Double Dragon Trilogy

The Double Dragon games are some of the best fighting games around; unfortunately, this release does not do the series justice. There are just too many flaws. The game's intro scene is completely absent from Double Dragon 3. And there is no title screen for Double Dragon 1 or 2. The continue screen is cryptic, and there are several bugs (it appears the endings issue has been fixed as of this writing). This release is bringing nothing new (but something less) to the table. Hopefully, with some updates, these issues will be resolved.

As a child of the '80s, I loved the Double Dragon arcade games. A pizza place had the first one set up to give you a ton of credits for a single quarter--the only way I ever made it to the end, LOL. I had limited exposure to Double Dragon II, though I played the heck out of the NES conversion/remake. I had next to no experience with the third arcade game. The price is definitely right for Double Dragon Trilogy, and if you're a fan of the series, you're not likely to be too disappointed. All three arcade games are here, though Double Dragon 3 is easily the weakest. While the character graphics and backgrounds themselves look good, the animation is much choppier. Double Dragon II is my favorite, though that may just be more my personal preference. I like the enemy assortment in it better. On the whole, the games themselves are just fine. Where the trilogy falters is in the presentation and setup. While there's nothing intrinsically wrong with the redesigned HUD in-game, the vibrant style contrasts with the grittier color scheme of the games themselves. Also, given the substantially different control scheme in DDII, each game should have its own controller configuration menu. It takes trial and error just to figure out how to configure Double Dragon II, which also affects the other games. Also, the game does not save your Easy Controls preference, so you have to reconfigure it every time you play. That gets extremely annoying. I've even had some issues with it saving my control scheme in general. Additionally, there DESPERATELY needs to be a command list, if not a full-blown instruction manual, for Double Dragon 3, as it's virtually impossible to figure out on your own, especially how the shops work in this emulation, since you don't exactly insert coins into your PC to purchase things... That said, it's still great to have these classics on the PC. The flaws aren't deal-breakers, but I hope they are fixed in future releases. A good collection.

Double Dragon Trilogy for the PC is a major letdown on all fronts, including presentation. You can clearly tell upon booting up this compilation that this was ported from the mobile gaming versions. From the removal of the openings of each game, to speeding up cutscenes in Double Dragon 3, to the lame UI, to even limited continues for each game, Double Dragon fans deserve better than this. I want a compilation that has authentic arcade ports with customization options & optional museum modes to check out artworks and soundtracks, something this game lacks. The TMNT Cowabunga Collection & Atari 50th Anniversary Collection were better compilations than Double Dragon Trilogy. Overall, go buy the Archive Archives ports of the Double Dragon games on other platforms and until a more decent & better Double Dragon Trilogy compilation comes to fruition, avoid this attempt of a compilation at all costs. 1 Bimmys out of 5.

If you played the arcade versions then it will be pretty much what you expect. But the intros have been cut, the bugs have been tweaked and some minor improvements have been added. I really miss the intros and the non-playable gameplay demos. It would have brought back that "old arcade" feeling again. I noticed the slowdown has been fixed which is a great welcome for me. Also the "walking along the edge, hit enemies into the pit" bug in the first Double Dragon has been fixed in the last level, but at rare times an enemy will fall into the pit when you hit them. The default controls in DD2 have been fixed to punch and kick buttons rather than attack left and attack right buttons, but you can change them to the original style. DD3 should not even be played. It sucked in the arcade and it is the same with this version. I'm a big fan of Double Dragon and that is the reason I bought it. It brings back those memories when I would skip class with a friend in high school to go play it at the corner store. One the first arcade games I fell in love with and I'll play it when I want to revisit those cherished memories again.