The Gamer's Quarter

seryogin · Posted: Fri Feb 10, 2006 10:54 pm Post subject: In 19XX...

I’ve been spending a lot of time reading about Double Dragon II lately.

This was prompted by my discovery that Double Dragon II takes place in New York after The Nuclear War! As a child I never knew this, though I can hardly be blamed for not knowing English at the time. Besides, at that age we didn’t really need an excuse to punch people. There was punching and that was that. All we knew was that we had to bash in the head of some fat guy in a Robocop helmet, who would disappear for no reason at all. You know, when I was six I really never bothered to wonder why the hell he disappeared, though I liked that I could throw him off the edge of that weird platform.

And look at that box art! Rembrandt would have a hard time staging a scene as well as that. Just examine the large muscles of the Lee brothers in all their Hokuto no Ken-style glory, look at the veins on the bald-headed villain, feel the whip coiling around the hand. And then there are the tattered clothes of the damsel in distress, her hair blowing around to spins of the helicopter rotor. I can’t tell how long I stared at that box; it’s the type of thing that turns six year olds on. Ah, hell, it still turns me on to this day. And what about the mohawked chick with large breasts holding that whip. I tell you, it’s enough to get me to dig up my Freud.

But what about the game itself? I haven’t played it in years, though I remember it having something that’s oddly lacking in modern beat-em ups, which don’t really make you feel like your causing pain to people. The clunky controls and minimalist graphics of Double Dragon II made you feel like you were kneeing people in the face. I remember the facial expressions of the vanquished foes being filled with agony. We don’t get those anymore. Even Streets of Rage didn’t make me feel like I was really grabbing some spiky haired mutant-looking woman by the hair and throwing her.

Let’s talk about beat em-ups and Double Dragon II.
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dessgeega · Posted: Sat Feb 11, 2006 1:28 am Post subject: Re: In 19XX...

seryogin · Posted: Sat Feb 11, 2006 6:11 am Post subject: Re: In 19XX...

dessgeega · Posted: Sat Feb 11, 2006 6:35 am Post subject:

that's like the only blue hearts song i really like.
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seryogin · Posted: Sat Feb 11, 2006 6:41 am Post subject:

Scratchmonkey · . Joined: 02 Mar 2005 Posts: 1439

Double Dragon II was one of the few games I completed on the NES. This is because it had a co-op mode, which enabled me and My Friend Who Had an NES to play together, rather than the usual technique of him playing (for an hour) and then me playing (for five minutes) until I gave up in frustration and let him have all the lives.

I remember it having a particularly satisfying jump kick and an excellent soundtrack, the latter of which is backed up by the one track from the game that has been covered by The Advantage to good effect.

player 2 · . Joined: 10 Jul 2005 Posts: 585 Location: Madison, WI USA

Double Dragon II is my favorite game ever.

Seriously.
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simplicio · . Joined: 03 May 2005 Posts: 1091

I think if the Lee in the red shirt looked the at the artist straight on, we'd find his face was somewhat lopsided.

I played some Double Dragon on my friend's NES back then. I can't remember which one it was though. Is there even a helicopter in the game? Or is it just on the box cause helicopters are rad?

DonMarco · . Joined: 02 Mar 2005 Posts: 349 Location: 33903

In honor of this thread, I played about 2 hours of Fall of the Footclan for the Game Boy.

It wasn't as hard as I remember. Still, pretty fun. Yep.
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kuzdu · Posted: Sat Feb 11, 2006 5:36 pm Post subject:

Double Dragon II was really the beginning and the end of beat-em-ups for me. I've played some since then and had a good time, but they all did indeed lack something that I can't quite put my finger on. Perhaps it is a lack of the inherent brutality of 8-bit graphics.

GSL · Posted: Sat Feb 11, 2006 8:35 pm Post subject:

And who says that American box art is awful? I quite like the stylings of the DD2 box.

That said, I've never really played any of the Double Dragon games; for some reason I HAVE the first game, yet I can never remember playing it.

Mr. Mechanical · Friendly Stranger Joined: 14 Oct 2004 Posts: 1276

I've only played the first game. Still have it even and play it now and then. I liked the progression and the brutality of it. The weapons, the moves. I liked how the better you got at playing it, the more moves you could pull and thus the more pain you could bring to your enemies.

It all started to fall apart around the fourth stage though, where they started adding in these bullshit platform elements. And then after the fifth stage the game is over.

I really need to play the second one sometime.

player 2 · . Joined: 10 Jul 2005 Posts: 585 Location: Madison, WI USA

DDII is really a huge step above DDI.
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Wii #: 8749 9109 9732 3653

"It is a peaceful way of understanding life, to play"
_Marcel Duchamp

Ryan - SuperWes' Bane · Posted: Sun Feb 12, 2006 7:27 pm Post subject:

sawtooth · . Joined: 02 Nov 2005 Posts: 419

I think the statements about the inherent brutality of 8-bit graphics are spot on, here. Playing through Battletoads vs. Double Dragon was such an awesome experience on the NES, but when playing the snes version on an emulator the experience lost a lot. Part of it is the mind has fewer dots to connect with the snes's clear, large sprites; the experience of mashing on the nintendo's controller was lost, too.

dessgeega · Posted: Mon Feb 13, 2006 10:31 am Post subject:

the nes battletoads vs. double dragon was such a fantastically inventive game.

i need to play that game again soon.
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player 2 · . Joined: 10 Jul 2005 Posts: 585 Location: Madison, WI USA

battletoads vs. double dragon was a battletoads game.

it... is not my style. not at all.
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Wii #: 8749 9109 9732 3653

"It is a peaceful way of understanding life, to play"
_Marcel Duchamp

Shapermc · Hot Sake! Joined: 14 Oct 2004 Posts: 6279

player 2 · . Joined: 10 Jul 2005 Posts: 585 Location: Madison, WI USA

It's great box art, isn't it?

Btw, DDII may have been the first game I've ever played to really ever feel complete. It is not by any measure "perfect", but it's all there. Even the parts that you don't like - e.g. the platforming aspects - fit the whole. I am... going to play it right now.

Btw, did anyone ever read my piece at gameinsomnia about DDII? It was probably the only thing I've written that I ever really liked. I only mention it bc gameinsomnia is back up. I found out through Kotaku. That's... interesting.
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Wii #: 8749 9109 9732 3653

"It is a peaceful way of understanding life, to play"
_Marcel Duchamp

Shapermc · Hot Sake! Joined: 14 Oct 2004 Posts: 6279

player 2 · . Joined: 10 Jul 2005 Posts: 585 Location: Madison, WI USA

Ok, you know what, I take back everything I said.

Double Dragon II is the best game ever made.

OH GOD. I made it to the last boss died 1 last hurricane kick/violent knee attack before KOing him. The caveman came out in me and slammed my open palm against my stick screaming "Fuck" out loud.

I will have my revenge later tonight. After my hand stops hurting.[/quote]
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Wii #: 8749 9109 9732 3653

"It is a peaceful way of understanding life, to play"
_Marcel Duchamp

Shapermc · Hot Sake! Joined: 14 Oct 2004 Posts: 6279

So what do you think of Contra: Hard Corps?
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player 2 · . Joined: 10 Jul 2005 Posts: 585 Location: Madison, WI USA

I wrote a big long thing about DDII, CHC, and their ridiculousness, but I deleted it.

I appreciate CHC, but not in the same way as DDII. DDII is ridiculous when you think about the game. It tries very hard to be believable the whole way through. It starts in a "wacko" version of NYC and moves on from there. It feels very believable and organic. It actually feels quite epic despite taking only 20 minutes to play through.

CHC on the other hand... well it's werewolves and robots the whole way through. The level 1 boss demolishes a building and level 2 starts you in a highspeed hoverbike chase. And then, well, then there's that boss fight on the freeway. It's just awesome in the "holy shit" sense, not so much in the surfer-gnarly/tubular sense.
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Wii #: 8749 9109 9732 3653

"It is a peaceful way of understanding life, to play"
_Marcel Duchamp

dessgeega · Posted: Thu Feb 16, 2006 9:27 pm Post subject:

i am playing the gba double dragon courtesy of dark steve. it is very fun.
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player 2 · . Joined: 10 Jul 2005 Posts: 585 Location: Madison, WI USA

the GBA double dragon is very good. definitely my favorite DD after II.

the sticks, oh god.
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Wii #: 8749 9109 9732 3653

"It is a peaceful way of understanding life, to play"
_Marcel Duchamp

Shapermc · Hot Sake! Joined: 14 Oct 2004 Posts: 6279

DDII... PCE Duo. I need some CDs.
_________________
“The average man has a secret desire to be a swaggering, drunken, fighting, raping swashbuckler.”
-Robert E. Howard in a letter to a friend circa Decmber 1932

"There is no place in this enterprise for a rogue physicist!"

Pijaibros · Posted: Fri Feb 17, 2006 11:50 am Post subject:

Is there a reliable way to perform the violent knee? I can perfectly perform the uppercut, but I've a small success rate in performing the knee consistently.

PROTIP: Knocking out your brother in 2P Mode B is the best way to beat Shadow Master difficulty.

The GBA Double Dragon is so awesome. I can easily play that once a week. While I stink at its survivor mode, I love beating those multi-colored Abobos and Agent Smiths down. Beware the Nunchucks!

player 2 · . Joined: 10 Jul 2005 Posts: 585 Location: Madison, WI USA

The timing for the violent knee attack is hard, but doable.
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Wii #: 8749 9109 9732 3653

"It is a peaceful way of understanding life, to play"
_Marcel Duchamp

dessgeega · Posted: Fri Feb 17, 2006 4:00 pm Post subject:

Mr. Apol · Posted: Thu Feb 23, 2006 7:59 am Post subject:

I really miss old school beat em' ups. Final Fight is my favorite of the bunch.

Back when Guilty Gear Isuka was coming out I remember being very excited about the possibility of a side scrolling beat em' up mode to the game, but I never took the time to check the game out proper. How is it?
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Pijaibros · Posted: Thu Feb 23, 2006 8:43 am Post subject:

dessgeega · Posted: Thu Feb 23, 2006 9:15 am Post subject:

player 2 · . Joined: 10 Jul 2005 Posts: 585 Location: Madison, WI USA

I used to not like Final Fight much, either. Eventually it grows on you, though.
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Wii #: 8749 9109 9732 3653

"It is a peaceful way of understanding life, to play"
_Marcel Duchamp

friedchicken · . Joined: 16 Mar 2005 Posts: 496 Location: Port Land, OR

I find that I appreciate Final Fight more for the references to it in other games like Street Fighter Zero 3, etc.

And for the whole thing with kicking a big oil can in half, only to find that it contained a pack of gum. That was crazy shit for me back when I was 16!

seryogin · Posted: Thu Feb 23, 2006 2:53 pm Post subject:

Final Fight has a certain pleasurable style to it, like a weird mix between American and Japanese concepts of "grittiness" and "cool." Sort of like Guy wearing that ninja outfit with high-tops. And I mean we don't get games where the mayor of a city decides to rescue his daughter by beating up a bunch of punks in trousers held up by single suspender anymore.

The throwaway villains also have a good amount of thought and creativity behind them. Rolento was certainly interesting with his whole Che Guevara-style and Goku extending staff. And that flamingly gay level two boss was certainly amusing.
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Mr. Apol · Posted: Thu Feb 23, 2006 4:04 pm Post subject:

player 2 · . Joined: 10 Jul 2005 Posts: 585 Location: Madison, WI USA

you guys do realize RCR's worst trait is that it is a beat'emup, right?
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Wii #: 8749 9109 9732 3653

"It is a peaceful way of understanding life, to play"
_Marcel Duchamp

dark steve · . Joined: 17 Jun 2005 Posts: 1110

sawtooth · . Joined: 02 Nov 2005 Posts: 419

player 2 · . Joined: 10 Jul 2005 Posts: 585 Location: Madison, WI USA

that "4 player battle arena" game plays with a very, very different engine than RCR.

RCR is a really fucking simple game. it's really sad that rose tinted goggles make people think it's a great beat'em up when, really, it's just a precursor to games like Shen Mue. you get the feeling that you're running through this town that's alive, and that's pretty fucking amazing. the different stores/services were just fun to explore.

the fighting itself is really dull, tho, with very few moves. you pretty much start the game immediately abusing the kick. the upgrades fix the game a bit, but they also help break it. something about the dragon feet or the circus roll just feel off. the grappling isn't that interesting, either. the beating people over the head with other people is kinda interesting, but... meh.
_________________
Wii #: 8749 9109 9732 3653

"It is a peaceful way of understanding life, to play"
_Marcel Duchamp

sawtooth · . Joined: 02 Nov 2005 Posts: 419

really? I recall them being similar in style and gameplay. Hm.

I need to be playing these games again.

Pijaibros · Posted: Fri Feb 24, 2006 9:09 am Post subject:

dessgeega · Posted: Tue Feb 28, 2006 3:41 am Post subject:

i got friedchicken's advance guardian heroes in the mail today. that counts as a brawler, right? after much practice and many replays, i reached stage 3.

it's pretty solid! i like the versus stage where enemy knights keep pouring in.
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dessgeega · Posted: Thu Mar 02, 2006 6:48 am Post subject:

so i'm in stage 5 of advance guardian heroes. i'm up to the part with the crystals. the BIG crystals. the...red crystal. i like this game a lot. i end each session with a bunch of training battles against the computer.

question: would i love guardian heroes? i think it was to my advantage that i went into advance with no knowledge of the original, though a bit of the MY FRIENDS ARE NOW MY ENEMIES factor was lost on me.

i've been switching between advance guardian heroes and gunstar super heroes. it makes me want to track down a copy of astro boy and replay it. maybe the english localization this time!
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Alc · . Joined: 22 Feb 2006 Posts: 109 Location: UK

Astro Boy is great, but if you're playing it on anything above easy then don't be shy about using an FAQ if/when you get stuck.

Shapermc · Hot Sake! Joined: 14 Oct 2004 Posts: 6279

SuperWes · Posted: Thu Mar 02, 2006 10:15 am Post subject:

dark steve · . Joined: 17 Jun 2005 Posts: 1110

You know I wrote half of an AGH review for LPN, but I never submitted it due to my frustration of being unable to try the versus mode.

dessgeega · Posted: Thu Mar 02, 2006 1:16 pm Post subject:

so is it sort of like the radiant silvergun to ikaruga (or gunstar heroes to gunstar super heroes) that i established in issue 4?

i bought it for thirty dollars earlier today, by the way.
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dark steve · . Joined: 17 Jun 2005 Posts: 1110

That's a pretty good price. Which region? And yes, but more so.