Double Dragon

The Good
It was unique to the Atari 2600. Very few (if any) games were scrolling fighting games. and that's just about it.

The Bad
First, the gameplay is way too hard. You only land one kick on your enemy and then he counters with a 3-hit combo until you're dead. In fact, I've never got past the first screen it's so difficult. Plus watch the characters as they move.It looks a bit gay. And the colors are pretty screwed up as well. The purple skin looks eerie.

The Bottom Line
Don't buy this game if you're looking for something fun. Only collectors should hunt down Double Dragon for A26.

The Good
It's Double Dragon on 2600! Oh, yay! If I was the only kid without either a Nintendo, Master System or 7800 . . . even one of those "dead-format" PCs from the Late '70s/Early-to-Mid '80s . . . then, hell yeah! It's Double Dragon on 2600!

Strangely, I like the music in this version. All of the tunes are here, somehow. I don't know how, it just is.

I also like how the characters blink to "death" like in the other 8-bit versions of this game (I don't remember is they blink in the arcade game, though, I haven't played that since I found it down by docks in LA Harbor in 1993 . . . don't ask what I was doing in either LA or the docks in '93), and as a plus, I just apply the Genesis 3-Button or Master System controllers in for an easier time. I don't dilly with the dally of the original Atari joysticks.

(And why do those Atari games-in-a-joystick work better than Atari's original?)

Also, the packaging is cool, and a nice alternative to the standard Double Dragon boxes of the day.

The Bad
The cart is dull in design.

The music does get annoying if you play lots (but that can be said of all . . . video game music, to paraphrase Dracula from Symphony of the Night).

The sounds are . . . I don't remember sounds, hold on while I play the game real quick. Yup, there's your standard "bloop and bleep" Atari fare.

The controls, no matter what device used, sucks.

Hey, why are the thugs tougher that a Siberian winter with a jacket? Too me forever to master the moves, after losing like 100 times, then only to get my ass kicked next screen over.

Then there's the color scheme . . . Activision on drugs? Any questions?

Also, Billy and Jimmy wear these little beanies on their head. They look like stereotypical sailors, and not the kind I want to meet. For that matter, almost everybody has beanies on . . .

The Bottom Line
Check out Double Dragon Dojo's review of this game, too. It's helpful.

Still avoiding the polygon-game revolution? Why? Still think you should own that Atari 2600 for thirty years like a record player from Sears? Yeah, Atari's making that comeback right about now, don't you think? Just got a color monitor for your Apple ][ today, or so I've heard . . .

Seriously, if you don't have any other method to play Double Dragon, find an old machine in a seedy bowling alley or biker bar. Buy this game at your own risk! I'm serious!

(On a rant for a moment: I know that the 2600 hardware was old by 1988. Old by 1982, even! But still, Road Runner and the Nintendo Classics that were released on this system came out decent. I even have Kung-Fu Master and it rivals Nintendo's Kung-Fu, when I use a Genesis controller for play, but still . . . and that was done by Activision. It's not like I'm expecting Contra or Ninja Turtles on this console, but Double Dragon could've been done up like the arcade version, i.e. like Sega did for the Master System version, despite system limitations. From a programmer's POV, this is terrible, and even though the system was dead by its release, those few holdouts that used to exist before the PlayStation deserved better than this.)