Double Dragon (Arcade)
Introduction
Double Dragon is Technos Japan’s original 1987 arcade beat ’em up, created by designer Yoshihisa Kishimoto as a spiritual successor to his earlier Nekketsu Kōha Kunio-kun after company executives pushed for the next game to support two simultaneous players. Kishimoto drew inspiration from gritty street-gang pop culture of the era, citing the 1979 film The Warriors and 1981’s Mad Max 2 as touchstones for the game’s post-apocalyptic urban setting, and the resulting title is widely credited with kicking off the side-scrolling beat ’em up genre as a commercial force in arcades. Players control martial artists Billy or Jimmy Lee, fighting through the streets, warehouses, and hideouts of the Black Warriors gang in either solo or genuine two-player simultaneous co-op, using punches, kicks, and improvised weapons picked up from disarmed enemies to rescue Billy’s girlfriend Marian. Its combination of accessible brawling combat, cooperative play, and a surprisingly dark-for-the-genre tone made Double Dragon a massive arcade hit that spawned numerous sequels, home ports, and a full franchise, and its influence can still be traced through decades of beat ’em ups that followed.
