Luigi Mario

Return of Double Dragon: The Sleeping Dragon Has Awoke 

Developer: Technos Japan Corp.  Publisher: Technos Japan Corp

Introduction:

The year is 1992. Technos was determined to take the bitter taste out of fans' mouths  from the  major flop that was Double Dragon III: The Sacred Stones. Many people thought that Technos simply didn't have it anymore and lost it's touch...until this masterpiece was released. Although this game didn't come out in arcades llie the others, (probably to avoid the difficulty of porting it to the Super Fanicom), it surpasses all of them in terms of gameplay, sound, and graphics! It also doesn't seem to follow the events of the first three games. Instead, it's more of a remake of the original arcade game...but is instead placed in modern times rather than the post apocalyptic future. The story is as follows: the Lee brothers has opened a dojo and it has become quite popular among the town's people. Another dojo named the Duke Dojo, who is lead by the leader of the Shadow Warriors, Duke, isn't too fond of this and therefore kidnaps the Lee brother's best student and close friend....a female cop named Marian Kelly (Billy's girlfriend in the first three games) in exchange for their Sou-Stsu-Ken dojo. So in response to this, Billy and Jimmy set off on a no holds barred ass kicking spree through the Shadow Warriors to rescue their friend and to rid Duke and his gang out of the town!

It's interesting to note that this storyline is for the released game and that Technos actually intended that alot of more things be put into the game (a sprite of Marian was actually inserted into the ROM but is never seen!). Also, Duke was supposed to be a childhood friend of Billy and Jimmy! The Double Dragon Dojo has an excllent article Here. An incomplete version of this game came out in the US as Super Double Dragon. Tradewest, who held the rights to the Amercian releases, decided to be very impatient for Technos to finish the game and therefore released/threw the incomplete version to American gamers (hey, it is Tradewest afterall)! So for that very reason, I decided to review the complete (well somewhat) version of this epic game!

Reviewed By: Legend

Graphics: A+             

Absolutely beautiful! How's that for a starter? The first thing fans of beatemups will notice are the character's sprites being smaller than those of Final Fight and Streets of Rage. But for that reason, more frames were able to be made for the characters! You can tell by how fluid they move (just look at how Billy and Jimmy walk to know what I'm talking about!) and by the animations of the moves they perform! They're even more fluid than the arcade games! Yet again, Technos' trademark coloring and lighting really go into effect here. From the very colorful and gorgeous looking lights in the Las Vegas level, to the light shining off of the characters...this game more than pushed the limits of what the Super Fanicom/Super Nintendo was capable of! Mode 7 is also used...although it's only at the beginning of title screen..which is quite lame if you ask me. But at least that's a step above from what they had in Super Double Dragon...which doesn't even use Mode 7! Overall...easily one of the best looking Super Fanicom/Super Nintendo graphics ever on the system!

Sound: A+            

Okay...this review can't cover everything about the sound because it'd take forever! Lol. First off, the music is just...EPIC! Plain and simple! However, what makes this version even better is the additional songs that weren't even in the American version of this game! Stage 1 in Las Vegas is a completely new track (which is even better IMO) that just gets you in the mood to complete this game no matter what might happen! Stage 2, the airport, is the same as the American version...which is good! You will like the creepy piano parts that builds up to the climax of the song! Stage 3 is another all new track not found in the American version! Instead of having the remixed City Slum theme, this theme has a nice jazzy, but still dramatic, thing going for it. It suits the level very well! Stage 4 is the same cool theme that was in stage 1, except it's more fitting here. Stage 5, which had the Double Dragon theme in the localized version(which I thought was kind of lame to have in that level), has the remixed City Slum theme instead! This song always was one of the best pieces of video game music written...and this version just makes it even better! I love the part where you can here the women sing in it! This defitanley pushed the systems to the max!

Stage 6 is the same easy going and catchy song from the localized version. Stage 7 is one of my personal favorites! In the localized version, it's the theme for the semi truck stage. But in this version, it fits in way better! It's very dramatic and it just gets you in the mood to kick someone's ass! Alot better than the generic them in the american version that's for sure! And finally, stage 8, where you fight  Duke himself, plays the legendary Double Dragon theme song. This version of the song is the best of any other version I've heard of it! It's very epic and dramatic! You'll love the parts where the violins go into effect! It just fits this stage way better than the other version did. Now onto the other sounds. Billy and Jimmy have more of a energetic yell as opposed to the American version. The punches and kicks sound more realistic, the blocks sound like you're actually blocking a punch, and the weapons sound like they're actually being used in battle! Another thing to add is that whenever you're doing a finishing move on your opponent, you will hear an echoing noise as if you really broke that person's jaw! Overall, the sound can't be touched!

Control: A+           

Flawless! There's really not much to say...you can block at the right time and the quicker you tape the punch and kick button, you'll be able to pull off you're mover faster! There's no slow responses whatsoever!

Gameplay: A+           

Again...another strong point in this game! Billy and Jimmy, for the first time, actually are two separate characters with separate moves! Billy focuses more on techniques such as the backhand thrust and uppercuts, while Jimmy just throws straight hooks followed by a swinging hook across the jaw (ouch)! The enemies are also interesting too! You have Williams and Roper, the two common thugs in the series. The more the game progresses, you'll see more palettes of them (each being stronger than the last). Roper will always seem to carry the weapons into battle (though Williams does every now and then), which can be kind of irritating when you least suspect it. You can also reverse or throw them and they'll get really pissed off and come full force at you! Watch out though, if they're in a group they can become quite deadly! Next is Baker. He's a swordsman and each palette of him is stronger than the last. If he's in a group he can become a real nuisance! But overall, he's pretty weak and can be defeated easily. Steve is the guy in the spiffy suit. He blocks alot (especially on hard) and his punches and kick can be very fast. Just don't have your back towards him! Then we have Carlem (the big guy with the sunglasses). Storyline wise everyone's supposed to be scared of him and his "Leg of Death", but this guy is such a weakling it's almost laughable (okay, it is laughable). He doesn't really have anything going for him other than his side kick and WWE style double axe handle.

Next is McGuire. He looks like a  fat clown and does the Blanka style air spin. He can be a challenge due to him blocking alot and sneaking in cheap attacks (especially his roll and punch on the head ala Andre The Giant). So keep an eye out on him! We also have the returning nuisance from DD 1 & 2, Jeff! He looks like an Evil Billy (which is dumb), but he's back to his sneaky and conniving ways bye always bringing some deadly weapon into combat! He's got the same moves as Billy...so he can sometimes be a challenge. Joining him and the others is Jackson...a boxer. His jabs and uppercuts are very powerful and fast (he even will sometimes grab you and just start punching your stomach over and over until you can't take it anymore). But overall, he's pretty weak too. Then we have the other two twins...Chen Long-Fu and Chen Long-Biao. They're actually pretty hard to defeat...especially if you kick high at them. They can become quite irritating, but when they're alone, they're pretty easy to beat. And finally, we have Duke...the leader of the Shadow Warriors. His moves are...unique to say the least. If you actually try to reverse his punches, he'll kick you right back down! He also does a Blanka-type air spin too (but cooler). He's pretty hard when in a group, but when alone, he'll basically be crying for his mommy. the gameplay in Return/Super is much better than the first three games. This time...you can actually catch almost every enemies' fist and lay the smackdown on them! There's also the new addition called the Dragon Meter. You can hold any of the trigger buttons while you're walking and perfrom some wicked stuff ranging from the Hurrican Kick (which is better used in this version since it does multiple kicks on the enemies) to the Spinning Punch! Or, you can have it charge all the way up which will put you in Rage Mode so you can knock your opponents down with one punch or kick! Another nice feature is the ability to jump off walls to perform a drop kick! Not only that...but the returning headlock feature is back..but this time you can kick the enemies behind you! Also, in this version of the game, you can change items at will instead of getting hit on purpose in order to lose that item as in the Amercian version! Though I did find it frustrating at times to exchange them while I was getting a beatdown on me! The enemies in this version are also kind of weaker than Super's...which is kind of a letdown. But at the same time, the enemies in this version are more cunning will actually duck your attacks..especially in Hard Mode. Speaking of which, in this version, you can actually adjust the difficulty in the game! Something that was missing in Super! You can also listen to the music from the game in the option menu! Other than very few cheap deaths, I found nothing wrong whatsoever with the gameplay! Oh yeah, and there's additional stages in this version that weren't Super such as Duke's hallway and Duke's armor and spiked room (it's the complete version remember?)!

Overall: A+           

This is why I love video games and the Double Dragon series! Everything about this game is epic! Some will argue that the original arcade game is the best in the series. Though it is a great game, this one just expands upon it and makes it better! However, those expecting an ending will be very disappointed once you beat the game, the credits just roll. At least Super had somewhat of an ending (eventhough it was text), so why not this one? Oh well. Anyways, this is by far the best in the series (yes even better than DD Advance), and one of the greatest games of all time! Technos more than made up for what was Double Dragon III! They actually took their time with this game and it really shows! I strongly recommend you hunt down a copy of this treasure and give it a try! I promise you'll love it!