Double Dragon III: The Sacred Stones

Double Dragon 3 jest jedną z najlepszych gier typu "bij-zabij" z jaką udało nam się zetknąć. Dysponuje ona znakomitą grafiką (nic dziwnego - pierwowzorem była wersja "automatowa"). Bardzo dobrze rozwiązany został problem trójwymiarowości akcji. Do tego dochodzi całkiem niezła muzyka i efekty dźwiękowe. Wszystko to sprawia, iż możemy ze spokojnym sumieniem polecić ją każdemu, nawet koneserowi tego gatunku.

No, this isn't a game that reinvents a genre and sets the world on fire. That doesn't make it any less enjoyable. This is a great beat-em-up, probably the best on the system next to Capcom's awesome "Mighty Final Fight." You could even say it holds up well when stacked against some of the 16-bit offerings (of which there are many, to say the least).

On my second go, I managed to get to level three, and considering there are only five levels, it won't take you weeks to complete it. DD3 is better as a two player game, but you can't beat up your mate as in the first two versions. I recommend this game to beat-'em-up freaks and Double Dragon fans, but there are better games out there – this one suffers from the "too many sequels" syndrome. Watch out for Double Dragon 4 – Jimmy and Billy open a Greek restaurant and get invaded by aliens from the planet Be'at Emup (now that sounds like a good idea – Games Industry type person). Whoops, I should've my mouth shut.

The successful formula of two-player simultaneous action is back in this new installment. There's also a new feature which allows fighters to switch weapons and characters. As you defeat the major enemies, some might defect to your side. You can ultimately switch to as many as four different fighters.

One thing I liked in the game were the shops. You can find them in every mission except the fourth. There you can buy some tricks, weapons, energy, power or an extra character (to play with Jimmy or someone else). The other thing was the motorcycle - during the first and last missions you’ll have to kick the bad guys from their motorcycles. However, the good things end here. Jumping and kicking gets boring, and you often decide to play something else. You can't pick up objects and throw them at your enemies. The bosses are quite easy to beat with no special hits or powers - you just have to hit them 10 times and they are dead. If you are a fan of the series play this last part, but if not, try something else.

Der dritte Teil der Drachensaga bringt gegenüber den Vorgängern wenig neue Ideen ans Tageslicht: Immerhin darf jetzt in Läden preisgünstig eingekauft werden. Grafik und Sound fielen dagegen wesentlich netter aus. Auch die Scharen angreifender Bösewichter verhalten sich intelligenter und hinterhältiger. Die Steuerung ist praktisch identisch mit der der Vorgänger: Bewegungsarmut gepaart mit dem dümmlichen Drang, ständig nach rechts marschieren zu müssen. Trotz dieses Mankos bietet Double Dragon 3 mehr Prügelspaß als beide Vorgänger zusammen - gegen "Golden Axe" ist es jedoch ein Langweiler. Prügelfans können ihre Sammlung mit einem grafisch ansprechenden Spiel komplettieren; für die heutige Zeit fehlt Double Dragon 3 jedoch der Pfiff.

Der dritte Teil der Drachensaga bringt gegenüber den Vorgängern wenig neue Ideen ans Tageslicht: Immerhin darf jetzt in Läden preisgünstig eingekauft werden. Grafik und Sound fielen dagegen wesentlich netter aus. Auch die Scharen angreifender Bösewichter verhalten sich intelligenter und hinterhältiger. Die Steuerung ist praktisch identisch mit der der Vorgänger: Bewegungsarmut gepaart mit dem dümmlichen Drang, ständig nach rechts marschieren zu müssen. Trotz dieses Mankos bietet Double Dragon 3 mehr Prügelspaß als beide Vorgänger zusammen - gegen "Golden Axe" ist es jedoch ein Langweiler. Prügelfans können ihre Sammlung mit einem grafisch ansprechenden Spiel komplettieren; für die heutige Zeit fehlt Double Dragon 3 jedoch der Pfiff.

I början på varje bana kan man gå in i en affär och köpa sig liv, vapen, trick (?) och tid. Men tappar du ett vapen du köpt, kan dina motståndare plocka upp det och använda det mot dig. Jag hittade också en bugg i affären. Den yttrade sig så att om båda spelarna tryckte vilt på knappen, så kraschade datorn... Dåligt! Grafiken är medelmåttig, skiljer sig inget från tidigare Dubbla Drakar, men ljudet är värre, det består bara av diverse effekter, dvs slag, sparkar och liknande.

People looking for a decent brawler on Sega's 16-bitter, should stick to the qualitative Streets of Rage series. This game will only be moderately appreciated by hardcore Double Dragon fanboys.

Auf dem C 64 sieht die Sache etwas anders aus: Die Grafik ist systembezogen überdurchschnittlich, der Sound dagegen ziemlich lahm. Spielerisch waren die Programmierer nicht ganz auf dem laufenden - das Spiel schleppt sich dahin. Dank träger Steuerung macht der 64-er-Dragon deutlich weniger Spaß als auf dem Amiga.

Not nearly as good as the first two games in the series. It's vaguely okay if you were a big fan of those, but anyone else will find it amazingly duff.

Ah yeah, I remember the Double Dragon series from my Amiga. We played those games for hours. Now I digged up a PC version of one of those games and happily I started it up. Hm... now what's this? I guess my memory isn't that good anymore. Your fighting options are somewhat limited, kicking, punching and jumping - aaaalright. Let me tell you - forget about the other options, you get along best with only using your kickjump. Mysteriously your player takes off for one of those and then you can let it kick left and right without him landing - although that proved useful I have never EVER seen someone doing this in real life ;)

If the enemies weren't so cheap and utterly impossible, this game would have gotten a better score, despite the poor sounds and graphics. A game doesn't need super graphics and sounds to be exceptional, but it certainly needs fair game play. I wanted to like this game and am a big fan of the DD series. I can not recommend it, though. If you're desperate for a side-scrolling fighter for Gameboy, take a chance but beware! Personally, I would tell you to try one of the other Double Dragon games (the first one was a good translation, comparable to the NES version) on the console or get a Gameboy Advance and check out Final Fight One.

The character graphics look blurry and indistinct, and the backgrounds are remarkably lame. The opening downtown stage looks cheesy as all hell, and subsequent locations provide precious little in the way of eye candy. In the Japan and Italy stages, large trees and columns in the foreground partially block your view of the action. The first stage does feature a catchy theme song, but the subsequent Asian-inspired tunes got on my nerves. DD3 is a mercifully short romp, and since you get a ton of continues, the challenge is minimal. Even the most devout Double Dragon fans will find themselves nodding off after a few minutes of this garbage.