Double Dragon for Atari is a technical wonder. Check it out: many different screens of detailed city backgrounds; music, however beepy and loopy, yet not nearly as annoying as other titles; a colorful variety of punks to beat up. We even have a final boss with a gun--if you ever manage to make it that far, let alone beyond the first screen.
While Double Dragon for Atari deserves praise for looking and sounding pretty damn good, the gameplay itself is nearly impossible to grasp. Since the humble Atari joystick is limited to one red button, the combat moves also require diagonal input on the joystick. This makes sense, in theory, but in practice it proves to be touchy and inexact. The range of your attacks is also pathetic, which means you'll have to get up close to the bad guys, which means you'll have the crap kicked out of you.
I tried the Genesis controller on Double Dragon, but even a somewhat improved sense of control did little in the face of impossible enemies. For whatever reason, the bad dudes are ridiculously overpowered. Once they strike you down, don't expect much breathing room to hit back or escape. And they take far too many hits to defeat, beginning with the very first guy.
As far as attacks, I prefer the jump kick, but according to the pros online, your best attack is the elbow jab, which is both absurd and hilarious. In order to jab them with your elbow, you need to get close, and then turn around quickly, because you can only jab backwards with your all-powerful elbow. If you can manage to master this move without being beat to a pulp, you can possibly advance all the way to the end.
Since Double Dragon for Atari has a steep learning curve, I played a few rounds every night for a week. I figured I'd eventually get the hang of it. Unfortunately, I couldn't make it beyond the third screen. Maybe a better gamer than I could handle Double Dragon, but really, I doubt it.
I'm done with this game. For real--I sold it, and I rarely sell my 2600 titles. The last time I recall selling an Atari 2600 game was four or five years ago. So you know I'm serious.
I can imagine some unfortunate child on Christmas morning in the late 80s, who instead of receiving an NES with the awesome Double Dragon game, ended up with the Atari 2600 cart instead. I feel sorry for this imaginary kid. The Atari port simply cannot compete. Even the Tiger LCD version would be more playable.
This is disappointing, because if the gameplay was even half as good as the graphics and sound, Double Dragon for Atari 2600 would be pretty damn great. Instead, this game is only impressive as a technical curiosity. Really, it's amazing this game exists at all.
Activision ported other big name games successfully to the Atari 2600. Take Rampage, which retains the essential gameplay, even if the graphics appeared to have gotten a bit smashed as well in the process. Or Ghostbusters, which is respectable for maintaining the many screens, each with alternate perspectives, gameplay, and functions. But Double Dragon, while seemingly well-intentioned, can't compare. It should never have been released, and if so, today we would marvel at the prototype--and understand why it remained that way.
Am I being too harsh? No. I believe granting Double Dragon a week of daily play, as a kind of experiment, proves it to be a bad game. Perhaps, if I were locked in a cell with nothing else to do, I would eventually come to terms with it. But being locked in a cell with nothing else to do is not the measure of a good game.
On that note, if I had to be locked in a cell with a game, I think I would really enjoy Ecco the Dolphin. I think I could love that game, but only if it were my only option, and I had unlimited hours to master it.
Finally, I wish someone would hack Double Dragon and "fix" it, the way people have done with E.T. How wonderful would that be, to play an improved and enjoyable version of Double Dragon on Atari 2600? Then I would actually ask my friend to play co-op with me.
Final Double Dragon for Atari 2600 Review:
This game is only good as a passing novelty. Your power move is an elbow jab.
I recommend Double Dragon for Collectors Only.
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