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Double Dragon
Double Dragonย (ๅๆช้พ,ย Daburu Doragon – Sล Setsu Ryลซ)ย is aย beat ’em upย video gameย series originally developed and published byย Technลs Japan. It began with the release of the arcade gameย Double Dragonย in 1987. The series features twin martial artists, Billy and Jimmy Lee, as they fight against various adversaries and rivals.
The originalย Double Dragonย was a hitย arcade video game, ushering in a “Golden Age” for the beat ’em up genre, resulting in a flood of beat ’em ups during the late 1980s to 1990s that followed the conventions set byย Double Dragon. A 1993ย animated seriesย and 1994ย live-action film adaptationย were produced; these adaptations were widely-panned by critics and audiences.
In June 2015,ย Arc System Worksย acquired the rights to all former Technลs IPs, including theย Double Dragonย series. Arc System Works had previously ported the originalย Double Dragonย to theย Master Systemย console in 1988.
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| Double Dragon | |
|---|---|
 iOS/Android version logo | |
| Genre(s) | Beat-’em-up |
| Developer(s) | Technลs Japan WayForward Technologies Arc System Works Yuke’s |
| Publisher(s) | Technลs Japan Taito SNK Million Corp. Atlus Arc System Works |
| Creator(s) | Yoshihisa Kishimoto |
| Platform(s) | Arcade,ย NES,ย Master System,ย Atari 2600,ย Atari 7800,ย Game Boy,ย Mega Drive/Genesis,ย Lynx,ย Game Gear,ย Super NES,ย Jaguar,ย Neo Geo,ย Neo Geo CD,ย PlayStation,ย PlayStation 3,ย Game Boy Advance,ย Xbox 360,ย PlayStation 4,ย PlayStation 5,ย PC,ย iOS,ย Android,ย DOS,ย Windows,ย Amiga,ย Commodore 64,ย Atari ST,ย ZX Spectrum,ย Amstrad CPC,ย MSX,ย Zeebo,ย Nintendo Switch,ย Xbox One,ย Xbox Series X/S, iiRcade |
| First release | Double Dragon 1987 |
| Latest release | Double Dragon Gaiden: Rise of the Dragons 2023 |
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Game series
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The first game,ย Double Dragon, was released in the arcades in 1987. Aย Nintendo Entertainment Systemย version produced by Technลs was released in 1988, followed by aย Game Boyย version inย 1990. Various licensed versions were also produced by other developers for gaming platforms such as theย Master System,ย Atari 2600,ย Atari 7800,ย Genesis,ย Atari Lynxย and for home computers.
Twoย Double Dragonย sequels were released for the arcade:ย Double Dragon II: The Revengeย inย 1988ย andย Double Dragon 3: The Rosetta Stoneย inย 1990. Like the original, Technลs produced versions for the NES (Double Dragon II: The Revengeย inย 1989ย andย Double Dragon III: The Sacred Stonesย inย 1991, respectively).
In 1991, a game titledย Double Dragon II, unrelated to its arcade and NES counterpart, was released for theย Game Boy.
A fourth game in the main series was released exclusively for theย Super NESย inย 1992, titledย Super Double Dragon. It was the last game produced by the original team at Technลs.
Theย Game Gearย gameย Double Dragonย is not a port of the original arcade game, but is instead an entirely new entry in the series that has gameplay elements that are more similar toย Streets of Rage.
Inย 1994,ย Tradewestย releasedย Double Dragon V: The Shadow Fallsย for the Super NES and Genesis in North America and Europe, aย fighting gameย developed by Leland Interactive based on theย Double Dragonย animated TV series by Bohbot Entertainment. Aย Jaguarย version was released by Telegames as well.
Another fighting game produced by Technลs, simply titledย Double Dragon, was released for theย Neo Geoย arcade and home console inย 1995. Aย Neo Geo CDย version was also released, as well as aย PlayStationย version by Urban Plant. It was the lastย Double Dragonย game produced by Technลs before the company went out of business.
Inย 2003, a remake of the originalย Double Dragon, titledย Double Dragon Advance, was produced byย Atlusย and Million (the copyrights holder of theย Double Dragonย series at the time) for theย Game Boy Advance.
Inย 2009, a remake was released for theย Zeebo, developed by Brizo Interactive and published byย Tectoy.
Inย 2011, another remake was released for theย iPhone, developed by Brizo Interactive and published byย Aksys Games.
WayForward Technologiesย developedย Double Dragon Neon, a self-parody of the series. The game was released on September 11, 2012, for theย PlayStation 3ย onย PlayStation Network, one day later for theย Xbox 360ย onย Xbox Live, and for PC in the first quarter of 2014.
Double Dragon II: Wander of the Dragons, a 3D remake of the originalย Double Dragon II, was released on theย Xbox Live Arcadeย by game developerย Gravityย in April 2013.
A compilation of the three arcade titles, titledย Double Dragon Trilogy, was released byย DotEmuย inย 2013ย forย iOS,ย Android, GOG andย Steamย platforms.
Inย 2017,ย Double Dragon IVย (not to be confused withย Super Double Dragon) was released in January 2017, for theย PlayStation 4ย and PC, respectively, and September 7 for theย Nintendo Switch. It takes place shortly afterย Double Dragon II: The Revengeย and uses an 8-bit artstyle, similar to the NES ports of the earlier entries of the series. The title was developed byย Arc System Worksย and former Technลs staff such as producer Takaomi Kaneko, directorย Yoshihisa Kishimoto, character designer Koji Ogata, composer Kazunaka Yamane and programmer Kei Oyama.
Inย 2023, a spin-off of the franchise, titledย Double Dragon Gaiden: Rise of the Dragons, was announced for Windows, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4,ย PlayStation 5,ย Xbox Oneย andย Xbox Series X/S, and was released on July 27, 2023.
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