Double Dragon is a beat 'em up developed by Technōs Japan and released in Japanese arcades in April 1987, with Taito handling distribution in North America. It follows in the spirit of Technōs's earlier Nekketsu Kōha Kunio-kun, known in the West as Renegade, and helped launch a golden age of belt-scrolling brawlers.
The heroes' names changed along the way. The Lee twins had no names in the Japanese arcade game and were billed as Hammer and Spike on the American cabinet; Billy and Jimmy Lee only arrived with the NES version. That home port was a very different game: two-player co-op was reportedly cut because the programmers were new to the console, and art of Billy reuniting with Marian sits in the ROM but never appears.
The arcade board's success attracted pirated conversion kits, which hurt its earnings and led to a lawsuit that Taito won in 1989. The game was ported widely, and even the Atari 2600 version sold nearly 500,000 copies.12
Names and releases
| Region | Title on the box | Platform | Date | Publisher | Src |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NA | Double Dragon | Arcade | April 1987 | Taito | 1 |
| NA | Double DragonWikipedia gives June 1988 | NES | Jun 10, 1988 | Tradewest | 2 |
| NA | Double Dragon | Master System | November 1988 | Sega | 1 |
| NA | Double Dragon | Game Boy | August 1990 | Tradewest | 1 |
| NA | Double Dragonunlicensed cartridge | Genesis | February 1992 | Ballistic (Accolade) | 1 |
| NA | Double DragonVirtual Console (NES version); also Europe April 2008 | Wii | April 2008 | Nintendo | 1 |
| NA | Double DragonVirtual Console (NES version); Wii U in NA the same day | Nintendo 3DS | Dec 12, 2013 | — | 1 |
| JP | Double DragonTCRF gives June 1987 | Arcade | Apr 22, 1987 | Technōs Japan | 1 |
| EU | Double Dragon | Arcade | June 1987 | Taito | 1 |
| JP | Double Dragon | NES | Apr 8, 1988 | Technōs Japan | 2 |
| JP | Double Dragonco-developed by Sega and Arc System Works | Master System | Oct 1, 1988 | Sega | 1 |
| None | Double DragonBinary Design port | Commodore 64 | December 1988 | Mastertronic | 1 |
| None | Double DragonIBM PC port by Arcadia Software | MS-DOS | December 1988 | Mastertronic | 1 |
| None | Double DragonBinary Design port | Amiga | April 1989 | Mastertronic | 1 |
| JP | Double Dragon | Game Boy | Jul 20, 1990 | — | 1 |
| EU | Double Dragon | NES | 1990 | Nintendo | 2 |
| None | Double Dragon Advanceenhanced remake with four extra stages and new moves | Game Boy Advance | 2003 | Atlus | 1 |
| EU | Double DragonVirtual Console (NES version) | Nintendo 3DS | Dec 5, 2013 | — | 1 |
| None | Arcade Archives Double DragonArcade Archives; earliest listed date, region not stated | PlayStation 4 | Nov 27, 2014 | Hamster | 3 |
| WW | Double Dragon Trilogycompilation of Double Dragon 1-3 (Steam) | Windows | Jan 15, 2015 | Dotemu | 4 |
| None | Arcade Archives Double DragonArcade Archives | Switch | Jan 18, 2018 | Hamster | 3 |
| WW | Double DragonNintendo Switch Online NES library | Switch | Sep 19, 2018 | Nintendo | 5 |
Also known as: 双截龍 JP1Daburu Doragon JP1ダブルドラゴン JP6
Box art by region
NA Double Dragon 
EU Double Dragon 
JP Double Dragon
Box art © its publishers, shown to identify each release. Scans: libretro-thumbnails.
Version differences
-
GameplayNES
The NES version replaces simultaneous co-op with alternating turns, and its story turns Jimmy Lee into the leader of the Black Warriors and the final boss.1
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GameplayNES
On the NES you gain experience and climb through up to seven levels that unlock stronger moves, and the stages are rebuilt with more platform jumps and traps.1
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ContentNES
The NES version drops Jeff and the mohawked Abobo, adds a new Mission 2 boss called Chin Taimei, and never shows more than two identical enemies at once.1
Where to play legally today
-
Nintendo Switch Online Subscription
-
Steam Purchase
Double Dragon Trilogy
Dotemu compilation of Double Dragon 1-3
Checked: 2026-10-134store.steampowered.com
Reception
Around 40,000 arcade units were sold worldwide, and Double Dragon was the highest-grossing arcade video game in the US in 1988. The NES version reached 100,000 US copies within 30 days, was America's best-selling game by July 1988, and won Electronic Gaming Monthly's Game of the Year for 1988.1
In lists
Sources
- 1en.wikipedia.org
- 2tcrf.net
- 3en.wikipedia.org
- 4store.steampowered.com
- 5gameinformer.com
- 6tcrf.net
- 7nintendolife.com
Checked: 2026-10-13Text reviewed: 2026-10-13
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