In the near future, with half the world ravaged by a nuclear war and violence ruling the streets in America, Marian is kidnapped by a violent street gang known as The Black Warriors.
Brothers, Jimmy and Billy Lee (AKA ‘Double Dragon’) must now fight their way through the gang and defeat Big Boss Willy to save her.
Foes attacked with daggers, whips, baseball bats and dynamite, which they dropped when they were hit. What set this beat ‘em up arcade game apart was the ability to use your enemy’s weapons against them.
Also new were combination attacks that allowed you to throw your enemies, knee them in the head and even hold them down while your team mate taught them some manners.
The foes included punks, dominatrixes with blonde afros, Mr T clones (brown and green varieties) and a machine gun toting final boss.
The finale was one of the most exciting parts of the game. Once the foes were defeated the brothers had to fight each other for Marian, (despite the game’s back story that claimed she was Billy’s lover).
Double Dragon was so successful that it spawned numerous sequels, comics, cartoons and even a Hollywood film.
Double Dragon II was released on the original Nintendo platform and was far superior to the arcade sequel version.
