, Violent Shooting, Land Sea Air Squad, Great Gurianos, Inspiration Baseball, Arkanoid - Revenge Of Doh, Dr. Toppel Tankentai, Flying Shark, Hishou Same, and Kyuukyoku Tiger
Marion has been taken away by the Black or Shadow Warriors and is being held hostage. If the game is being played by two people, both players can fight enemies throughout the game, but they are also able to hurt each other. When both players finally reach the end of the game, there is a one-on-one fight between the two to see who wins the girl.
Players advance through four stages. You start in a street, move into a factory, through a jungle/forest then end up in a castle. There are a variety of moves such as back-kicks, elbows, head-butts, uppercuts, knee-ing in the face and throws. You can steal weapons from enemies such as knives, clubs, whips and dynamite among others and use them against any of the enemies. You can also use oil drums, crates and big rocks to throw at your enemies. Not much else to do except walk along and beat the crap out of anyone in your way until you finish the game.
The third level is quite long, so unless you have played the game a lot you may not be able to complete this stage within the time limit, in which case you will lose a life. There are also instant die situations when you must jump over a bridge and holes.
BUG This only happens in two player mode. On the second level right before the end of level baddie comes out, if one player looses all his lives, the boss will not appear and you will NOT be able to continue the game.PCHEAT Use the elbow smash against any enemy and you should be able to defeat them without any problem.PCHEAT This cheat requires two players. At the end of level two the one with the lift, player one should get the green enemy in a full nelson from behind when he is nearly dead and therefore low on energy. When all the other enemies have been killed, the games countdown timer should stop and if player two picks up the whip, the green bad guy should be able to be whipped indefinately, provided that this is done carefully. Player twos score will continue to increase and after about 20 minutes his score should reach 99,950. After that, everytime player two hits an enemy or scores some points the player should receive an extra life.PTRICK Sometimes, enemies will come out wielding sticks of dynamite. if you let them throw it, walk backwards and they should walk right into the explosion One of the oldest Double Dragon tricks.
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