Having just downloaded the mobile game app of Double Dragon, which contains episodes 1 to 3 for a great price, I need to mention this nostalgic experience here. I only had the sequel, but now I get to be Billy Lee once again, fighting to rescue some unenviable lady friend and avenge myself with a variety of raw fighting moves. It's not easy being a small Patrick Swayze-like bitmap character. However, I find myself tapping away on a mobile and re-living the same excited sensations of seeing new scenery unfold as I fight my way onwards - rightward - to the edge of the screen.
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| click to enlarge this 80s Game Box Artwork |
The last time I saw these graphics in Double Dragon 2, was in the 90s, in EGA graphics, using a keyboard with keys so big they made a sound and now I get to see it work at a decent, playable speed. In the process, the controls of attacks have lost a lot of their depth but the mechanics were never subtle. Back then we hoped they were subtle. But this was before Mortal Kombat combos.
In this adventure fighting game, it was also possible to play Co-operative, with Jimmy Lee helping out against the assorted baddies. Seeing the magic of these Coin-op classics (yes, I had Golden Axe too), to play in the comfort of home on a PC/console was the real start of gaming, family and social. We were fighting our way through this key-stroked action movie, just after watching one on VHS, before leaving the house on BMX bikes.
Video gaming will get ever more advanced, and more immersive, and maybe more social. But we should never forget the simple (and frustrating) kind of experience that being Jimmy and Billy Lee in a platform-style adventure provided. What would the next baddy be like? Laughable or insanely difficult to thrash? What keystroke combos would work best? How long could we last before being sent back to the beginning of the damn level? And what would be the nugget of wisdom we might glean from the wise master at the end of it all?
Well in this case there are no nuggets... but you do get to fight the final boss from Double Dragon 1 and then... a spooky clone of yourself !
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