Double Dragon (NES) Playthrough - NintendoComplete

A playthrough of Tradewest's 1988 NES game, Double Dragon.
This is by far my favorite port of the first entry in Technos classic beat 'em up series. The NES version is fairly unique in a lot of ways - the level design is different from the other versions here, two-player mode alternates between players rather than allowing both to play simultaneously, and it includes a new RPG-lite experience system that awards you new and more useful special moves. It adds quite a bit to the otherwise fairly simple gameplay.
But that scene in The Wizard? The one where the red-headed bossy girl screams something about 50,000 points? Yeah...no. The score isn't hard to hit, but you can't get it after 3 minutes of playing like Jimmy does, nor can you (to my knowledge) get that score as early in the game as it shows. Sorry, just a bit of a random rant/nitpick. I still love the movie though. And this game.
____
No cheats were used during the recording of this video.
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[@Armando316]

I FINALLY beat this game at 41 years old and damn near cried 😂😂😂. Man this game is so hard.

[@charlenefulton1452]

lol!

[@JBird401]

Felt the same way when I finally beat Ninja Gaiden 3 lol. Congrats !

[@ligetyligs3710]

Forreal I just beat double dragon 2 after cleaning and fixing my nes..only took me 30 years

[@senseicorey9979]

It's such a dopamine hit, achievements in these older games. Totally blows away new games with quick saves / loads

[@burningtime617]

@@senseicorey9979 Agreed. That's why the Dark Souls games were a breath of fresh air. Brought me back to video games with that old school style of struggle and accomplishment. They are basically NES games at heart.

[@dunndolo]

Nintendo - “We only allow family friendly games.” *double dragon starts off with domestic violence and kidnapping* 😂

[@kramalerav]

It’s grandfathered in.

[@SamtheBravesFan]

There were knobs that actually complained about the fighting in Blades of Steel.

[@NoName-cq7gy]

​@@SamtheBravesFan Blades of Steel was one of my favorites. I still remember getting it on Christmas morning when I was 10 or 11.

[@gofkurself]

I always liked ice hockey better than blades of steel.

[@bigduke5902]

Double Dragon taught me a very, very important lesson early on in my life as a gamer. Because kicking enemies kills them quicker, but punching them gives you a lot more experience in the long run, enemies aren't always obstacles and can be "used" for your benefit. Sometimes, doing things the hard way leads to greater rewards. I'm sure that somehow translated into everyday life.

[@ronalddoctor8622]

Thank you Chuck Norris! 👌

[@vondernacht]

Haha 🎉

[@mikes7446]

I miss playing this game. One of my favorite childhood games.

[@bzilla1090]

This game had a great soundtrack.. especially the pink cave, Chin's theme

[@stephanieyvonne9436]

I used to play this with my younger brother. It was the only fighting game I liked. Miss those days.

[@naynay4411]

You sound just like me 👍🏽

[@chrisspearline767]

That diagonal kicking motion really changes the game. Finally 40 years later I completed this game

[@NintendoComplete]

The follow-up to Renegade was one of the first of the "modern beat 'em up" breed, and it's by far one of the best beat 'em ups on the Nintendo.

[@danalong1237]

IIRC, both this game and Renegade were both designed by Yoshihisa Kishimoto and marketed for US arcades by Taito America Corporation, but the difference between both games is that the NES version of Renegade was published by Taito and the NES version of Double Dragon was published by Tradewest (founded by the Cook family and former SNK America head John Rowe) and Renegade was composed by Kazuo Sawa and Double Dragon was composed by Kazunaka Yamane.

[@NintendoComplete]

+Dana Long I believe so, but they were both developed by Technos. Renegade was the beginning of the Kunio series, and Double Dragon kind-of spun off as a parallel series. I love them both, Technos did a lot of great stuff that Nintendo themselves published.

[@danalong1237]

Other games in the Kunio series included River City Ransom, Super Dodge Ball and Crash & The Boys Street City Challenge (both C&TB and RCR were published by Technos' American division whilst Super Dodge Ball was published by CSG Imagesoft, which is now known as Sony Computer Entertainment America). As for the DD franchise, Acclaim Entertainment published the remaining two DD sequels for the NES (as well as DD II & III for the Game Boy), Acclaim's Flying Edge division published DDIII's arcade version for the Genesis, Accolade's Ballistic division published Double Dragon for the Genesis and Tradewest published DD for the Game Boy, Super Double Dragon for the SNES and Double Dragon V for the SNES and Genesis.

[@kramalerav]

@@NintendoComplete At the bottom of your description for the Renegade NES video version of Renegade; you posted the box cover art for the Master System version. The NES version’s is different (and cooler looking).

[@chilboswaggins5500]

Urban Champion was pretty funny but quite basic.

[@jasonmonster]

Still one of my favorite beat em' ups for any system. This is a huge part of my childhood right here, and I get very nostalgic every time I hear the opening theme music. It's just as fun today as it was back then.

[@Vikk009]

Is it me or did this game had the best nes music

[@sdlock83]

Good music COMPOSITION.

[@gofkurself]

Crazy how much our parents had to pay for these games that can be beat in like 20 minutes. That was my moms gripe. 40 to 60 bucks back then for an nes game.

[@egomaniac247]

Sheeeit, this game lasted until the genesis came out for me and I never beat it lol

[@gofkurself]

@egomaniac247 I was one of those kids that git to do anything I wanted so I stayed on nintendo. Even at bedtime I stayed up at night playing. Then on the weekends nintendo nintendo nintendo. My whole apartment complex was nintendo kids

[@johnanderson9765]

That's what rentals (are/were) for!

[@JoshAU44]

Man I miss this so much. Just binged ur page. Great vids man!👍🏻

[@justman4891]

I had a love and hate relationship with this game. I remember being 6 years old and renting this game. Started it up and I was like hey this isnt like the arcade I felt cheated. Needless to say i learned to really like this game but it was always very difficult for me. Could not get past the first platforming cave level. Played it years later and still could not pass that cave level! Lol

[@SkullKiD096]

QUE HABILIDAD SEÑOR. En serio, esa tensión en el último nivel, me hizo acordar jugando en mi infancia, gracias :)

[@texasgent4694]

Everytime i see Billy and Jimmy fight at the end of this game, i can't help but think of Liquid and Solid Snake from the MGS Franchise

[@susanfit47]

This game, Double Dragon, was on a 1989 VHS tape with tips & tricks on getting a high score. It was one of those Kodak VHS video tapes. It had Blaster Master, Castlevania II: Simon's Quest, T&C Surf Design, Double Dragon and WWF WrestleMania. It was called How To Score More Points On Nintendo Games #2.

[@johnanderson9765]

I remember that.

[@85wastedyears]

I remember the woman at the video store telling me when i rented it: you know this isn't a video game, right? lol

[@paranormalskeptic3893]

Loved this game, played the arcade with my cousins, and then the NES version with them. We would laugh hysterically if we hit each other by accident, and then of course the person who was hit would take revenge.

[@mresturk9336]

I remember the enemies would duck evade the spin kick attack so frequently I almost didn't want to reach 7 hearts.

[@brentwalker173]

When I was a kid I didn't realize that was the guy's hand was holding the chick at the beginning.. I just thought she bent in half and had a handlebar in her back, and that punching her activated it. 🤣

[@mitchmason8386]

Man old memories great game

[@pixelgoat7317]

I love the NES sprites...because the Lee brothers look smug as hell XD

[@philipthomas9497]

Classic game, love it

[@gskessingerable]

I loved this game. I made it to the very last level but could never beat it.

[@Kreutz]

This music is absolutely cracked, especially the third stage

[@FASTERBOLT87]

I still play NES games.

[@collinhorsey969]

DOUBLE 🐉 DRAGON TWO WAS THE BEST IMO

[@gameboy2009100]

I remember in the Double Dragon cartoon his brother was with the Shadows

[@nebularain3338]

The cartoon was garbage.

[@mikedski9698]

Billy Lee: I Call Upon The Power Of The Double Dragon!

[@ggn3]

Beating Willy that way's kind of ballsy considering he could shoot or ram you if you got too close to him, even if you are able to land an attack on him on some occasions. Typically when I got to him, I'd keep scrolling vertically to keep out of the way of his machine gun shots and try kicking him if he got close enough to me before grabbing, pummel him, and toss him since it takes 3 to 4 combos with that sequence to beat him. For anyone suggesting the elbow, that's a bit risky to use on Willy since you'd be opening yourself up to machine gun shots from him.

[@ericanulph1980]

I finished it in 1990. I was 10 at the time

[@BAKUNAWA_29]

Me at Mission 4 💀 I miss this game and until now i still play this game thru mobile

[@robertosuareztolosa1659]

This is a nostalgics ando fabulous game

[@user-db6fn6lt5w]

In DD1 for the NES, due to the lack of a two-player mode, Jimmy was the real boss. But I would have done otherwise. In the arcade version, there was a guy who looked like the Dragon Brothers named Jeff. So I'll make him the real boss. I would have done differently with Jimmy. He went to rescue Marion alone and fell into the trap of the bandits. Billy saves Marion and Jimmy :) Very easy :P

[@nebularain3338]

Why Jeff? It already has a main bad guy with Willy, and he's in the game anyway. Just have him kidnap Marian and Jimmy.

[@justinnardine8564]

River city ransom was a great game

[@Aivottaja]

Definitely the hardest Double Dragon game.

[@billy6427]

I so remember the Track at 11:50

[@ThatNoizyChild]

Fam, you have a pin attack. USE IT.

[@CarnageCounts]

Haha, I haven't seen this before. (you should pin him)

[@dwityanarottama7537]

Who is the last boss?is he Jimmy Lee?

[@ZabelZarock-uy3vp]

Yup before the interweb. This game was a bitch to beat.

[@coolbluelights]

2:06 if you walk into those "cables" on the wall you can glitch up the wall in that spot. but it can also kill you because you'll fall off the screen

[@icefoxx1523]

2:47 and here comes abobo! Even though there's a game that is called abobo's Big Adventure and he's the main character going to save his son very brutal game

[@mau5083]

Have limitations but still good beat em up

[@thesnare100]

we were so diappointed 2 players couldn't play at the same time.

[@supanutjetkrongsuk3932]

Good.

[@juggalo_ninja0255]

What a clutch you were so close to dying

[@jessereitz9574]

You whipped the final boss (Jimmy) with 2 health bars and won the battle with no health left... impressive.

[@MrCashmere101]

They should've named it Single Dragon, seeing it was only single player on the NES😅

[@susanfit47]

Double Dragon is the first NES game to be endosered to the U.S. National Video Game Team Player's Seal of Approval.

[@brdgamemaster]

Jesus, taken Jimmy down with just two ticks of health! I can never beat him without dying deliberately for the health refill.

[@CarnageCounts]

Haha, I literally tried to get through this game very recently and couldn't even do it in my first try!

[@goldenjav2954]

No elbows?? No ground and pounds??? Why bruh? Use his whole array of moves.

[@CarnageCounts]

Why when all you need is that sweet round-house?

[@kyokitagawa7977]

Javelin Death elbow was the truth

[@Bobaklives]

Shocking lack of elbows or pin attacks. Elbows were the best against Abobos.

[@tccollins6061]

This game know it brings back memories for me I love everything about it even now it takes me back💥💥💥

[@cliffpelletier1405]

Two things I never understood about this game why you never seen or fought the enemies in the opening sequence of the game ( blue haired guys) and of course the color changes on the hearts, etc

[@mresturk9336]

The hearts/health bar are constantly changing color due to them sharing a palette slot with the background. The NES had some pretty strict limitations on how many colors could be displayed at once. Only 4 palette sets limited to 4 colors each could be used for background data at any given time.

[@nebularain3338]

Palette limitations. The NES had an excruciatingly tiny amount of screen RAM, and sprites were limited to just 3 colours (plus one transparent). That's why the colours of the bad guys look different at the start.

[@joshjones6536]

Hey, NintendoComplete scene 4:20-4:49 is incomplete. Where are all my ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️s at?😂 Also, Double Dragon rule of thumb - if you can knock an enemy , especially a boss, off a cliff or into the water to their death you do so.🤦‍♂️

[@goto1546]

You know you could flip off the edges and kick them

[@brandonmanuel2842]

I could NEVER get past mission 3. I played this game and RollerGames with a friend back in 1999. After that it was time to go to St. Ann Catholic Church.

[@tylerdurden7142]

Played in the arcades then got it on Nintendo. Per usual, the console version is extremely inferior. Enjoyed it as much as I could. Fortunately all those arcade games are easily accessible for free or very cheap. I can finally play the real arcade version whenever. It remains one of the best beat 'em ups ever.

[@steelchroniclesgaming]

PTSD TRIGGERED

[@TheFinalBoss25]

I did this in 89

[@cristianocampovillan307]

no entiendo porque en la saga de double dragon no hay objetos para sanar la salud del personaje

[@AshrielBackup]

My favorite double dragon character is bimm- oops, meant Billy. Too used to that😂

[@Calbenmike]

To this day, I never understood the reasoning behind the color changes of the life bar and hearts.

[@amso7169]

NES color palette limitations

[@CarnageCounts]

Hey NC! Guess what?! We used your footage again! I don't want to come off as a self-promoter, so I don't want to drop a link, but you know where to find it. If you stop by a leave a comment I'll pin it! Thank you so much!

[@NintendoComplete]

Sweet, I'll check it out. Don't worry about it, it'd be great if you did leave links. I mean, you're linking me from yours, so fair is fair, right? I certainly am happy to return the favor.

[@sirhangtime]

Mission 2 song is the shit

[@ericanulph1980]

I thought double dragon 2: the revenge was way better. And better than its arcade version

[@RandomanGaming]

i can manage 5 hearts by the beginning of mission 2

[@gameboy2009100]

is that his brother he fighting

[@NintendoComplete]

Yup

[@bobkerr2755]

What the hell is a GRIGR??

[@jaijohnson8581]

You seem to have forgotten about a trick when you get that whip when you're on that stage when you get all the way to the top that web service into a bed which allows you to beat up that karate dude

[@felatioable]

I always hated this part 14:30. Love this game tho.

[@ariesmercurio1869]

Way superior to the arcade

[@stuartbenjamin7176]

The NES version is somewhat better than the arcade version.

[@Swampert2344]

Same here kinda.

[@vasrob7758]

.

[@goto1546]

Both buttons nothing stronger

[@eugenehills8371]

Billy mission complete enemy heart 💜💜💜💜💜💜 Bat go punch ✊ kick 🦵 jimmy angelica rescue

[@dcul8812]

Def not a speedrun lol

[@richardjoyce2764]

I hate/love this game lol

[@vasrob7758]

There going to nuke dammit

[@christopherfoster101]

This was a very violent videogame..

[@MS-fh4sz]

Am I the only one after finding out the whole story and plot of this game. After beating it, thought ok the game was good. But who in their right mind? Actually thinks the ending was a good ending. One brother makes a gang just to kidnap his own girlfriend. Then gets his brother to help fight through the gang he made. To save the girlfriend. Then at the end of the game the brothers fight to save the girl. Whoever wins, wins the girl. Seriously!!!!! Freaken lame!!!!

[@Danimal77]

You punch WAY too often and get hit a lot as a result. It's best to kick kick and then finish it off with a punch. I cringe at how many times you get hit with easy opponents.

[@nebularain3338]

Says the guy with zero speedruns or longplays on his channel.

[@goto1546]

New games wack

[@danielwebb4879]

USE THE DAMN ELBOW MOVE!

[@vineethonkan]

The one thing i hated about this ge was the no simultaneous 2 player mode like in the arcade

[@user-xy9qb9fy2u]

DIPP ONFF MATH MAN NET GAIN OK 3π14 MC2 🧪DONT LIKE THEE IDEEAH 8-BIT OK 10&12-BIT RR NOT SUX BUT 13-BITES IS BEST 14? TO GOOD NOT APPLICABLE🈳LAW