Double Dragon Advance (2003) Review

Nov 25, 2023

Despite being a fan of the beat em up genre, I've never been able to get into Double Dragon. Having started out playing titles like Ninja Turtles and Final Fight, both the NES and Arcade versions of Double Dragon just felt off to me and I'd always dip out before finishing the game. But upon trying Double Dragon Advance I was pleasntly surpirsed to find a title I could easily pick up and play despite some lingering jank.

The game is essentially a greatest hits compilation of stages from previous Double Dragon games, complete with some of the most iconic music tracks that even a more casual observer like me immediately recogniozed. The story is the same ass the first games' with the brothers Billy and Jimmy Lee having to traverse the streets of post appcolyptic New York in order to rescue their girlfriend from the evil Shadow Warriors. The comic book style cut scenes are well drawn with the Lee brothers sporting their best character designs in the series history.

The stages are what you'd expect for a game like this, go right and beat the crap out of whoever stands in your way until you get to the boss. The combat is satisfying to play, stringing together punches and kicks into holds is always a good time and all enemies tremble before the mighty flying jump kick. However lining up yourself up with the enemies properly can be a bit finnky, sometimes you'll think you're in range and punch air while other times an enemy will be able to hit you from what appears to be out of your position. The game an also be unforgiving at first with it's death traps. You'll lose an entire life if you fall down a pit, off a moving truck or into a lake...yeah I guess with all their martial arts training the Lee brothers never had time to learn to swim.

None of these issues detracted from my enojyment of Double Dragon Advance however. The game is only about an hour or so long so it's the perfect thing to throw on when you need a quick burst of fun.