Double Dragon (Game Gear)

For other uses, see Double Dragon (disambiguation).

Double Dragon, known in Europe as Double Dragon: The Revenge of Billy Lee, is a beat 'em up game developed and published by Virgin Interactive in 1993 for Sega's Game Gear handheld console. It is a unique entry in the series, exclusive to the console, and implements many elements not seen in most other installments of the franchise.

It was originally known as Double Dragon Xtra, though the "Xtra" name was dropped later before the game's release.^[1]

Plot[]

The plot of the game greatly varies between sources:

The instruction manual follows a similar premise as the original Double Dragon, where it states that while on a stroll with his girlfriend Marian, Billy Lee is attacked by members of the Black Warriors –a gang of ruffians who have been terrorizing the city– and while he lies unconscious, they take her away to the "Samurai Mansion". Billy then goes in their pursuit, which takes him to many locations while in her search until finally arriving to the mansion, where he has a final showdown with their leader, the "Black Samurai".

The text on the back cover of the game box, on the other hand, states that Jimmy, Billy's brother, has been murdered by an evil organization known as the "Dragon Lords" and that it's up to him to seek revenge on the perpetrators by setting off to the streets and do justice by his own hand.

However, the events depicted in the game itself, which are the most likely to be considered canon, show Billy fighting against an evil organization known as the "Dragon Clan" and facing a magical (or alien) entity near the end, followed by a mystical warrior wielding a laser blade. When defeated, the foe is actually revealed to be Jimmy, who was being controlled by an evil force (in a similar twist as the NES version of Double Dragon, where he was the final boss of the game) and, liberated from its influence, is finally rescued and the world is freed from their evil power.

Gameplay[]

The object of the game is to take control of its protagonist, Billy Lee, in his search of his brother Jimmy's whereabouts by taking it to the streets and beating down numerous thugs, members of the "Dragon Clan".

The game consists of six large levels, each divided in several sub-stages, which include skid row at night, uptown during the day, the harbor, a subway train, the countryside and a mansion. At the end of each stage, the player must face a larger and more difficult enemy (or boss) in order to proceed to the next level, repeating this process until finally reaching the final stage, where they must confront the main antagonist of the game and, on success, obtain the ending.

The game was entirely developed by Virgin Interactive, with no involvement from Technōs other than its licensing; as such, it implements many aspects not seen in most other installments of the Double Dragon franchise, such as the ability to use firearms. Furthermore, in contrast to the gameplay style and aesthetics already established by previous games, the Game Gear version takes a unique approach that is more similar to other beat 'em ups, such as the Streets of Rage series.

The player can also collect power-ups scattered throughout the levels in order to increase their health bar and the number of continues, and a statistics screen is shown at the end of each level where the player is rated on their performance.

Stages[]

Level	Name
1	Sleazy Slums
2	Get Down Uptown
3	Dirty Docks
4	Terror Train
5	Chaotic Country
6	Samurai Mansion

Credits[]

• Executive Producers: Stephen Clarke-Willson (Dr. Stephen H. Clarke-Willson) and Neil Young
• Producer and Manual: Lyle J. Hall (Lyle Hall II)
• Manual Editor: Robin Kausch
• Programming: Matthew From (Matt From)
• Creative Art Direction: Stan Gorman
• Art Assistance: Kevin Norr and John Weir
• Animation: Tom Tanaka
• Background Graphics: Michael A. Field (Mike Field)
• Composer: Matt Furniss (of Krisalis)
• Sound Driver: Shaun Hollingworth (of Krisalis)
• Quality Assurance: Scott J. Duckett (Scott Duckett), Michael Gater, John Geoffroy, Danny Lewis (Daniel Lewis), Eugene Martin, Justin Norr, Adam Ryan, Bijan Shaheer, and Noah Tool
• Special Thanks: William Anderson (Bill Anderson), David Bishop, Ian Mathias, and Matthew Spall

Reception[]

Game Pro's Scary Larry rated Double Dragon on Game Gear with a total score of 4.5 points out of 5, commending the spectacular graphics, detailed sprites, smooth screen scrolling, and funky music.^[2] The editors of Electronic Gaming Monthly gave the handheld title an average 60%, calling it a decent game while pointing out faults in the choppy gameplay and hit detection.^[3]

Paul and Ade from Sega Force Mega had and unfavorable take on Double Dragon, scoring it 50%. They lambasted it as an boringly average title for its slow action, sprite flicker, and substandard sound.^[4] Gary Whitta and Paul Rand of Computer & Video Games gave their own views, with both praising the game's graphics while criticizing the "iffy" animation. They rewarded Double Dragon with an overall 83%, despite their unanimous agreement in Streets of Rage 2 being the better game for the Game Gear.^[5]

References[]

External links[]

• Double Dragon (Game Gear) at Double Dragon Dojo
• Double Dragon (Game Gear) at MobyGames
• Double Dragon (Game Gear) at Sega Retro