But now Billy is faced with his greatest challenge: his girlfriend, Marian, has been kidnapped by the Black Warriors, the savage street gang of the mysterious Shadow Boss! Using whatever weapons come to hand: knives, whips, bats, rocks, oil drums, even dynamite. Billy must pursue the gang through the slums, factories, and wooded outskirts of the city to reach the hideout for his final confrontation with the Shadow Boss... his brother Jimmy!"
--From the NES Double Dragon instruction manual.

Double Dragon was one of my personal favorites when it came to NES games. I know all of you are saying that it's not that great. Well, to me it was, the graphics weren't that great and the story was a little shy, but all in all it was a really fun game. At the time there wasn't any other game like it. You had a character that was bad to the bone just in and of himself, and you had tons of cool weapons that you could just pick up along the way. I know I spent countless hours playing this game just trying to get to the end to beat my brother's butt.

One of the best arcade-to-console ports, Double Dragon on the Genesis was much better than the NES version. The graphics and sound are almost perfectly matched to the original. The gameplay is a little different because the Genesis was so much faster then the arcade machines when Double Dragon was originally made. Everything moves fast and some people find it hard to control.

Essentially the same game as the NES version, but with no color and somewhat simplified graphics, and shorter levels. And in this version you don't have to earn your move list by defeating enemies.

Now you must venture out into the war-torn wasteland to rescue Mary Ann, defeat the Black Warriors, and return law and order to your city.
--From the Sega Master System Double Dragon instruction manual.

And that's where this adventure begins..."
--From the NES Double Dragon 2 instruction manual.

Double Dragon 2 was better than its predecessor in a lot of ways. First, the storyline has escalated a great deal. The "bad guy" from the first one is now one of the heroes. In the first one, your brother had kidnapped Marian, and this time he's gonna help you avenge her death. I guess you kicking his butt last time had a strong effect on the way he wants to live his life. Second, the graphics were a good deal better. The sprites looked a lot better and so did the backgrounds. Third, the two player ability was a lot better. Since your brother is here to help you this time, you can play two players at the same time. Double Dragon II: The Revenge was a great addition to the Double Dragon series. If you haven't played it yet, get going!

Follow Hiruko to Marion. And discover the truth behind the Sacred Stones."
--From the NES Double Dragon 3 instruction manual.

Double Dragon 3 was a bit of a let-down. The graphics, story, and controls were better in the second one. Games should get better as the series goes on, but it doesn't in this case. They got rid of the "attack in either direction" way of fighting. This made fighting much harder. The graphics were grainier than Double Dragon 2, and the sprites didn't look as good either. The storyline just lacked luster. It was almost the same as the first one. Again, Marion has got herself kidnapped. Seems that after she got kidnapped the first time and killed the second time, they would have come up with a better way to keep her safe. Maybe they should have done a story about Billy and Jimmy's students competing in a karate tournament to save the dojo because they are behind on the rent. You could get to play a bunch of characters that were students of the dojo. Well maybe something a little less lame, but better than what they had. I was just expecting a good deal more from Double Dragon 3. It's still not a bad game, and it's necessary to play it if you want to be able to say you played all of the games in the series.

Defeat your most dreaded enemies and out of pure respect they'll join your side--adding their Iron Claws and Shangai Stars to your all-new martial arts maneuvers--like the awesome Mid-Air Somer-Assault.
--from the back cover of Double Dragon 3: The Sacred Stones

Double Dragon 3: The Arcade Game was a decent port from the arcade to Genesis. There was a loss in the quality of graphics and sound, but that is to be expected from a port from arcade to console. At the beginning of almost every level, you will find a shop where you can buy powerups, tricks, and extra lives. Buy them all. They will definitely help you on your way. This addition to the Double Dragon series featured some pretty cool improvements. One was a new character. He's a really big guy by the name of Roney. He's pretty tough. I especially like his jump back spin kick. Another improvement was the ability to jump on an enemy while they are down. If you knock someone down, you can push the jump button right afterwards and jump on them. You have to be careful though, some enemies will hit you while you are in the air. Just be sure the foe is all alone before trying it. Double Dragon 3: The Arcade Game is a very fun game and it's a great addition to the Double Dragon family.

It will take all of your incomparable fighting skill and knowledge to find and rescue Marian. Alone, or with the help of your brother, you must face the fearsome onslaught of the Shadow Warriors with the fabled power and ferocity of the DOUBLE DRAGON!
--From the Super Nintendo Double Dragon 4: Super Double Dragon instruction manual.

Double Dragon 4: Super Double Dragon is a very entertaining game. I like the improvements over its predecessors. The best improvement, in my opinion, is the ability to catch a punch and throw the opponent by the arm. Another great improvement was the sounds and music. The music was actually catchy this time and the sound effects sounded much more real. The graphics looked a lot better, of course, because of the capabilities of the SNES. On the down side, it stuck to one of it's old corny story-lines. That was the only bad thing about it. It's a great game, and if you like the Double Dragon series, give this episode a try!

Jimmy: Good to be back on the Light Side, Bro! Let's Clean-Up this town!
--from the Sega Genesis Double Dragon 5: The Shadow Falls instruction manual

Double Dragon 5 is very different from its predecessors. This is the first Double Dragon that wasn't a side scroller. This game was actually a fighter. It's a lot like Street Fighter, or Mortal Kombat. There are three modes of gameplay, tournament, versus, and quest mode. In tournament mode, you will fight people at random, it's a good way to prepare for quest mode. In versus mode, you will need a friend to beat up. In quest mode, it will tell you a sort of cheesy story as to why you have to fight all these people. It's not a bad game except for the fact it's been done a million times, but I guess it's a decent change from the same old Double Dragon story. If you are a fan of fighting games or a fan of Double Dragon, this game is for you.

So, that's how it stands, 'toads: the Dark Queen's got herself some serious back-up and now she's comin' to take over you Earth - what're ya gonna do about it?
First of all, you're gonna get the sides EVEN! Those terrific twins, Billy and Jimmy Lee, otherwise known as the Double Dragons, are just rarin' to get in on the action, 'specially since the Shadow boss is their archest of enemies!
--From the Super Nintendo Battletoads Double Dragon instruction manual.

Use one of the Battletoads or one of the Double Dragons to save the world from evil. The Battletoads and the Double Dragons make a great team. I especially liked the graphics on this game. They were well rendered and I love their use of color. This was one of the first games I played that contained the lead characters from two different game series. Double Dragon used to be one of my favorite NES games as a kid, and so was Battletoads. It was a great idea to put them together in the same game. If you like arcade style brawlers, play this one!

Battletoads and Double Dragon team up in this game to defeat evil. This game was good enough that it needed to be put out on SNES and Genesis. I like this version better. The only major differences were the enemies and the graphics for the background. This game seemed to be much easier to play. The bosses are the same, but the sprites are mostly easier to beat than their SNES counterparts. Give this game a try if you like arcade style beat-em-up games.