Super Double Dragon (SNES, 1992)
http://darth-azrael.tumblr.com/post/158707133131/kazucrash-return-of-double-dragon-super
While the first couple of Double Dragon games started life as arcade games, Super Double Dragon or Return of Double Dragon as it was known as in Japan, was developed exclusively for the Super Nintendo. Reviews for this game are truly wildly mixed. It was a fairly early release for the Super NES, with the Super Nintendo having only been released the year before. Graphically, it was a huge improvement over older games in the series but it still didn’t take full advantage of the Super NES. The biggest complaint is that the gameplay is very repetitive and gets boring quickly.
Due to time constraints, Super Double Dragon didn’t have everything originally intended by the developer. There were supposed to have been cut scenes that would have added in-game plot, more traps and obstacles, and another boss among other things. This probably would have helped at least some with the perceived repetitive nature of the game.
Game play is typical for a game in the side-scrolling beat-’em-up genre. You walk from one side of the screen towards the other while punching, kicking and otherwise beating the crap out of endless enemies. You have four basic moves: punch, kick, jump, and guard which was new for this game. There is also an arm grab move that works only on certain enemies as well as different special attacks that can be used depending on how full your “Dragon Power” gauge is. The game can be played by one or two players and there are two character choices (Billy and Jimmy) differentiated by slightly different moves.
Oddly, the Japanese version, Return of Double Dragon, features a number of differences that make it worth trying even if you have played Super Double Dragon. There are some changes that not too significant like having a different title theme and a different order of background music. Other changes are more significant to the game play like being able to perform different actions (e.g. retrieving a boomerang after throwing it), different enemy placement, and weapons doing less damage. In addition, there are also two extra levels in the final mission. Both the Japanese version and the North American version were released at almost the same time so it isn’t clear to me why they bothered with the differences. Interestingly, an officially licensed version of Return of Double Dragon in cartridge form was released in the U.S. in 2018 via Retroism. Unfortunately, it only works with 3rd party Super NES compatible systems and not the original Super Nintendo.
Super Double Dragon was the last Double Dragon game produced by the original team at Technos and while earlier games in the series have been remade or otherwise re-released for other systems, a Super Nintendo or emulation thereof remains the only way to play Super Double Dragon (though you can play Return of Double Dragon as mentioned above). If you are a fan of the original Double Dragon then it is at least worth checking out.
