Double Dragon II Video Game Wiki/History
Double Dragon II: The Revenge is the second game in the Double Dragon series of side-scrolling beat-em-ups, produced for the arcades in 1988.
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Arcade version
The arcade version of Double Dragon II is essentially a reworked version of the original Double Dragon, using the same engine and redrawing most of the game's graphics. The main change in the game was the replacement of the original game's punch and kick configuration in favor of a two-way attacking system (Left Attack and Right Attack) similar to one of Technos' previous beat-em-ups Renegade. Pressing the attack button of the direction the player is facing will perform the standard left/right punch combo, whereas pressing the opposite attack button will make the character perform a rear kick. Double Dragon II also marked the debut of the Hurricane Kick (also known as the Cyclone Spin Kick), which would become the series' trademark special technique.
The game begins with Marian, the damsel in distress from the first game, being shot to death by Willy, the leader of the Black Warriors. Thus, the objective of the game is to avenge Marian's death instead of rescuing her. Like in the first game, there are a total of four stages, which consists of a heliport, a lumber storehouse, a cornfield and the gang's hideout. All of the enemy characters from the first game are back, with some of them (namely Williams, Roper and Linda, as well as Abobo and his new head swap counterpart Oharra) given makeovers such as different hairstyles or physical features, as well as new attacks such as Williams' ability to run and do cartwheels. There are also three new boss characters: Burnov, an obese wrestler with the ability to make himself disappear; Abore, a sunglass-wearing giant with a powerful shoulder tackle; and Chin Taimei, an Asian martial artist who wields twin kali sticks.
After defeating Willy at the game's final stage, the player must confront an evil clone of their own character who has the same skills, as well as the ability to throw energy beams and possess the main character's body to drain energy. After defeating the evil clone, the game ends with a photograph of Billy and Jimmy with Marian, who sheds a single tear which forms the words "The End". Unlike the first arcade game, there are no ending credits.
Nintendo NES
The NES version retained the 2-Player co-op feature that was missing in the first NES game.
The NES version is notable for featuring cut-scenes (static images and on-screen text) that serve to narrate the progress of the game's plot. The revenge premise remains the same, although the plot was altered. Willy does not appear in the game at all. Instead, a rival martial artist referred to only as the "Mysterious Warrior", serves as the final boss after the doppelgängers are defeated—available only in the game's hardest difficulty setting (Supreme Master). According to the Japanese version's instruction manual, he is the master of a martial art style known as "Gensatsuken", a counterpart of Billy and Jimmy's "Sōsetsuken" style. The ending is also completely different, in which Marian is restored to life after the Mysterious Warrior is defeated.
In contrast to the first NES game, all of the player's techniques are available from the start and the two-player cooperative gameplay has been kept this time, with an alternative mode that has the friendly fire option turned on (in contrast, the one-on-one Vs. Mode introduced in the first NES game was not included in this sequel). Two new special techniques are added to the player's repertoire in addition to the Whirlwind Kick; the Hyper Uppercut and the Flying Knee Kick. The NES version's stage layout is composed of nine missions. While none of the stages are direct reproductions from the arcade game's stages, they share many of the same elements, including background music. Many of these stages don't have actual bosses, but traps which the player must overcome to clear the stage.
Enemy characters from the arcade game include Williams, Roper, Linda, Burnov, Abobo (renamed Bolo in the NES version), Abore (whose design was changed to resemble Oharra), Chin Taimei and the Doppelgängers. Only Oharra, Jeff and Willy are omitted. Two new enemy characters are introduced in addition to the final boss: "Migiude" (the "Right-hand Man") and the "Ninja". The Right-hand Man is a standard thug enemy who relies on hand-to-hand and kick techniques. The Ninja is a sub-boss who relies on tricky attacks and speed. The Ropers now carry incendiary bombs and flails they throw like boomerangs as weapons; the latter is a weapon that cannot be carried by the player.
Mega Drive
In 1991, PalSoft released a Sega Mega Drive version of Double Dragon II ported from the arcade game. All of the enemies are included (except for Jeff) and most of the techniques are kept as well. A few corners were cut to shorten certain missions and enemies were less detailed than the arcade, but mission 2 was modified to include some platforming elements expanding the map and making it more like the NES games. The ending of the game was also expanded somewhat. The game was panned by Japanese game critics due to its sub-par graphics and noticeable slowdowns during gameplay.[citation needed] It was never released outside Japan. Its release predates the Genesis versions of the first and third game released in the West (all three games were ported and published by different developers).