DOUBLE DRAGON I - STORY


The Double Dragon adventure began in 1986 just before the release of the game Nekketsu Kôha Kunio-ku. Kishimoto Yoshihisa noticed several details that could improve the player's experience of the game, a very simple yet obvious concept that no one had thought of to date in a beat'em all: being able to use part of the background or a weapon dropped by an enemy against him. At first Kishimoto Yoshihisa wanted to make a sequel to Nekketsu Kôha Kunio-ku to incorporate these modifications, which couldn't be included in the first game. Unfortunately the chairman of Technos Japan, Kunio Taki, pointed out that there could be problems with the international versions of the game. As a result, and given the good ideas that Kishimoto Yoshihisa had developed, the chairman of Technos Japan proposed another improvement: co-operative play. From then on - July 20th, 1986, the anniversary of the death of Bruce Lee - the Double Dragon project was launched based on three revolutionary principles:

- two-player co-operative gameplay;
- being able to pick up and use an enemy weapon;
- being able to use the background as a throwing weapon.

Kishimoto Yoshihisa was a big fan of Bruce Lee and his films, and wanted to make the game genuinely interactive, copying the cinematographic ideas of the time. Double Dragon, unlike Nekketsu Kôha Kunio-ku, follows the logic of a screenplay; the player moves from scene to scene in a consistent manner to highlight the Double Dragon storyline. To do this, the players take on the roles of Billy and Jimmy to save Marianne (or Marian, depending on the country), who has been kidnapped by the Black Warriors.

Ultimately, Double Dragon would prove to be a success and remained in the American arcade box office for 15 months, a record compared to 1 month for Kunio-Kun: Regenerate.