NES

Double Dragon

Double Dragon is a game that was very popular in its time but due to some weak sequels at the end of its series is no longer given its proper due. Sure it’s a bit short and lacks a two-player simultaneous option but it is still a very fun and original beat ‘em up classic. For a longer game and the ability to fight together with a friend check out the equally classic Double Dragon II: The Revenge.

Along with the standard punch and kick maneuvers, there are an assortment of special moves that are opened throughout the game. Additionally, these bad boys can acquire various weapons such as knifes, bats, and the infamous whip. Double Dragon absolutely rocks and the NES version is great in its own right.

A two-player "duel" (one-on-one) mode is included, but it's hardly worth your time. A very challenging and addictive game, Double Dragon spawned a number of sequels, including two on the NES.

Double Dragon on the NES fares pretty well, even when considering that it has two strong strikes against it from the start. First, it's an 8-bit port of Taito's arcade cabinet, and the NES graphics aren't even close. Second, and more retrospectively, the genre quickly filled with "me too" brawlers - Bad Dudes, River City Ransom, Renegade, and Bad Street Brawler come immediately to mind. If you owned an NES, you couldn't swing a dead cat without hitting a so-called "Double Dragon clone." Even though DD was not the first beat-em-up game (Taito released Renegade the year before), it is credited with defining the genre. So looking back, it must not only prove itself as a good game in its own right, it must also show why it is a better game than all the clones that followed - a sort of Double Dragonian quest for honor, if you will.

Beat-em-ups would come and go on the NES. "River City Ransom" is generally regarded as stealing the crown on the system and there's a strong case for "Mighty Final Fight," but you always come back to "Double Dragon." That says something and it's not just blind nostalgia either. This is a true classic, arguably even better than the arcade game it's based on... if it had a co-op mode that is.

Double Dragon was one of my first three NES games and holds a special spot on the retro shelf. To me, it is the “granddaddy” of side scrolling beat-em-ups. There may have been others before it at the arcade, but certainly not on the NES. Its gameplay is solid, complete with a great list of moves, enemies, and a strong soundtrack to keep you deep in gang-pummeling mode. Although its sequel (DD II) is the overall better game, it is not yet available on the Wii Virtual Console. However this one is, and for only $5.00, I say buy and experience for yourself the beginning of the beat-em-up genre at home. And no, Urban Champion does not count.