Sentences written about this title, gathered by type from the Japanese and English Wikipedia articles (as of 2026-8-30).
In the Family Computer (1988) and Game Boy (1990) versions, 2-player simultaneous play, the continue function, and the palette-swapped bosses were removed. In their place an original enemy character appears: the Chinese martial artist Chin Taimei.
In the Sega Mark III version (released 1988-8-1), the character designs follow the Family Computer version, but the content is closer to the arcade original, allowing 2-player simultaneous play.
In the "Cross Review" feature of the magazine Famitsu, the game scored a total of 31 out of 40, earning a place in the Silver Hall of Fame. In the "Game Report Card" reader poll run by Family Computer Magazine, it scored 20.81 out of 30, as shown below.
The same magazine's special supplement "Famicom ROM Cartridge All Catalog" (1991-5-10 issue) noted that the 2-player simultaneous play available in the arcade version was "unfortunately absent from the Famicom version", but rated it favourably, saying "the fun has not been lost".
In the "Cross Review" feature of the magazine Famitsu,the game scored a total of 27 out of 40. In the "Game Report Card" reader poll run by Family Computer Magazine,it scored 20.78 out of 30, as shown below.
In 1988, Taito America sold over 10,000 dedicated arcade cabinets in the United States, where the game was purchased by over 80% of arcade operators.
The NES version sold 100,000 copies within 30 days of release in the US, where it drew controversy concerning video game violence.
Double Dragons chart-topping sales on home consoles continued with the Atari 2600 version by Activision going on to sell nearly 500,000 copies, making it one of the most popular games on the console, even as it was approaching the end of its lifespan.
However, Taito America's earnings were negatively impacted by illegal printed circuit board (PCB) sales, which led to a lawsuit that it won in 1989.
The NES version sold 100,000 copies within 30 days of release in the US, where it drew controversy concerning video game violence.
In the August 1987 issue of Commodore User, Ferdy Hamilton gave it ratings of 9 for graphics, 7 for sound, 9 for toughness, 10 for endurance, and 9 for value, with an overall score of 9 out of 10.
In the July 1987 issue of Computer and Video Games, Clare Edgeley described the "sordid street fights" as "great fun when you've got the guts" and "if you manage to get hang of the controls".
In the October 1987 issue of Crash, the reviewer Tony described it as "the best game of its kind around" and "thoroughly addictive".
Double Dragon also spawned a series of related media in the United States, which includes a six-issue comic published by Marvel in 1991, an animated TV series which ran for two seasons from 1993 to 1995, which influenced a live-action film in 1994.
The Xbox 360 version (released 2007-5-9) was distributed on Xbox Live Arcade. Alongside the series' first online co-operative play, it supports an achievement system showing how far the player has gone, and a world ranking system.
Double Dragon was one of the first successful beat 'em up games, becoming Japan's third highest-grossing table arcade game of 1987 before becoming America's highest-grossing dedicated arcade game in 1988 and 1989.
Double Dragon was only the second game that Technōs developed for the NES, and the two-player mode was reputedly omitted because of the programmers' inexperience with the hardware.
Toys "R" Us reported that the NES version of Double Dragon sold out in its first two weeks on sale in the United States, becoming America's top-selling game by July 1988.
Not specific to any format/system, the original game was used as a clue in the 2015 episode of Jeopardy! in the category "The Marian Kind" in the first round on February 17.
He came up with a new title, Double Dragon, with the "Double" referencing the two-player gameplay and the "Dragon" a homage to Bruce Lee's martial arts film Enter the Dragon (1973), which was a major inspiration behind Kunio-kun and Double Dragon.
He said that it "isn't an easy game to play initially" and requires "both brain and brawn", described the graphics as "superb, the handling likewise", and stated "the variety of actions, locations and enemies make this a true state of the art Beat 'Em Up, centuries beyond those old Kung Fu games which still litter the arcades".
In the July 1987 issue of Computer and Video Games, Clare Edgeley described the "sordid street fights" as "great fun when you've got the guts" and "if you manage to get hang of the controls".
In the October 1987 issue of Crash, the reviewer Tony described it as "the best game of its kind around" and "thoroughly addictive".
Not specific to any format/system, the original game was used as a clue in the 2015 episode of Jeopardy! in the category "The Marian Kind" in the first round on February 17.
It was created as the direct successor to the company's hit of the previous year, Nekketsu Koha Kunio-kun (1986), and established the beat 'em up genre in video games. It was made by developers who loved Bruce Lee.
In the Gamest Mook The Best Game 2 (1998) it was chosen as one of "The Best Games", recognised as a classic, outstanding, brilliant title. The book noted that the large number of special moves was a novel idea at the time, and praised it as having "something that drew many players in".
It also received critical acclaim, with Electronic Gaming Monthly awarding it Game of the Year in 1988.
The Commodore 64 port of Double Dragon by Binary Design was heavily criticized for its poor quality.
In the Family Computer (1988) and Game Boy (1990) versions, 2-player simultaneous play, the continue function, and the palette-swapped bosses were removed. In their place an original enemy character appears: the Chinese martial artist Chin Taimei.
The game's development was led by Yoshihisa Kishimoto, and it is a spiritual and technological successor to Technos' earlier beat 'em up, Nekketsu Kōha Kunio-kun (1986), released outside of Japan by Taito as Renegade; Kishimoto originally envisioned it as a direct sequel and part of the Kunio-kun series, before making it a new game with a different cast and setting.
According to game magazines of the time, the skinhead version is named Zack, the black character with the mohawk Jack or Zick, and the green-skinned boss of stage 3 Abobo.
The game's development was led by Yoshihisa Kishimoto, who had previously created the 1986 arcade beat 'em up Nekketsu Kōha Kunio-kun, which was a semi-autobiographical game based on his own high school years and was localized as Renegade in the West.
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