Double Dragon (video game)
1987 video game
Double Dragon is a 1987 beat 'em up video game developed by Technōs Japan and published by Taito for arcades. The game's development was led by Yoshihisa Kishimoto, and it is a spiritual and technological successor to Technos' earlier beat 'em up, Nekketsu Kōha Kunio-kun (1986), released outside of Japan by Taito as Renegade; Kishimoto originally envisioned it as a direct sequel and part of the Kunio-kun series, before making it a new game with a different cast and setting.
Double Dragon introduced several additions to the Kunio-kun belt scroll beat 'em up formula, such as a continuous side-scrolling world adding a sense of progression, two-player cooperative gameplay, the ability to arm oneself with an enemy's weapon after disarming them, and the use of cutscenes to give it a cinematic look and feel. The game's title is a reference to the two-player gameplay and Bruce Lee's martial arts film Enter the Dragon (1973), which was a major inspiration behind Kunio-kun and Double Dragon, while the game's art style and setting were influenced by the Mad Max films and the Fist of the North Star manga and anime series.
Double Dragon was one of the first successful beat 'em up games, becoming Japan's third highest-grossing table arcade game of 1987 before becoming America's highest-grossing dedicated arcade game in 1988 and 1989. It also received critical acclaim, with Electronic Gaming Monthly awarding it Game of the Year in 1988. Its success resulted in the creation of the Double Dragon franchise, including two arcade sequels and several spinoffs. It also ushered in a "golden age" for the beat 'em up genre, establishing the conventions for a wave of similar games from other companies during the late 1980s and 1990s. Home versions were released for the NES, Master System, Atari 2600, Atari 7800, Atari ST, Amiga, Amstrad CPC, Commodore 64, Game Boy, Sega Genesis, and Atari Lynx, among other platforms during the series' height of popularity. A remake titled Double Dragon Advance was released for the Game Boy Advance in 2003.
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