Jeremy Parish

NES Works #081: Double Dragon (Patreon)

Published:

2021-08-11 15:00:07

Imported:

2024-04

Tags:

Kunio Technos double dragon nes nes works tradewest video

Content

Another big one this week—one of the biggest ones so far. Double Dragon was a big deal on NES, even if it left a bad taste in the mouth of anyone hoping to enjoy a direct arcade-to-console adaptation. For various reasons (be it Nintendo licensing rules or technical limitations or a combination of both), Double Dragon on NES bears only a loose resemblance to the arcade game, carrying forward characters, setting details, and a general mechanical similarity. Beyond that, however, Technos changed the game pretty radically in porting it to console—or at least, this console, anyway. Was it the right call? That's highly subjective! Bit I do think this version turned out to be a lot more convincing than an attempt to create a direct conversion would have been...

Files

Double Dragon retrospective: Bimmy Lee's solo debut | NES Works #081

Technos (by way of freshman NES publisher Tradewest) follows up on Renegade with a home conversion of a massive arcade hit that plays extremely fast and loose with the meaning of the phrase "home conversion." Double Dragon on NES may as well be a completely different game than the coin-op smash, as it adds several new mechanics, expands the game environments, introduces platforming sequences, helps invent the one-on-one fighting genre, and—whoops—loses the cooperative gameplay feature that gave the game its name in the first place. The end result is a game that doesn't sit well with those who demand absolute fidelity in their arcade ports, but that nevertheless stands out as one of the most ambitious, polished, and attractive games yet seen on the platform. From this point on, arcade-to-NES adaptations will lean heavily on the "adaptations" angle, and (along with Rygar and Punch-Out!!), Double Dragon is one of the first works to truly define what NES coin-on conversion would look like in the coming years. Video Works is funded via Patreon (http://www.patreon.com/gamespite) — support the show and get access to every episode up to two weeks in advance of its YouTube debut! Plus, exclusive podcasts, eBooks, and more!