Double Dragon retrospective: Brawl in good fun | Game Boy Works

A startlingly good conversion of the classic arcade brawler (or the NES version of it, anyway). But there's one tragic flaw keeping this otherwise excellent port from sitting within Game Boy's top rankings...

[@NORMALLYRETRO]

I will forever remember this game by watching Biz Markie play it after performing at the Nintendo World Championships and saying "They have Double Dragon for Gameboy?! I didn't know that!" Great ep.

[@swankidelic]

I really liked how you let the game's title screen music play. I realize that it was so you could show the GBW Vol 2 title card, but when it's a well-done, fondly-remembered theme like this, it's well appreciated =)

[@JeremyParish]

Nah, I did it specifically because the music is so good.

[@buttholeChecker]

I still play this game quite often on my Game Boy Light.

[@Rando1975]

I'm glad you mentioned the level grinding trick. I'd do it & have all the skills near the end of stage 1, or early stage 2 & breeze through the rest of the game.

[@bbqtool]

Loving this channel so far. The early Game Boy games are the most nostalgic for me as I got mine the year of release. I think I really loved the system when developers pushed it to it's limit though. Games like Donkey Kong, Link's Awakening, Kirby's Dreamland 2, King of Fighters 95 and of course the Donkey Kong Land series won my heart. I had Double Dragon as a kid and I beat it again and again. I thought it was better than the NES version. I never found it to be too hard as punch punch kick kick killed most basic enemies in a single knock down. The only really frustrating part was the platforming sequences and when I first met Abobo. This was fine when I learned how to be careful in my jump kicks and to walk up and down into Abobo so I could time my combo when he couldn't just pick me up and punch me out.

[@tommyhasson8632]

This is the most professional series I've watched so far . Great work .

[@NineteenEightyFive]

I'd you like this, check out gaming historian. similar quality.

[@KilgoreOnDrugs]

Yeah it perplexes me that he doesn't have more subs, it's high quality stuff up there with the best.

[@KNGINetwork]

It's good that the music also came through surprisingly unscathed, which is more than can be said for other NES-to-Game Boy conversions, including Paperboy.

[@NORMALLYRETRO]

Yeah. It does sound surprisingly good.

[@DeadRaymanWalking]

I remember this game. I still have it as a matter of fact.

[@katsamagka]

I pressed A+B at the start and Billy almost finished the jump by the end of this video :D

[@Dracalis]

I'm loving your various series. Always glad to see a new episode show up!

[@acromantulus]

I sunk so many hours into this game when it came out. Double Dragon was my favorite game back then and I loved this port. It took a lot of practice, but I beat it.

[@marccaselle8108]

This was the 2nd Gameboy (regular) game that I ever played. It was very very fun!

[@arcticfox04]

One of my favorite gameboy games. Always wish there was a rom hack with checkpoints.

[@dounutknut]

Game Boy World! Thanks yet again for another informational and entertaining video.

[@1982markjm]

Thanks Jeremy.

[@WasaruMusicOfficial]

Thanks for your videos and blog. I've discovered recently your work through "Game Boy World 1989 XL edition" wich I highly recommend to any Game Boy lover. I prefer the book version as this is simplier to a frenchie like me to understand when it's written, and I also prefer not to watch screen capture before trying these oldies, in order to avoid any spoil :). I'm actually about to finish the 1989 book, unfortunately, it seems like the 1990 XL color edition doesn't exists yet , isn'it ? Should I wait or should I buy the small black&white edition now ?

[@creativecomicproductions]

Woo hoo I'm all excited that GameBoyWorld is back

[@MikeLXXXVIII]

I loved this port despite its crazy difficulty.

[@neufelb]

Well this looked surprisingly entertaining. Thanks for the series, it's always great work !

[@seanspear6224]

I remember borrowing this game from a old school friend never beaten it but thanks to the virtual console I did

[@CarozQH]

I like the first Gameboy Kunio-kun game (reworked as Double dragon 2 for the west) a lot more. That one actually had continues!

[@jonahstafford7643]

I am interested in that game. What would I search on eBay to find it.

[@CarozQH]

onahjay affordstay Just search for "Kouha nekketsu kunio-kun Bangai"

[@jotakux7489]

Too good!!! And that Eva ending! Jeremy WINS!

[@jonnylyden]

DD was the main reason I wanted a Gameboy

[@Mitsuraga]

I can't help but see "DD" as "Daredevil."

[@gabrieleriva651]

or Double Dare. I guess the worst offender is FF. Final Fantasy, Fatal Fury, Final Fight, etc... GOW is Gears of War or God of War?

[@Poever]

Well he did say this was an NES port "almost" done right

[@Dilios_of_Sparta]

Fantastic! Tasmania Story is up next! It plays a lot like Mappy. The music for that film is amazing (Joe Hisaishi).

[@jonnyd9132]

Oof… That short edge detection was many a cause of needless deaths and childhood frustrations for me!

[@Suedeash]

You're very right about direct NES ports being BAD, Empire Strikes Back on the GB is more or less the same as the NES game - the exact same map and gameplay but with a much smaller viewable area and monotone colours, which makes it challenging for even an adult. It's a game that kicked my ass as a kid and I only beat it after over a week of sitting down for multiple hours to really get good at it.

[@emilyapricot1313]

Beside Tetris, Mega Man, and Mario Land, this was one of my most played games. Despite the limitations, this port had the core gameplay and amazing chiptunes. Also, the Game Boy version seemed a bit easier, helping out with shorter play segments.

[@freddyvidz]

Loved this version

[@jcawthon99]

And this is why god gave man game genie!

[@Suedeash]

Stage 3 really kicks my ass, this is certainly a hard game but a good one. DD3 on the other hand...

[@Dilios_of_Sparta]

"CHILLING FINALITY"

[@PKSandman]

I'm looking forward to the game after next (#70), though I'm kinda curious as to what kind of game #69 is.

[@francochan]

Great video as usual, Jeremy! 👌🏼😁 I always wondered, where is your final theme from?

[@shivambhatt8380]

whoa, i had no idea that double dragon had experience levels

[@JeremyParish]

On NES, yeah. Welcome to the Dragon Quest boom era!

[@shivambhatt8380]

incredible. no wonder i couldn't do the good moves right away!

[@antant9523]

Hi jeremy. just wondering if you would be adding in the articles on the website for the 1990s games? you mentioned before some time back that you will add them in when the book is released?

[@JeremyParish]

Eventually, but it's not a top priority - I'd rather focus on videos first, then books, then the site.

[@dcashley303]

Thanks for saving me money, life's too short to get frustrated at a game for hours on end!

[@JeremyParish]

Grab it on Virtual Console - it has save states, which should mitigate the pain.

[@babystacks]

I had this game as a child, bought it with the system. Git gud

[@binkbonkbones3402]

Whatever game boy emulator you're using is fucking cool! I really like how the red blue and tan looks! Honestly if that's what the original gameboy actually looked like I think it would have sold even better and lived even longer as a system.

[@JeremyParish]

It’s not an emulator, it’s a Super NES/Super Game Boy.

[@binkbonkbones3402]

@@JeremyParish I guess that would yield for higher fidelity than an emulator

[@jamesmoss3424]

I will play the game boy version of double dragon. 😀👍🎮

[@SoukerWorldGaming]

Btw I watched Neon Genesis Evangelion after you recommended it to me a few Gameboy World's ago. Now whenever I hear that outro music in your videos, I just imagine you piloting a giant Game Boy.

[@DoctorEdgarMcQuack]

whats the name of the song?

[@johnesco]

0:04 to 0:47 is this theme good enough to just play out a full loop? YOU BET IT IS. Gameboy stereo sound at its best. I have a great memory of waiting hours at a rival school for competition score updates. Played this throughout, nearly beating it.

[@221b]

Could you not get any footage of the 2-player mode? Does the SGB not support the link cable?

[@JeremyParish]

It requires two carts.

[@JeremyParish]

Sadly, that Super NES-style mode only appeared in games released after Super Game Boy. The only thing retro-fitted into pre-SGB releases were the built-in color presets for first-party releases.

[@koobert]

I'm curious if the slowdown shown in your arcade footage is normal. I always assumed that the Xbox 360 port of Double Dragon was just badly programmed, was it actually... authentic in its terrible slowdown?

[@JeremyParish]

It's been a long time since I've seen an actual DD cabinet (like 25+ years), but I recall it being pretty choppy even then.

[@Rando1975]

koobert No, the slowdown is normal. I played the arcade version when it was released & the slowdown is there.

[@MtnSmithy]

For my money, the NES port is more frustrating, if only because of the enemies' ability to sneak punches in between hits of your combos, draining your healthy unfairly. The GameBoy versions just has the better combat. Lack of checkpoints does kinds suck, but like you said, save states are a thing, so it's kinduv whatevs.

[@Cheeselord83]

I never cared for the NES port for Double Dragon. they could have made a simplified version of the arcade. I do like the GB version though.

[@VictorHernandez-nj2lo]

The old double dragon games were difficult,thats y i prefer double dragon neon

[@RetroPowerUp]

A shame they didn't add checkpoints. But I imagine if you were going to play on virtual console, you would just get the NES version anyways... would there be any reason not to get the NES version instead?

[@JeremyParish]

This version skips the NES's leveling-up nonsense.

[@RichardCraig]

I still can't believe I paid $40 for this when it was new. Adjusted for inflation, you can buy a whole retro handheld for that much now with every GB game ever along with a dozen other systems.

[@JeremyParish]

Yes but you could also buy a house with a single full-time salary, so I’m not sure we’ve come out ahead.

[@Larry]

Did I hear the Japanese version of this game is a Kunio Kun title?

[@JeremyParish]

Nope, this was always Double Dragon. It's GB Double Dragon II that started as a Kunio-kun title in Japan... more of a follow-up to Renegade than to RCR, though.

[@Larry]

@@JeremyParish Aah, I knew I read it somewhere! BTW have you ever considered doing a seperate series on regional differences in these games? I find the huge amount of changes made in the 8 and 16 bit eras quite fascinating. Especially nowadays when most games are tailored to a global audience boringly.

[@GameBoyGuru]

I've always felt the NES version of Double Dragon was superior to the arcade original, because the arcade version was pretty brutal, and I never felt like I had good control over the fighting aspect. I do think the GB Double Dragon game is pretty good, as you say, but the lack of continues does indeed sour the experience. Still, a must have for GB owners who want a good brawler.

[@nobocks]

it' because in japan the price of a game is just 10ct

[@RadRatVideo]

What a shame. Might have to save this one for a Retron where I can cheat mercilessly.

[@forrestweber691]

Rad Rat Video I can't believe I came across your comment on a non-skate related video. I'm subscribed to your channel as well! love the content both you guys put out! Man, small world...

[@RadRatVideo]

Forrest Weber small world! Thanks for the support

[@gabrieleriva651]

14:00 You made 50000 points at Double Dragon??

[@matthewlane518]

But what about aboboy?

[@jlc992]

Think the removal was made because of the Gameboy limitations? Thinking checkpoints take up some space and 1990 was still really early in the Gameboy life so expansions might not have came into being for it. But you would know more on that.

[@JeremyParish]

Nah, checkpoints should be pretty trivial to program in, and plenty of GB games prior to this have included them. I really think it was an attempt to stretch play time so players couldn't stomp the game in a weekend by making it borderline-impossible.

[@jlc992]

Sad. Weird by 1990 they were really starting to get that stuff like that isn't fun game design. Especially once games started having saves/passwords.

[@JeremyParish]

True, but 1990 was also the point at which game rentals in the U.S. began to hurt sales, so you saw devs make horrible, game-breaking changes to boost difficulty and prevent one-rental victories (e.g. Ninja Gaiden III).

[@MissAshley42]

I swear, every time I see the arcade Double Dragon in action it's slower than I remember. And by that I mean I could watch a video of it, see it's slow, then watch another video of it a minute later and find it slower still. It's almost like Zeno's Paradox in video game form.

[@EdgedShadow]

Had it and loved it as a kid, but never beat it due to the platforming. Rented the NES version a ton, never beat those platforming bits either :( Weirdly never saw this in an arcade, even the retro ones around nowdays.

[@9ElevenGamer]

I never could beat this, although I found the second one easy.

[@JeremyParish]

I eventually used some Game Shark codes and still couldn't finish. If I used infinite health, I'd run out of lives on the platforming sections. If I used infinite lives, I'd just get stuck in an endless loop of fighting through the never-ending third mission and never quite reaching the end. I guess I could have used both at once, but that seemed like overkill...

[@9ElevenGamer]

Yeah man, it was a total bitch, even as a patient kid who had one game every 4/5 months and played them to death, I could still never do it.

[@migueldias8546]

Double Dragon Game Boy difficult? YOu can throw the enemies so often out of the plateform that it's the opposite. You can also use the position advantage to K.O. any enemy pretty easily. You need a little bit of memory, I see that difficulty, but the game is so short that its really easy... Super Ghouls'n Ghost on Super Nintendo is a difficult game. That I agree. But its not an impossible one once you understand something simple: you need to find all the hidden chests in the game. Once you know how to trigger them, the game is not more impossible at all... Everything has a pattern. Difficulty is relative but still....