Double Dragon 2 review - Sega Megadrive

Poor old Mr Big. All he wanted was someone to share his twilight years with and his one chance was ruined by the Lee brothers. Mind you, perhaps he shouldn't have just kidnapped their girlfriend and tied her up, but then that's criminals for you. After the Lees rescued Marion (for it was she), Mr Big got a bit upset and decided it would be best for all concerned if he were to kill her. Understandably, after all the trouble they went through to free Marion in the first Double Dragon game, Billy and Jimmy Lee were slightly miffed by this turn of events and so set out to avenge her death and put a stop to the evil activities of Mr Big.

So begins Double Dragon II, the Megadrive conversion of popular sequel to one of the most successful coin-ops going. You play the part of Billy Lee (and your pal plays Jimmy in two-player mode) and you wander the pseudo-3D horizontally scrolling environment slapping people about until they die. At the end of the game stands Mr Big and only by killing him can Marion's spirit be truly laid to rest, or something.

What the Mean Machines staff thought

What a shambles! The original Double Dragon II coin-op was no great shakes, but this conversion is simply tragic. The graphics are deformed and ungainly, the sound is hopeless and the gameplay is just completely pathetic. Double Dragon I may have been easy to complete, but it was pretty good fun while it lasted. This sequel, on the other hand, re-defines the term "tedious", with its slow, plodding movement and jerky scrolling. Megadrive Double Dragon fans should definitely take a look at Ballistic's conversion of the original coin-op, although I'm sure beat 'em up fans would agree with me when I say that Streets of Rage is still the best combat game for the Megadrive. Either way, just ignore this smelly, rancid cart, and look elsewhere for your beat 'em up thrills.

Lordy me, it would seem Double Dragon II has set Megadrive software back years. The graphics would look poor on a Master System, the sprites are badly drawn and stiffly animated and the backgrounds are oh-so-boring. The sound is feeble in the extreme, with a poor excuse for a soundtrack and crippled effects. Although the control system is quite a novel idea, the responsiveness is so poor that it doesn't help much at all. Luckily your suffering is cut short as Double Dragon II is so easy that only Mr No-Hands could fail to complete it on their first go. Beat 'em up fans would be well advised to run away from this release at high speeds.

Have your say about Double Dragon 2

Richy Girth - 22 Oct 2008, 12:52 GMT

Damn you, Halsoft.

Damn your filthy hide.

Godpikachu - 09 Feb 2009, 17:49 GMT

You know, i loved double dragon, it was one of my favourite arcade games, and one of my favourite games on the MS, but when i got this bucket of shit, i must say it did put me of side scrolly beat em ups for a while.

The controls are ass, the graphics are so crap its unbelievble, and, well, its just one of those games that when you were a kid and you got it was a massive disappointment, on a par with finding out that father christmas was just your dad and that Transformers wasnt real.

If youre after a beat em up, try Streets of Rage (1, 2 or 3...or better still, all of them), Golden axe or alien storm....avoid this sack of crap, even if somebody offers to give it you for free.

Stayrsaigh - 22 Mar 2009, 01:45 GMT

*Sigh* What a waste of an opportunity! I waited 'till the emulators to try this and it really is a shade less than chang!!!

I always thought the amiga version was the best port of the arcade machine, although that wasn't great either but once again the NES version triumphs over this like Conan and the Snake!

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Publisher: Halsoft