Double Dragon Review

Double Dragon (PSN Import)
Developed By: Technōs Japan
Published By: MonkeyPaw Games
Date of Release: January 14, 2014
Price: $5.99


In the year 1994, the T-1000 (sporting a horrible bleached hairdo) tried to take over the world by uniting two halves of an ancient medallion. His plans were thwarted by the Chairman from Iron Chef America, and Bailey from Party of Five. After Alyssa Milano shows up in short-shorts and force feeds spinach to one of his henchmen the heroes figure out his plot, and kick his ass. What sounds like a bizarre bout of genre-defying fanfiction is in fact a perfect summary of the film Double Dragon, which was LOOSELY (I mean this literally) based on the original videogame.



So what the blazing hell does this have to do with this review? In 1996 Technōs Japan released a 1 on 1 fighting game based on the movie, and believe me when I say that the game is even more loosely based on the movie than the movie was based on the original. Other than some snippets from the film in the intro, and a few little references, this game is its own beast. And that ends up working out in the end. What you have here is a by the numbers Street Fighter clone with an interesting cast of characters (though half of them were never even in the movie), great graphics, and an equally good soundtrack.



In my personal opinion this game could have easily flown on it's own without using any material from the film, however anyone who is a fan of the cinematic cheesefest will appreciate the references. with lush sprites, awesome backgrounds, and tried and true gameplay, this game really stands on it's own. MonkeyPaw has done Double Dragon fans a definite favor by bringing this previously Japan-only game over here, and it serves as an excellent taste of things to come over the next month and a half as they release a new import each week, culminating in the release of Tomba 2. Tune in next time for a fast and furious review of Lucifer Ring!