Double Dragon 

Double Dragon was released by Technos in Japan in 1987 where it made its debut as an arcade machine. It was not the first side-scrolling beat-em-up and in many ways was simply an updated version of Renegade released by the same developer a year earlier, but it was certainly one of the most memorable. Home conversions and numerous sequels followed and the title is now set for a new revival with the original arcade version being made available as a download for Xbox 360.

Double Dragon starts simply – a brief in-game intro shows a gang of thugs kidnapping a girl; the door of a nearby garage opens and out steps Billy Lee (and his brother Jimmy in 2-player mode) to kick and punch his way to the rescue. And kicking and punching is pretty much all there is to it, through a variety of generic locations (city, factory, countryside), with a variety of generic opponents (thug, thug with bat, large bald thug). And yet it is the simplicity of Double Dragon that makes it so appealing.

The controls are limited – kick, punch and jump without even the hint of a complex special move or elaborate combo, although there is a variety of weapons to hand to make things more interesting. There is also no real difference between kicking an opponent and punching him and the only real strategy is working out how to take on multiple opponents at one time. The advantage of this is that anyone can pick up the game from scratch and become a fairly competent player in minutes, which is clearly one of the reasons it was such a popular arcade machine. Where the game lacked variety in its controls and opponents, it more than made up for it with the increasingly treacherous terrain. The game also takes on a bizarre change of tone in the final stage when what started as an exercise in urban combat becomes an almost Tomb Raider-esque trap evasion adventure.

It is the ending of the game that truly makes Double Dragon unique, partly because the gun-wielding final boss has inexplicably taken up residence in a trap-filled ancient temple, but mainly due to the final twist. If playing 2-player mode an innovative and unprecedented challenge awaits you once the main boss is defeated – the two heroes are forced to fight to the death to see who wins the girl. This sudden switch from co-operative to versus mode is a touch of genius that adds a level of narrative complexity and interactivity initially lacking in the simple set-up – you truly do get to decide the outcome of the story yourself.

In terms of gameplay and innovation Double Dragon does not quite stand up against later, more effective versions of the formulam, such as Final Fight or Streets of Rage. At the same time its simplicity makes it both enjoyable and addictive with enough surprises along the way to keep players interested. Despite its technical limitations Double Dragon remains an established classic and this new revival is further recognition of an important milestone in gaming history.