Double Dragon

The game plays like a conventional fighting game of its time, that is battles are one-on-one and conducted on best two-out-of-three matches. One of the unique aspects of Double Dragon is the lack of specific punch and kick buttons like most fighting games. Instead, there are four attack buttons of varying strength and speed, which can perform punches or kicks depending on the character’s position. The player’s character and his opponent have a super move meter called the “charge meter”, which is overlaid on the character’s remaining health. The less health the character has, the quicker it will fill up. “Charge moves” are usually performed by executing the command of a regular special move and pressing two attack buttons simultaneously at the end instead of just one.

The characters and stages are inspired by the Double Dragon movie featured prominently in the game’s intro. This includes the appearances of a submerged Hollywood, the Dragon Mobile vehicle, Billy and Jimmy’s ability to transform themselves and the inclusion of Koga Shuko as the game’s final boss. However, the game’s characters are depicted in a more anime-like style and only six of the game’s twelve fighters are actually featured in the movie; Burnov and Duke are from previous Double Dragon games and rest were created specifically for this game. This game is dedicated to Kaneto Shiozawa, who died in 2000 and Daisuke Gōri, who died in 2010.