Double Dragon Desperately Needs A Next-Gen Reboot

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Left-to-right scrolling, beat ’em-up games were a staple in the arcade landscape of the 80s and 90s. Titles like Double Dragon, Cadillac and Dinosaurs, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Golden Axe were monster hits and have become classics in the beat ’em-up genre, but one in particular deserves a next-gen reboot.

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The arcade game was released in 1987 by Japanese company Technos. It was later ported to home consoles like NES, Gameboy, Atari and Sega Master System. The game was a huge commercial success and set off the Golden Age of beat ’em up releases that littered the late 80s and 90s. The story of Double Dragon in the original arcade version saw twin brothers Billy and Jimmy fight through the Black Warriors Gang to save Billy’s girlfriend, Marion.

The gameplay gave players the pleasure of kneeing enemies in the face and using baseball bats and knives to attack the Black Warrior Gang. Various martial arts techniques like basic punches and kicks and more complex techniques such as hair-grabbing moves or the famous elbow punch were also part of your arsenal. When playing with another player, one can assist the other by grabbing their partner’s opponent from behind.

The game was so successful that a television cartoon was developed in 1993 and a live-action film in 1994. The premise of the animated series was based on the ported NES version. The show’s premise is that the protagonist’s brothers are separated at birth. Billy is raised by an elderly martial arts master known as the Oldest Dragon, and the evil Shadow Master raises his brother Jimmy as his second-in-command, the Shadow Boss.

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