Overall 9 Graphics 8.5 Sound 7.5 Addictive 8 Story 7 Depth 5.5 Difficulty 6.5
6.8
Double Dragon 2: The Revenge - Willy's back! geeogree
Double Dragon 2: the Revenge is a follow-up to the original Double Dragon game. After defeating Willy in the first game he returns and kills Marian. This spurns Billy and Jimmy on to get revenge for her death and defeat Willy one more time!
Graphics 9/10 – the graphics in this game are much improved over the original Double Dragon game. The level design is pretty similar to the first game. Not much improvement there overall. Maybe a bit more detailed but there isn’t much more that could be done in that area. The original games level detail was pretty spot on.
The real place that Double Dragon 2 outdoes the first is in the sprite animations. The movements and reactions in the first game were very simplistic. Double Dragon 2 builds on those and makes them so much better. The characters are all more expressive and the moves look better. There is also a new spinning kick move that looks great. There wasn’t a ton of room for improvement from the last game in this area but improvements were made.
Sound 7/10 – the sound isn’t bad for this game in any way but I feel like it took a small step back from the original. The tracks fit the overall feel of the game but lose some of the intensity that the first game had. It almost feels like the music was trying to sound cool rather than fit the game or story. It also doesn’t really sound or feel like Double Dragon music. It’s hard to explain any more than this but it doesn’t feel like it fits. The first and third games both had music that felt like they fit the Double Dragon feel better than this game managed. That’s why I dropped the rating on the music. The music isn’t bad but it doesn’t feel like it followed the feel of the other games.
Addictiveness 7/10 – like most games in this genre this game is fun to play. The action is pretty constant and the enemies just keep coming. Who knew a gang this large could be fought by just 1 or 2 guys? The 2 player mode definitely keeps the game fun too. Being able to play a game with a friend will make it more enjoyable and make you come back to it more often.
Story 7/10 – the story behind this game is again simple but no less impactful then the last one. This time around instead of being kidnapped Marian has been shot and killed by Willy, the guy who kidnapped her last time around. If you didn’t quite have the incentive to take these guys out last time then this time around you should have more than enough. I know I would be out for blood if this happened to me.
What I really like about this story though is how the ending plays out. I won’t reveal it because you don’t find out unless you beat the game. It is a great ending though. Willy reveals something about a prophecy that isn’t mentioned until the end of the game but helps tie everything together. He thinks he has tricked Billy and Jimmy to their deaths by what he has done but something else happens instead. It’s pretty good.
Depth 5/10 – like the other games in this series it is a pretty straightforward game. It has 8 levels and those levels are pretty linear and short. Still, this kind of game doesn’t allow for much else than this. It is limited in what sort of options it can have when the story involves getting to the final boss and defeating him. Still, this game has more levels than the original so I’m giving it a slightly higher rating because of that.
Difficulty 6/10 – This game is not an overly difficult game. There aren’t many moments where death happens because you fell into a pit. You also have multiple lives to use as your progress through the game as well as a life bar which seems to last longer than in any of the other games. You also have a new move called the Hurricane Kick which is extremely useful. It really helps deal with multiple enemies. Still, I think this was the easiest game of the 3 on the NES. I had less trouble with it than the other 2.
Overall 6.8/10 – this, in my opinion, is the weakest of the 3 NES Double Dragon games. It is in no way a bad game to play but comparing it to the other games it doesn’t measure up. The first one gets a lot of credit for pioneering the genre in a lot of ways and I feel like Double Dragon 2 didn’t do enough to build on that. It did in small ways but in other ways it took steps back. Definitely worth playing if you are a Double Dragon or beat em up fan but don’t expect to be blown away by this entry in the series.
Graphics 9 Sound 7 Addictive 7 Story 7 Depth 5 Difficulty 6
Review Rating: 5/5
Submitted: 04-14-16
Review Replies: 2
8.5
best coop beatemup on NES (as far as I know) bsnowotter
Double Dragon 2 is the first Double Dragon game on the NES to feature cooperative play and is arguably the best. Oh I take back my review title River City Ransom is sort of its own kind of thing, but I'll call that an action RPG. Yay for symantically reconciling my claims in my review!
In order to avenge the death of their special ladyfriend, Billy and Jimmy Lee team up to beat up the shadow warriors, who are aptly-named since not only do they disappear when they get pummeled but their weapons do as well, at least when their immediate group of friends is beaten. Unlike the first game in the series, all martial arts maneuvers are unlocked at the beginning of the game, and unlike the third game there are no new playable characters to unlock or finite, overpowered weapons to take all the fun and challenge out of the boss fights. What remains is a pure, fist of fury violent adventure that despite some annoying jumping areas later on is pretty purely based on the challenge of facing a variety of foes in varied locations.
Graphics = 8
The graphics in this game are quite good and stylistically-consistent. The fighters are pretty large and detailed for a NES game, and there are graphical flourishes throughout the game such as large helicopters, well-animated splashes when you or an opponent crashes into water (instant death for anyone, of course, no swim lessons for these people apparently). There are also creatively-animated foes with a wide variety of moves to use against the heroes, and with the varied and interesting locales the mayhem is set against it all adds up to a very pleasing graphical presentation.
Sound = 8
The sound effects in this game are quite effective and interesting (some moves feel almost supernaturally powerful aided in large part by the swooshing explosive sound effects combined with the exaggerated animations in game, such as a knee kick that knocks the foes across the screen as is accentuated with a suitable sound effect). The music in the game is memorable, well-composed and varied and perfectly accompanies the adventure but the tunes aren't life-changing or revolutionary in the way some gaming music can be.
Addictiveness = 9
Due to the strong coop mode, this game is very addictive. It even has two different coop modes, one where the players are able to hurt each other and another where they can't. At times in this game the Lee brothers fight in close quarters and sometimes are confined to a 2d plane, so the option of being invulnerable to each other is a very smart addition, though it may not have annoyed anyone if this was simply the default setting. Suffice to say, the solid beatemup gameplay with coop on top leads to a great experience that will bring gamers back for more.
Story = 7
The story in Double Dragon 2 is quite good, the over-arching plotline of their special lady-friend dying is very interesting and on top of that there are some very effective cutscenes to move the story along between the levels (though some of the cutscenes are less interesting than others. I graded the story down a bit because some of the cutscenes are too minimalistic/lackluster/pointless and sometimes there doesnt seem to be a logical reason for going from place to place. Also apart from the final boss there is very little storytelling in the game, for example boss characters are often recycled, giving the feeling that they are just a thug army and not a distinct personality.
Depth = 6 Difficulty = 7
There is a pretty decent depth to the fighting system of the game, there is an uppercut, a knee move and a hurricane kick that are all dependent on somewhat precise timing, which is a little out of the ordinary for a game of this era. Additionally, there is a wide variety of options when the opponent is locked in the hair-pull kick, and these options actually have a significant tactical advantage over each other in the game's many diverse, hazardous areas, so you may often have the option of drop-kicking or shoulder-throwing a foe into a bottomless pit or bed of spikes or other such grisly fate. Battle system aside, however, the game is very linear and once you get the hang of the battles, the game resorts to unfair platforming areas to drain your supply of extra lives, which is sort of disappointing in a game without unlimited lives like the arcade.
Overall, this game is great, and if you request it (or start a session yourself) in Vizzed Netplay lobby you are bound to find some takers.
Graphics 8 Sound 8 Addictive 9 Story 7 Depth 6 Difficulty 7
Review Rating: 3.4/5
Submitted: 07-31-13
Review Replies: 1