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Super Double Dragon is a side-scrolling beat-'em-up released for the Super Nintendo/Super Famicom in 1992. It was published by Tradewest in North America and Europe and by Technōs Japan in Japan. Super Double Dragon is the 4th console game in the popular Double Dragon series developed by Technōs Japan, following three game releases for the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES).

The previous games on the NES were great beat-'em ups. Can this one better compare to the great Final Fight and Streets of Rage series on 16-bit systems?

Cool Super Famicom box cover art for Japan. It was known there as Return of Double Dragon. (Image source)

The Story

Billy and Jimmy Lee are back in Super Double Dragon, an all-new adventure with all new moves, impossible new missions, and a dangerous cast of enemies!

Marian, a hot police babe, is a student of Kung Fu and a part-time assistant instructor at the martial arts training school run by Billy and Jimmy Lee. As a narcotics investigator, she has disappeared while attempting to infiltrate the criminal mob known as the Black Shadow Warriors.

Finding and rescuing Marian will take all your fighting skills and knowledge. Alone or with your twin brother's help, you must face the fearsome onslaught of the Shadow Warriors with the power and ferocity of the Double Dragon!

Box, manual and cartridge of the game. (Image source)

The Graphics and Sound

The visuals were less outstanding than they could have been. The sprites are kind of small and some of the enemies could have used some detail. And the coloring is nice in the scenarios.

Without a doubt, this one has the best-composed music in the series, including several reworked versions of classic tracks. The fighting sound effects are above average, although games like Final Fight had some more variety of death cries and grunts.

Gameplay video sample of Super Double Dragon (2-Players) on the Super Nintendo. Watch in 360p for near TV resolution of that time.

The Gameplay

The unique Double Dragon beat-'em up style that seemed so fresh during the 1980s has somewhat grown stale since the debut of other 16-bit console beat-'em ups. There are fewer enemies on screen and the action oftentimes seems somewhat slow-paced. Having two simultaneous players helps increase the frenzy factor, but the dated mechanics are still openly visible.

The lack of familiar icons like Marian or Abobo also upsets this title from fans of the earlier title. There is still some solid fun to be had here, with opportunities to crack heads or kick someone into a deep gorge. There's a new mechanics featured here that add a bit of strategy to the game - by holding down the shoulder buttons for an extended period of time you enter a phase where your hero power up and deal additional damage to enemies. I just feel that perhaps the developers should have spent more time focusing on this one and not rushed this game for release.

For the most part, the game controls are okay, with enough of the pad's buttons used. There are some minor issues of response lag when being attacked sometimes, and moving up or down can be cumbersome. Some of these bugs may have been ignored to keep the game shipping out earlier for whatever deadline the developers have to keep.

Replay value is decent. There are many varieties of combos and most of the levels are short. But, it does not feel rewarding when you finish it.

My Verdict

Super Double Dragon is a pretty good beat-'em up, due to the fact that there is a wide variety of combos and most of the levels are short. It is just not rewarding when you finish it. Play through Streets of Rage 2 or 3 and you will see what I mean.

Play it on the Super Nintendo/Super Famicom or play it on a good emulator. Play it with a friend.

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