Double Dragon ! Just saying those two words invokes memories of seedy arcade joints down some dark alley. That never stopped me entering these seedy joints and pumping 20 cent coins into the machine and play as Billy Lee (aka Hammer). If I had a mate with me, he would play as Billy’s twin brother, Jimmy (aka Spike). Double Dragon was the first beat’em up to introduce two-player co-operative play.
Let me set the scene for ya – Billy’s girlfriend, Marian, who bares some resemblance to Madonna (I said some resemblance), gets kidnapped by the savage street gang known as the Black Warriors. What happens after this is, you, as Billy, set out to rescue your missus by busting heads with either your fists, feet, head, a whip or my fave, the baseball bat. There are strewn drums, cartons, rocks, dynamite and even knives to throw around at bad guys if that is your way of dishing out punishment.
The backward elbow was my favourite move. It worked a treat every time, especially against the gigantic Mr T look-a-like gang members.
This game has withstood the test of time. It is 25 years since it was released and till this day, remains the king of the beat’em ups. I still play it on my arcade machine at home. It always puts a smile on my face, as this was the first arcade game I actually played and defeated – I was a Double Dragon hero to all my teenage mates. That felt good !
So, to you, Double Dragon, I wish you a happy 25th birthday !
If you’ll excuse me, it is time for me to crank up the free-play credit on the machine, and go and wrap a baseball bat around some bad guys head.
[…] If you have been following our exploits here or on social media, you’ll know that we are massive fans of Technos‘ brilliant 1987 beat’em up arcade game, Double Dragon. […]