Double Dragon II: The Revenge

Double Dragon II is the arcade game the famous NES version was based on, and the two are almost different games. The arcade original has two-player simultaneous co-op throughout, much larger sprites, and a straight run from the street to the boss that the console version rewrote.

The premise is the sequel's hook: Marian has been killed, and Billy and Jimmy Lee are going through the Black Warriors to avenge her. What that means in practice is a harder, meaner game than the first - enemies hit harder, the weapons (knives, chains, grenades) are more dangerous, and the ending is a confrontation with the man who actually pulled the trigger. The combat system adds a rotation kick, a jump-kick that covers distance, and a two-player cooperative spin that clears the screen when you and a partner face the same direction. Every stage ends in a boss fight that requires learning rather than button-mashing, and the last one is a genuine duel rather than a beatdown. If you played the NES version first, the arcade original is a faster, shorter game with more players on screen.

• ▸Two-player simultaneous co-op across the whole campaign
• ▸A cooperative spin attack when both players face the same way
• ▸Harder, more aggressive enemies with real weapons
• ▸Larger sprites and faster pacing than the NES conversion