How to play Double Dragon online
- Walk: arrow keys
- Punch: Z (left button)
- Kick: X (right button)
- Jump: up arrow + X
- Jump kick: up arrow + X to jump, then X again in the air
- Elbow punch (hits behind you): diagonally up + Z
- Head butt: down arrow + Z
- Pick up a weapon: stand over it and press Z
- Choose one or two players: F2 (Select) or the arrow keys on the title screen
- Start or restart: F3 (Reset) or a fire button
- Full screen: F9
Both the USA (NTSC) and Europe (PAL) cartridges are on this page; use the switch above the game to change.
Gameplay
The Black Warriors gang has kidnapped Marion, Billy’s girlfriend, and taken her to their leader, the Shadow Boss. Alone or with a friend as Jimmy, you fight through four missions: the city slums, an industrial area, the outskirts of town and finally the Shadow Boss’s base. Some gang members carry bats, whips or knives. Hit an armed thug and he drops his weapon; walk over it and punch to take it for yourself. You cannot drop a weapon once you hold it, but an enemy can knock it out of your hands.
Each fighter has a strength bar that empties as you take blows. When it runs out you lose a life, and you start with three. The bar refills after each mission and halfway through the third, but lost lives do not come back, except through the extra life the game awards every 50,000 points. Each mission also has a time limit shown at the top of the screen: 70 units for the first two, 90 for the last two, with a reset in the middle of mission three. If the clock runs out you lose a life.
Points depend on the blow: a punch is worth the least, kicks and elbows more, and knife hits the most.
Tips
- Don’t stand between two thugs. Back up so all enemies are on one side of you, then use the elbow punch if one sneaks behind.
- Grab weapons early. Knock the bat or knife out of an enemy’s hand and pick it up at once, before he can recover it.
- Keep your distance with a weapon. Since you can’t drop it but can lose it, fight at arm’s length so nobody wrestles it away.
- Watch the clock. Lingering in one spot to farm points can cost you a life when time runs out.
- Save lives for the end. The Shadow Boss’s base is the hardest part, and you will want every spare life there.
The story behind Double Dragon on the 7800
Technos Japan’s Double Dragon arrived in arcades in 1987, published by Taito. In 1989 Activision released conversions for both the Atari 2600 and the Atari 7800. The 7800 version was developed by Imagineering; its manual credits Alex DeMeo as director and sound designer, Tommy Han as programmer and Jesse Kapili for the artwork. DeMeo was also one of the founders of Absolute Entertainment.
The original manual came with a correction sheet. It changed the head butt move, adjusted the points for jump kicks, and announced the extra life every 50,000 points, even though the first printing said no extra lives could be earned. If you find an old manual with different instructions, that is why.
