Double Dragon II: The Revenge
Also known as: Double Dragon 2 | Double Dragon II
Technōs created once again a vastly different experience with Double Dragon II on the NES. The experience system was dropped, but the moveset still underwent a few changes. The elbow attack and turning jump kick are gone, but with the standard kick directed backwards they seemed a bit redundant anyway. There are two new ways to make enemies in a grapple suffer, elbow smashes to the head, and a high kick to propel them away. In the brief time window when the Lee brothers are crouching after a jump or after getting knocked down, it’s possible to perform a rising uppercut or a knee jump attack. The timing for these isn’t easy, but they are the most powerful moves in the game. On the NES, Double Dragon II is a much more innovative and unique sequel than in the arcade, but it marks also the time Double Dragon started its schizophrenic shifting between wildly different tones and gameplay styles. In a way it’s one of the best games to bear the Double Dragon name, but it’s hard to shake the feeling that Technōs had already started to loose a cohesive vision of what it meant to be Double Dragon, both in tone and in gameplay.
FightingArcadeHack and SlashAdventure
Released
22 Dec 1989
37 years ago
N/A
VGDB Score
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Overview
Summary
Technōs created once again a vastly different experience with Double Dragon II on the NES. The experience system was dropped, but the moveset still underwent a few changes. The elbow attack and turning jump kick are gone, but with the standard kick directed backwards they seemed a bit redundant anyway. There are two new ways to make enemies in a grapple suffer, elbow smashes to the head, and a high kick to propel them away. In the brief time window when the Lee brothers are crouching after a jump or after getting knocked down, it’s possible to perform a rising uppercut or a knee jump attack. The timing for these isn’t easy, but they are the most powerful moves in the game. On the NES, Double Dragon II is a much more innovative and unique sequel than in the arcade, but it marks also the time Double Dragon started its schizophrenic shifting between wildly different tones and gameplay styles. In a way it’s one of the best games to bear the Double Dragon name, but it’s hard to shake the feeling that Technōs had already started to loose a cohesive vision of what it meant to be Double Dragon, both in tone and in gameplay.
Description
About This Game
Double Dragon II: The Revenge (Japanese: 双截龍 (ダブルドラゴン)II ザ・リベンジ) is a side-scrolling beat 'em up produced by Technōs Japan originally released as a coin-operated arcade game in 1988. It is the first sequel to Double Dragon, released during the previous year. The sequel involves Billy and Jimmy Lee in a mission to avenge their girlfriend Marian after she is shot to death by the Black Warriors leader Willy, who is retaliating against the Lee brothers after his defeat at the end of the previous game. Double Dragon II was initially developed as an upgrade kit for the original Double Dragon, but evolved into a stand-alone game due to an increase in memory size, resulting in the developers reusing assets for both games.
