Publisher: Ballistic
Developer: Ballistic
Size: 4 megs
No. of players: 2(simultaneously)
Official Ad: Yes
Got it for: $8.99, box and cart only.
Street punks have taken your girlfriend! How could this have happened!? You live it such a nice neighborhood, where vigilante fighters just roam about all day long....I just don't understand. Ah well, time to call up your brother and beat the living fuck out of everyone that gets in your way as you go looking for her...

What's it all about?
Taking control as one of the Lee brothers, BIlly or Jimmy, you set out to rescue Billy's girlfriend, Marion. The game basically consists of punching, kicking and beating the hell out of enemies in an attempt to make it through the stages, and closer to getting Marion back. The Lee brothers have a particularly devastating set of moves to accomplish this task with: The infamous hair-pull kick, spin kicks, elbow smashes, uppercuts and headbutts will all help you tear through the likes of Roper's, Williams' and the ever-deranged-looking Abobo's.
Graphics - Excellent. Even though a lot of stuff has been toned down and quite a bit of the original color scheme has been changed up, the characters and backgrounds still look really good. The character animation is about on par, and all fight moves from the arcade version have been retained.
Sound - Great. A lot of people complain about the soundtrack on this one, and I've never really understood it. Granted, it's a step down from the arcade version's soundtrack...but by no means is it bad on its own. The sound effects are pretty much the same as they were in the arcade, with the various contact sounds, enemy screams and such.
Control - Smooth. Every bit as smooth as it was in the arcade; the Lee brothers move around very quickly, almost too quickly at times(watch out for those scenes where you can actually fall *off* the bottom of the screen). Attacks come off easily and quickly, even attacks that require the use of two buttons at once(the elbow and spin kick).
AI - Cheap....just like it was in the arcade. They'll team up on you, they'll attack you *as* you're getting up, knocking you back down, then starting the process all over until they kill you. The only thing that saves this from ruining the game are the apparent flaws in the AI, and the fact that you too can pull the stunts they do.
Replay value - Moderate. Though the game is relatively short, it's always a blast to play through...but with newer, more innovative beat'em ups out there, you may find that playing it every now and then will be enough.
Tips for better gaming experiences:
Jack your Lives and Continues up to six a piece. This'll give you a whopping thirty six tries to finish the game...trust me, it's more than you'll need(even with the cheap-ass AI). Speaking of the AI, give their cheap-asses a little taste of what it's like when things get rough: Stand directly over them and as they get up, perform the elbow move. This will immediately knock them back down RIGHT in front of you, and set them up for you to do it again and again and again, until they die!
My rating: 85(out of 100) - Though its got its share of problems, this is still an excellent conversion of the arcade classic. Solid gameplay, control and a whole lot of ass-whipping, especially with two players, ensure that this one will always continue to be enjoyed by fans of the arcade original, and beat'em ups in general.
GamePro gave it: 5.0(graphics), 3.0(sound), 5.0(gameplay), 4.0(funfactor), 4.0(challenge) (out of 5)

JD 's thoughts: What's up with that oversized cat in the arcade version!? Good God, Garfield's got nothing on that giant bastard! At any rate, I guess DD's alright...it's just old...didn't really age that well. Give this kitty Streets of Rage over this any day...

Orange cat in the Genesis version...
...bigger orange cat in the arcade version.
The hair-pull kick, Bel-style...
Ah Marion, showing us the fine art of the panty shot...back before we realized how vital it really was to the game...
Giving the Dragon the boot:
As this is an unlicensed game, it has real issues when trying to play it on a model 1 Genesis unit. Most of the time it will just sit there...with a black screen, refusing to even start. Other times, it'll get to the initial startup screen and then go black. To get around this, either play it on a model 2 Genesis(it has the "Licensed by Sega" screen built into the rom, thus letting games boot that don't have it in their cart) or, better yet, play it through your 32X add-on. For some reason, along with letting you play Mega Drive games with no region coding, it will allow unlicensed games to play through it even if it's on top of a model 1 Genesis.
Double Dragon - Single Award:
Double Dragon was number 4 in EGM's "10 Best Arcade Games of All Time" list.