Double Dragon (双截龍ダブルドラゴン, Daburu Doragon - Sō Setsu Ryū) is a beat 'em up video game series initially developed by Technōs Japan and released as an arcade game in 1987. The series features twin martial artists, Billy and Jimmy Lee, as they fight against various adversaries and rivals.
The original Double Dragon was a blockbuster hit arcade game, ushering in a "Golden Age" for the beat 'em up genre, resulting in a flood of beat 'em ups during the late 1980s to 1990s that followed the conventions set by Double Dragon. Due to the popularity of the game series, a 1993 animated series and 1994 live-action film adaptation were produced; these adaptations were widely-panned by critics and audiences.
The first game, Double Dragon, was released in the arcades in 1987. A Nintendo Entertainment System version produced by Technōs was released in 1988, followed by a Game Boy version in 1990. Various licensed versions were also produced by other developers for gaming platforms such as the Master System, Atari 2600, Atari 7800, Genesis, Atari Lynx and for home computers. Two Double Dragon sequels were released for the arcade: Double Dragon II: The Revenge in 1988 and Double Dragon 3: The Rosetta Stone in 1990. Like the original, Technōs produced versions for the NES (Double Dragon II: The Revenge in 1989 and Double Dragon III: The Sacred Stones in 1991 respectively). In 1991 Double Dragon II was released for the Game Boy which featured an unrelated storyline. A fourth game was released exclusively for the Super NES in 1992, titled Super Double Dragon. It was the last game produced by the original team at Technōs. The Game Gear game Double Dragon is not a port of the original arcade game, but is instead an entirely new entry in the series that has gameplay elements that are more similar to Streets of Rage.
In 1994, Tradewest released Double Dragon V: The Shadow Falls for the Super NES and Genesis in North America and Europe, a fighting game developed by Leland Interactive based on the Double Dragon animated TV series by Bohbot Entertainment. A Jaguar version was released by Telegames as well.
Other appearances and related games[edit]
• Super Spike V'Ball (NES) – The NES version which features Billy and Jimmy as playable characters.
• WWF Superstars (arcade) – Features a cameo by Billy as one of the game's spectators.
• River City Ransom (NES) – The Double Dragon theme music plays during the battle against Randy and Andy, two characters based on Billy and Jimmy. The Japanese counterparts of Randy and Andy, Ryūichi and Ryūji, are recurring characters in the later Kunio-kun games. Abobo appears as a recurring enemy in the sequel, River City Ransom Underground.
• Battletoads/Double Dragon (NES, GB, Genesis, SNES) – A crossover game between the Double Dragon and Battletoads franchises.
• Voltage Fighter Gowcaizer (Neo Geo) – Burnov from the Neo Geo Double Dragon game makes a cameo as Captain Atlantis' opponent in his ending.
• Rage of the Dragons (Neo Geo) – An unofficial homage to Double Dragon produced by Evoga and Noise Factory in association with Playmore which become the current incarnation of SNK. The main characters are named Billy and Jimmy Lewis.
• Abobo's Big Adventure (PC) – An unofficial parody of various Nintendo Entertainment System titles, including Double Dragon, and starring Abobo as the main character.
• River City: Rival Showdown (3DS) – Both Billy and Jimmy Lee are playable characters in the Double Dragon Duel mode.
• River City Girls (PC, Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One) - The Lee Brothers have two Dojos in River City, where the player characters can acquire new fighting moves from the brothers in exchange for money. Abobo appears as a boss in the game, Marian and Skullmageddon as shop keepers, Burnov works as a bouncer.