Double Dragon Xbox 360 Version FAQ and Achievement Guide V1.6 Written by Paul Acevedo, AKA EastX Created on: 05/09/07 Updated on: 04/12/10 Contents: 1. Introduction 2. Version History 3. Story 4. Characters 5. Controls 6. Weapons 7. Gameplay Tips 8. Scoring 9. Achievements 10. Double Dragon Series Rundown 11. Special Thanks 12. Contact Information -------------------------------------------------------------------- 1. Introduction -------------------------------------------------------------------- This FAQ and Achievement Guide covers Double Dragon for Xbox Live Arcade. The game is a 28-megabyte downloadable file. It originally cost 400 MS Points, or $5 US dollars. Unfortunately, the game was delisted from Xbox Live Arcade on July 1, 2009 because its publisher, Empire Interactive, closed. People who purchased the game before that date can still redownload it if necessary, but no one can buy it any more. Let's hope a new publisher buys the rights to Double Dragon and brings it back soon. Somebody's gotta save Marian! After you're done milking my guide for its delicious and refreshing gameplay tips, please check out the Double Dragon series rundown at the end. I didn't write that for my health, you know! -------------------------------------------------------------------- 2. Version history -------------------------------------------------------------------- 05/09/07 Version 1.0 FAQ created. 05/11/07 Version 1.5 update. Story, Characters, Weapons, Gameplay Tips, and Scoring sections added. Achievements section updated with more tips. 04/12/10 Version 1.6 update. Introduction and Special Thanks updated. Mistakes in the Controls and Achievements sections corrected. FAQ complete at last! -------------------------------------------------------------------- 3. Story -------------------------------------------------------------------- Here is the original Japanese story, which is a little more fleshed-out than the text included in the game: In the year 19XX most of the world's population died as a result of a nuclear war and civilization entered a new era of crime and violence. At the center of this civilization there was gang called the Black Warriors, whose origins are unknown. The Black Warriors started terrorizing ordinary citizens and the law was powerless to stop them. However, two young men were strong enough to confront them. Their names were Billy and Jimmy Lee, the Double Dragons. Trained in Chinese martial arts, the Lee brothers protected citizens from the Black Warriors' attacks. The brothers also trained citizens to defend themselves from the Black Warriors through their Sou-Setsu-Ken Dojo. Among the Lee brothers' students, there was a female instructor named Marian. Marian had a love affair with Billy Lee. The Black Warriors decided to take advantage of the opportunity. One day, the Black Warriors attacked the city and took Marian as a hostage to lure the Lee brothers to their hideout. Now Billy must go out alone or enlist the help of his brother Jimmy to defeat the Black Warriors and save Marian. -------------------------------------------------------------------- 4. Characters -------------------------------------------------------------------- Billy Lee (Player One) --------- Billy began learning Chinese martial arts from his father at the age of 12. By 20, he became a Sou-Setsu-Ken Master. He and Jimmy run a dojo to help teach people how to defend themselves from the Black Warriors gang. Jimmy Lee (Player Two) --------- Billy's older brother harbors a secret crush on Marian. In addition to martial arts, he also studies eastern philosophy. The NES game was only one-player, so they just made Jimmy the final boss in that version. Marian ------ Billy's girlfriend is an instructor at the Sou-Setsu-Ken Dojo. She must not be that tough, considering the Black Warriors knock her out in one blow. Enemies: Williams -------- Williams is the most common enemy. He wears a sleeveless shirt and often carries knives. He can also use baseball bats and dynamite. He always wished his name was singular, but after the Black Warriors took him in, he started to appreciate being named in the plural. Roper ----- Roper is similar to Williams, but he comes in two skin colors and wears an open vest with no shirt underneath. He uses oil drums, rocks, and boxes, as well as those carried by Williams. Roper was sometimes called Rowper or Lopar, depending on the translator. Based on his style of dress, I would say he ropes hot guys at local clubs. Whatever floats his boat! Linda ----- The only female enemy and the only enemy to use the whip. Long before bad girls Poison and Roxy raised gamers' temperatures in Final Fight, there was Linda. She never answers my fan mail. :( Bolo ---- Bolo is the big bald enemy who can throw rocks and oil drums as well as Billy and Jimmy. He is often mistaken for Abobo. They live in the same apartment and Abobo has been known to make dates with Bolo's girlfriends when they call. Most versions of Double Dragon just call Bolo by Abobo's name, and he hates them for it. Abobo ----- Abobo looks just like Bolo but has a mohawk and full beard. He is not above messing around with another man's girl behind his back. I pity the fool that rats him out! Abobo is the first level boss. Jeff ---- Some day that Jeff is the estranged brother of Billy and Jimmy Lee. Others say he is a former student of Sou-Setsu-Ken who fell in with the wrong crowd. One guy said he's a violent St. Patrick's Day celebrationist, but I'm not sure if I believe him. Jeff is the boss of Mission 2. He gets a tan and comes back as a regular enemy afterwards. Mibobo ------ Mibobo is a green version of Abobo and the boss of Mission 3. He used to just go by Abobo. Modern technology allows for more enemy names, so Double Dragon Advance separated him from black Abobo. Willy ----- Willy doesn't know much about fighting, but he knows plenty about guns. He is the boss of the game. His shots kill you in one hit, so look out! -------------------------------------------------------------------- 5. Controls -------------------------------------------------------------------- You should change the default control layout, as it makes the elbow move too hard to perform. Punch: X Kick: B Jump: A Grab: ---- Press towards an enemy who is staggered from a punch or kick Hair-pull Kick: Grab, then press kick Throw: Grab, then press punch Jump Kick: --------- When jumping to the left, press kick to do a jump kick. When jumping to the right, press punch. If jumping straight up, press kick to kick left or punch to kick right. As you can see, jump kicks don't work well in the first Double Dragon. Elbow: ----- Punch + Jump. This is the most important move in the game! It results in instant knockdowns. Move a little bit and elbow the enemy as soon as he or she gets up again; repeat. Uppercut: -------- Connect with 3 punches in a row, which is hard to do because your character will usually just grab the enemy after the second punch. Cyclone Spin Kick: ----------------- There is no Cyclone Spin Kick in this game! Ha, gotcha, didn't I? Break Hold: ---------- If an enemy grabs you and won't let go, pressing Jump might improve your situation. Continue: -------- Press Jump to continue. Pick Up or Use Weapon: --------------------- Punch. -------------------------------------------------------------------- 6. Weapons -------------------------------------------------------------------- Melee Weapons: Baseball bat: ------------ The most common melee weapon. It knocks enemies down in one hit, but they have a suspiciously easy time avoiding your swings. Whip: ---- Linda's melee weapon is not that common. It seems to be a little less effective than the bat, which is saying something. Ranged Weapons: Knife: ----- The most useful weapon in the game. You should save them for Bolos and Abobos whenever possible. Dynamite: -------- 'Cause I'm TNT! Oh, sorry. Dynamite explodes shortly after being dropped or thrown, even if you pick it back up. It always kills enemies in one hit. Oil Drum, Box, and Rock: ----------------------- These can be thrown or kicked. You might just toss them off the screen if you don't want the enemies to use them on you. -------------------------------------------------------------------- 7. Gameplay Tips -------------------------------------------------------------------- If you want to do well in this game, you should use the elbow attack as much as possible. Anything else will get you hit, and hardly anyone likes getting hit. Elbow the enemy, then move slightly up, down, left, or right and elbow again as soon as he or she gets up. Don't try moving left or right with the Abobo family of enemies, as they may be able to throw you before your elbow connects. Enemies take longer to get up after each knockdown, so even fast enemies like Jeff become easier to hit as the fight continues. Melee weapons are practically useless in this game. You can hardly connect with them, and the enemies will pound you with them after they're dropped. The only weapon that should be used every time you see it is the knife. You can even kick knives out of the air if you have to. Finally, don't get hit and don't die! -------------------------------------------------------------------- 8. Scoring -------------------------------------------------------------------- Punch: 50 Points Kick: 100 Points Uppercut: 500 Points? Jumpkick: 200 Points Elbow: 180 Points Throw: 50 Points Hair-pull Kick: 50 Points each, maximum 4 kicks per grab Headbutt: 200 Points Most Weapons: 200 Points Knife: 500 Points Dynamite: 0 Points. What a jip! -------------------------------------------------------------------- 9. Achievements -------------------------------------------------------------------- Set the difficulty to Easy while you're working on these. You can man up to Medium after you've got your 200 Gamer Points. *Offline or Online* Good Score: 5 Points ---------- Get 20,000 points or more. If you beat the first two levels without continuing, you should get this. Just don't run out of lives and have to continue. All Tools: 5 Points --------- Yeah, they are all tools, aren't they? Err, just pick up the bat, whip, box, dynamite, rock, and knife in one game. No Swimming: 10 Points ----------- Just don't fall in the water or get knocked into a hole in Stage 3. To jump across the bridge, press Jump BEFORE touching the last plank. Then dart past the Abobo on the other side so he can't toss you into the water. Walk a little to the right and the Achievement should unlock. This one took me the most tries of all. Third Base: 20 points ---------- As long as you're playing around in Mission 3, you might as well get this one too. Just keep the baseball bat all the way to the end of the level. You can drop it as long as you pick it back up before moving on. Your player always drops the bat at the mission's half-way point, but if you're standing at the top-right corner of the screen when it is dropped, you can just pick it back up before proceeding. Use the bat to strike the final blow on the boss for the win. Invade the Base: 15 Points --------------- Both players must reach Mission 4 without continuing. You should get the Achievement right at the beginning of the level. Sneaky: 20 Points ------ How the heck do you avoid all the wall traps? I mean, there's 3 sets of them. That's triple trouble. I recommend playing single-player and rushing past the traps as soon as the stage starts. I can usually get past the first two sets without taking a hit. That leaves only the final set, which is hardest because you need to move up and forward to get past it. Rapidly pausing can help. If you can manage to pause just as a block is coming out of the wall, you should have time to back up and avoid it after unpausing. At least you don't have to clear the spear statues to get the Achievement. Get the Girl: 20 points ------------ Most people will get this while playing online, but you can do it in local multiplayer as well. You have to beat the other player after Willy is defeated. When it's time to turn on each other, simply have one player jump in the spikes and let the other get the Achievement. Spikes sure do hurt. *Single-Player Only* Bare Hands: 20 Points ---------- You cannot attack with any weapons! The hardest part is remembering not to do that. You can actually pick up the weapons as long as you don't use them, which means you can get the All Tools and Bare Hands Achievements in one game. Demolition Man: 15 Points -------------- Was that movie's plot nutty or what? Ahh, you have to make two enemies die from one stick of dynamite. This can be done at the beginning of Stage 2 or before climbing the cliff in Stage 3. Once an enemy throws the dynamite, trick both of them into standing on it simultaneously. It's not easy but you'll eventually get it. No Mercy: 15 Points -------- Defeat all of the regular enemies at the end of Mission 4 prior to knocking out the gun-toting boss, Willy. Just be careful not to hit Willy while you take out his green henchmen, Jeff 1-3. Untouchable: 20 Points ----------- Beat Mission 1 without getting hit. Playing on Easy and using the elbow attack are essential. Linda attacks quickly, so disarm her as soon as she steps out of the door. Then climb the ladder and walk forward to make Bolo and a bat-carrying Williams come out. Elbow Williams into tomorrow as soon as he finishes climbing the ladder. Take the ladder farthest from Bolo to get down. After beating him, carefully scroll the screen so that only the black Roper appears. Don't get hit by his knife! Then carefully scroll the screen to attract Abobo's attention, but not the Williams that lies just past him. Knife Abobo and use your Elbowing instincts to finish him and the level. Hero: 35 Points ---- Beating the game without continuing isn't bad if you do well on the choke points: the bridge on Mission 3, the traps on Mission 4, and the final boss battle. Willy can't shoot you if you stay close and elbow him quickly enough. I put $5 on you getting this Achievement, so you'd better not let me down! -------------------------------------------------------------------- 9. Double Dragon Series Rundown -------------------------------------------------------------------- The arcade version of Double Dragon was developed in 1987 by Technos Japan and published in America by Taito. It was an instant success; many ports and sequels followed. Here are some notable games in the series. I left out the millions of computer versions, most of the portable games, and the Neo Geo/PS1 fighting games. For a complete series history, please visit the Double Dragon Dojo at http://doubledragon.kontek.net/ Double Dragon (NES): Cooperative play is replaced by a versus mode with redrawn sprites. Experience point system added, level designs changed, and the Chintai enemy introduced. Billy's hair became red. Double Dragon (SMS): The Master System was more powerful than the NES, so the graphics are much better and two-player coop is supported. No continues on level 4, which sucks! Jimmy's hair is blue. Double Dragon (Genesis): An early Genesis release that was not licensed by Sega and therefore will not play on the Genesis 2 and 3 hardware. With graphics every bit as good as the arcade, this was long the best home version of Double Dragon. Anyone who disagrees is probably working for the enemy. Double Dragon 2 (Arcade): This is a remix of the first arcade game. Many graphics are reused with small changes, but the levels are mostly different. The Punch and Kick buttons were replaced by Left and Right Attack buttons, disorienting weaker gamers. The Cyclone Spin Kick was introduced. Billy and Jimmy wear Purple and White outfits rather than blue and red. I actually own a Double Dragon 2 arcade machine, you know. Double Dragon 2 (NES): Two-player coop comes to the NES! A strange new art style makes Billy, Jimmy, and everything else look quite flat. Unique, all-new level designs replace most of the arcade stages. Gameplay-wise, this is probably better than the arcade. Each difficulty level has a different ending, too. Double Dragon 2 (Mega Drive): The Sega Genesis got the most accurate arcade port once again, but all was not well. Some Japanese developer did a really crummy job. The sprites are small and there's a ton of slowdown for no good reason. Some levels were changed, adding a ton of conveyor belts in one, for instance. This game never made it to America, but I still enjoy it well enough. Double Dragon 2 (PCE SCD): The PC Engine (Japanese Turbografx) got possibly the best version of Double Dragon 2 ever. Developer Naxat started with the NES game design and went to town. Compared to the NES game the graphics are much improved, but it doesn't hold up to the arcade and Mega Drive games. The music, on the other hand, is phenomenal. No less than three different versions of the Double Dragon title theme music are used, and they rock! The animated cinemas are a treat too, but the load times are a bit long. Billy and Jimmy Lee have mysteriously switched hair colors. This is the only game for which that I ever discovered cheat codes. Double Dragon 3 (Arcade): Hell has a special place for the developers of Double Dragon 3. The game is SO bad. The art style and animation are septic and the music is mediocre. Three-player simultaneous play and additional playable characters were the only improvements over past games. Buying weapons and characters with extra quarters was an idea ahead of its time, if you look at the Xbox Live Marketplace. Not a good idea in Double Dragon 3's case, though. Double Dragon 3 (NES): This game easily trounces the arcade version. Many of the same characters and locations are used, but the level design and gameplay are dramatically different. Billy and Jimmy can lock arms and do a Super Cyclone Spin Kick! Plus they have a crazy Somer Assault move where they grab enemies' hair and throw them. Did I mention the Lindas are really hot for NES sprites? The music is some of the best the NES ever produced. My only complaint is the difficulty; it's Ninja Gaiden-hard. Super Double Dragon (SNES): The fourth Double Dragon game adds tons of new moves. The enemies have improved AI and the music is quite good. The ending is not good. Rushed for American release, Super Double Dragon's Japanese version is a bit better, though still rough around the edges. Double Dragon 5 (multi-console): Who thought it was a good idea to make a game based on the horrible animated TV series? I hope bad things happen to that guy. This is an unholy one-on-one fighter that killed the franchise off for years. Oh no, Technos went out of business! Real Double Dragon games were absent for years. Double Dragon Advance (GBA): This game combines all the content of the first arcade game with some stuff from the second arcade game and original content to boot. The gameplay has been successfully modernized and the graphics and sound are wonderful. For many, this is the definitive version of Double Dragon to own. For a small and disturbing minority, Siphon Filter 3 is the definitive version of Double Dragon, but those people are best avoided. Double Dragon (Xbox 360): At long last, the original Double Dragon comes to Xbox Live Arcade thanks to developer Razorworks and publisher Empire Interactive. Widescreen borders, remixed title music, online play, and enhanced graphics have been added. The new graphics are quite high resolution, but not exactly well drawn. The original graphics are also available, though badly in need of anti-aliasing. The only flaw I've noticed is that the bat does not make a sound when it hits the enemy. It has become a stealth bat. For people wanting to play Double Dragon online, this is the only game in town. Buy it, I say! Double Dragon in the media: Animation: There was a terrible American animated series with toys. Comic: Marvel published a comic that didn't have much to do with the game but boasted cool character designs. Movies: A horrible movie starring some pretty good actors (Marc Dacascos, Alyssa Milano, and Robert Patrick) took the story's post-apocalyptic setting to ridiculous extremes. However, the REAL Double Dragon movie is pretty much "Double Impact" starring Jean Claude Van Damme. The names are different, but everything else about it screams Double Dragon. -------------------------------------------------------------------- 10. Special Thanks -------------------------------------------------------------------- Thank you, Razorworks and Empire Interactive for bringing Double Dragon to Xbox 360! We miss you guys. Thanks to Ton and Alfonso Sexto for some minor corrections. I also appreciate the input of Achieve360Points message board posters Magiroux and Drogturist. Couldn't do it withoutcha, guys! -------------------------------------------------------------------- 11. Contact Information -------------------------------------------------------------------- EastFAQs - making games eastier since 2002. I'd love to receive your suggestions and questions. I can be slow to answer my FAQ email, so you might use Xbox Live or Steam messages if you are in a hurry. Please do not send me a friend request without introducing yourself first! Email: eastfaqs at gmail dot com Xbox Live and Steam username: EastX Sega Saturn Net Link Handle: Eastman Double Dragon copyright 1987 Technos, 2007 Empire Interactive This document is copyright 2010 by Paul Acevedo. It may not be posted anywhere but gamefaqs.com, ign.com, and the Double Dragon Dojo without permission. Final Fight? Yeah right! ;)