Double Dragon on NES: The OG Beat 'Em Up That Punched Us Right in the Nostalgia

June 24, 2025

If you grew up in the late '80s or early '90s, chances are you’ve thrown at least one punch in Double Dragon. This game wasn’t just a beat ‘em up—it was the beat ‘em up, the granddaddy of sidewalk brawlers, the game that made us all believe we could take on an entire street gang with nothing but our bare hands and a well-timed elbow drop.

NES

"Welcome to the Mean Streets of Pixelated Justice"

Double Dragon on NES was a simplified (but still brutal) port of the arcade classic. You played as Billy or Jimmy Lee, twin brothers with a shared love of headbutts and a burning desire to rescue Marian from the evil Shadow Warriors. The plot? Classic damsel-in-distress, but who cared when the action was this good?

The gameplay loop was simple:

Walk right. (Always right. This was the law.)
Punch, kick, and grapple your way through waves of thugs.
Try not to get jumped by Abobo. (Spoiler: You will get jumped by Abobo.)
Repeat until you either win or your little brother steals Player 2’s controller.

"Co-Op? More Like Co-Oops, I Hit You Again!"

One of Double Dragon’s most infamous features was its "friendly fire"—accidentally (or very intentionally) punching your co-op partner in the back of the head. This led to:

Brotherly bonding.
Brotherly screaming.
Brotherly threats of unplugging the controller.

(Classic Double Dragon co-op chaos compilation—because nothing says 'teamwork' like suplexing your friend into an enemy.)

The Moves That Defined a Generation

The Elbow of Doom: The undisputed king of Double Dragon combat. Spam it enough, and you could solo the game.
The Hair Grab: Nothing humiliated an enemy more than yanking them by their pixelated mullet.
The Knee Drop: High risk, high reward—miss, and you’re eating a tire iron to the face.

"Wait, Why Is the Final Boss… Me?"

The NES version had a wild twist: After fighting through hordes of goons, you had to duel your own brother in a 1v1 showdown for Marian’s affection. Was this a commentary on toxic masculinity? A programming limitation? Or just the devs trolling us? We may never know.

Double Dragon in 2025: Still Worth Playing?

✅ Play if:

You love retro beat ‘em ups.
You enjoy games where "difficulty" means "enemies spawn behind you constantly."
You want to experience the roots of Streets of Rage and Final Fight.

❌ Skip if:

You demand smooth controls (this is very NES-era jank).
You can’t handle the idea of losing to your own co-op partner.

Final Verdict: Double Dragon is a rough-around-the-edges classic that still holds up—if only for the sheer nostalgia and the joy of dropkicking a pixelated punk into oblivion. Play it, laugh at its quirks, and appreciate how far beat ‘em ups have come.

(Pro tip: The arcade version is superior, but the NES port has its own weird charm. Also, elbow spam. Always elbow spam.) 👊💥