How to play Double Dragon online
Every attack is a direction combined with the fire button. For diagonals, hold two arrow keys at once.
- Walk around the fighting area: arrow keys (Player 2: T/F/G/H)
- Punch: left or right, the way you are facing, plus Space
- Kick: diagonally down-left or down-right plus Space
- Jump kick: up plus Space
- Elbow punch: diagonally up and away from the enemy plus Space (up-right throws an elbow to the left)
- Pick up a weapon: stand over it and press Space
- Player 2 fire: A
- Start a new game: F12 (the consoleās Reset switch)
- Choose a game: F11 (the consoleās Select switch)
Gameplay
The Black Warriors gang has kidnapped Marion, the girlfriend of Billy Lee. Billy and his twin brother Jimmy set out to get her back, fighting through four missions: the city slums, the industrial area, the outskirts of the city and finally the Shadow Bossās hideout. Gang members carry bats, knives and oil drums. Hit them to make them drop their weapon, then pick it up and use it yourself.
You have a strength bar that drops each time you are hit. When it runs out you lose a life. You start with three lives and never earn more, although your strength is refilled after each mission. There is also a clock: 70 units of time for the first two missions, and a reset to 90 units part-way through the third mission to cover the rest. Points depend on how you land your hits:
| Attack | Points |
|---|---|
| Punch | 50 |
| Kick or jump kick | 100 |
| Elbow punch | 180 |
| Bat or oil drum | 200 |
| Knife | 500 |
There are three games: game 1 is one player against the gang, game 2 lets two players fight the gang together, and game 3 is a one-on-one fight between the two players.
Tips
- Learn the elbow. It is worth almost twice as much as a kick. Because you push the joystick away from the direction of the punch, it takes some practice, so try it in a quiet moment first.
- Grab the knife. Knife hits score 500 points, the most of any attack.
- Keep moving forward. The timer covers two missions at a time, so long fights early on can leave you short later.
- Use game 3 to practise. The one-on-one mode is a good way to get used to the moves before taking on the gang.
History
Activision released both the 2600 and 7800 versions in 1989, more than ten years after the 2600 first came out. The 2600 port is often criticised for its odd character colours, its fiddly one-button controls and unreliable hit detection. Even so, it keeps the story, the four missions and the weapon pick-ups of the arcade game, which is a lot for such limited hardware. Collectors today rate the cartridge as rare.
