According to Japanese magazine articles when the arcade version came out, the Abobo variants originally had different names.In the NES version, Jimmy Lee not only serves as the new final boss, but effectively replaces Jeff (the head-swapped Lee brother boss from the arcade version) as the player's evil counterpart.As the player levels up Billy, new moves are unlocked. Character Level: The NES game added a leveling system that forced the player to use basic punches and kicks (and the headbutt) at the start of the game.Chin was later added (and radically redesigned) for the arcade sequel. Canon Immigrant: Chin does not appear in the arcade game and was created for the NES port to replace Jeff's role.In the NES version, the player fights a group of Williams and twin versions of all the other enemies (Abobo, Chin, Linda, and Rowper) before the final fight against Willy ( and Jimmy), one after the other. Willy fights alongside three clones of Jeff (the Mission 2 boss) after the initial batch of lackeys are defeated. Boss Rush: In the arcade version, the player fights twin versions of Jack (the Mission 1 boss) before reaching the final hall where Willy awaits.There is a 2-player versus mode with both brothers, but it's nothing but a glorified minigame. It's strictly a solo adventure for Billy Lee, which ends after Willy is defeated without any sibling showdown afterward. The Game Boy version plays this straight though.The title Double Dragon wouldn't have made much sense without both Lee brothers, so they turned one of them into a bad guy for the other to confront. Artifact Title: The developers of the NES version managed to subvert this despite the lack of a two-player co-op.This is actually a leftover mechanic from when the game was conceived as a Renegade sequel, which featured directional based attack buttons.

The kick button only does jump kicks to the left, while the punch button is for jump kicks to the right. The Artifact: The input for Jump Kicks in the arcade version is different depending on the direction the player is facing.After Boss Recovery: Defeat an end-of-mission boss to fully restore your life energy.Adaptational Villainy: In the NES version, Jimmy went from being Billy's partner to being the ' Shadow Boss' of the Black Warriors.Jeff does show up in the SMS version though. Adapted Out: Jack and Jeff (the mohawked Abobo and the evil Lee brother wannabe respectively) were cut from the NES and Game Boy versions of the game.In 2011, another remake (simply titled Double Dragon) was released for iOS and Android devices Brizo Interactive, who also handled the rarely-seen Zeebo version released only in Brazil and Mexico, developed this remake. Atlus released a remake, titled Double Dragon Advance, for the Game Boy Advance in 2003 this remake integrated elements from the various sequels and console ports and also updated the combat system to more modern standards. Other versions of Double Dragon were released for the Sega Master System, Atari 2600, 7800, Game Boy, Genesis, Lynx and various home computer formats with varying degrees of quality. The level designs were changed to make the adventure longer than the arcade game, and it added a Character Level feature (the player earns experience points by beating up enemies, which allows Billy to gain new techniques as he levels up). The game's plot was altered to fit this change: Billy ventures out on his own to save Marian, and fight his own brother Jimmy, who is now the 'Shadow Boss' of the Black Warriors. Because Technos was inexperienced in developing NES games at the time (having only ported Renegade to the NES prior to it), the arcade game's popular co-op two-player mode was omitted, replaced with a turn-based one and a 'Mode B' one-on-one fighting mode where the player controls the Lee brothers or five enemy characters (with match ups being limited to mirror matches due to memory limitations). The NES port was developed in-house by Technos and published outside Japan by Tradewest in 1988. The original arcade game also had an infamous Twist Ending: if two players clear the game, they must fight to the death for Marian's love. The Lee brothers must punch, kick, and jump their way through enemy forces across four stages to rescue her from the clutches of Willy, the leader of the Black Warriors. Martial artists Billy and Jimmy Lee (or Hammer and Spike, as they were inadvertently renamed briefly in the U.S.) must rescue their lady friend Marian from the clutches of the Black Warriors, the dominant street gang of New York City. Though not the first Beat 'em Up, it was the genre's Trope Codifier, and its incredible popularity inspired numerous imitators in its day - and beyond. Double Dragon was originally released as an arcade game in 1987 (having begun development as a sequel for Renegade).

Double dragon video game system