The year 1987 marked the first release of a Double Dragon game in the arcade. The series increased in popularity with more games, a cartoon, and even a movie. Although there has not been a new Double Dragon game for a few years, Altus picked up the license from Technos (who went belly up) and released the NES version with upgrades to the GBA handheld. Double Dragon Advance will give fans a sense of nostalgia when playing this game again, but will gamers who are new to the series achieve that same level of satisfaction? This game boasts eight fierce levels, multiplayer mode with one or two players, survival mode, and ten weapons to beat up the enemies.

The story takes place in the midst of World War III, and all hell is unleashed as many gangs control the world. Willy’s gang, Shadow Warriors, rules New York. Twins Billy and Jimmy Lee of the USA decide to take down the Shadow Warriors. First, they must rescue Billy’s girlfriend, Marian. Jimmy Lee also has feelings for Mario so he begins the quest with intentions unknown to his brother.


Title Screen

Double Dragon is an old-time videogame of the beat-‘em-up genre, and Double Dragon Advance is similar to its predecessor. Once a gamer defeats all enemies on the screen, he advances to the next level. There are eight levels in all with various difficulty levels; a gamer can play as one player or in a two player mode. This game features a co-op mode for a two-player game; but also, one player can play as Billy and Jimmy at the same time. The one-player mode in which it is possible to play both guys is a bit odd and quite frustrating. A gamer can control only one of them at a time and the other is helpless. If one character dies, then the other loses lives and continues. In addition, Billy and Jimmy can hurt each other by mistake. There is also a survival mode where Billy or Jimmy faces an onslaught of enemies until he loses all his health.

The move arsenal is quite hefty with as many attacks as a professional wrestler. Billy and Jimmy Lee have a basic kick, punch, block, and jump moves. The fighters can also grab and have their partner attack the baddies. Jimmy Lee and Billy can toss their enemies and attack them while they are on the ground. The enemies can perform similar moves against the good guys; however, Billy and Jimmy have the skill to kick out and receive less damage. They also have the ability to take the enemy’s weapons and use those against them. All these moves sometimes make it confusing to figure out which one of these attacks is best to use against the enemies.


"Don't hurt me, please..."

One of the more popular features of Double Dragon Advance is the ability to use weapons against the thugs. There are ten different weapons in the game including knives, whips, flails, baseball bats, axes, and dynamite. Billy and Jimmy cannot pick up the dynamite, but they can lure their enemies to where the dynamite lands. If they are nearby when it explodes, then they will die. Knives are awesome because the characters can stab guys or throw at the enemies. Even a baseball bat can knock the knives back to the enemies! A negative aspect of the weapons is that some of them like axes and baseball bats have the same feel, so they are repetitive.

Since Double Dragon Advance is based on a Nintendo game, the graphics and audio suffer a bit. Even though Altus updated the graphics, most of the characters feel like they came straight out of 80’s. The graphics feel outdated with halfhearted enemy costumes and short and pointless cut scenes. Later in the game, the tougher enemies are just the same enemies from the beginning, but with just different color of skin and costume. Some of the earlier bosses repeat themselves later in the game which lowers the replay value of the earlier levels. The game has really lame sound effects that are no different than any beat-‘em-up game. Do not anticipate any interesting or unique sounds throughout the game.


Take that!

Double Dragon Advance packs a punch and kick with its game play with numerous weapons, but it leaves a sense of blandness with lack of variety. Like most beat-‘em-up action games when it is over, there is no real point in playing the game through more than a few short runs. Since the game repeats many of the weapons and enemies, it feels rehashed and becomes old quickly. Fans of series and beat-‘em-up games will enjoy this game while it lasts. However, other gamers may get a ho-hum experience with the various flaws within the game.