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~ DOUBLE DRAGON II ~
Naxat Soft
Super CD-ROM
1993
As it patterned itself after the NES version of the game, PCE Double Dragon II doesn't go the typical brawler route of assigning a particular attack-move to each button. Instead, a press of I has your character lash out at foes to the right, while a push of II unleashes fury on brutes to the left. Should you be facing your assailant, your attack will take the form of a jab; otherwise, a kick will be delivered. It isn't a completely sensible system--had I been required in real life to do an about-face each time I wanted to boot a hard-charging enemy, my victories-in-combat total wouldn't be nearly as high as it is. The counterintuitive setup can be gotten used to, though--and a pleasantly easy-to-perform spin-kick can be utilized if there's no time to be devoted to directional considerations.
Little strategy or technique is needed to dispatch most of the hoods you'll come across. It's easy to draw the jump-kick-happy variety into launching an aerial assault before stepping aside and hammering them when they land on the spot you left unoccupied. You can grab a stunned hooligan and pulverize him or simply toss him off one of the many conveniently available ledges-leading-to-nowhere. Whatever methodology you go with, the controls should serve you well until you come across one of the out-of-place and quite-unnecessary platforming sequences.
Though those leaping gauntlets could be considered "changes of pace," DD2's designers should've realized its gameplay is far too simplistic and repetitive to be stretched over nine boards (even if the last merely comprises a bout with a cheap boss who puts on a disappearing act).
Granted, there are lots of different environments to "explore," including cities, jungles, temples, and subterranean factories. But you come face to face with the same few small-sprite thugs on just about every battleground.
The game tries to provide incentive for making multiple trips through all those areas by including three different ending sequences (each of the available difficulty modes has its own).
But while the separate epilogues are indeed very different from one another, the story behind the adventuring is unlikely to prove interesting except in its odd endeavor to be as silly as possible. Plot elements as absurd as the heroes busting through brick walls and hanging from the landing skids of airborne helicopters are relayed via coarsely sketched artwork.
The goofiness extends to the in-game visuals, as caricatural characters and bright backdrops give the game a cartoony look that, while not wholly unappealing, seems inappropriate for a title that would have benefited from an added dose of grit. The penultimate level is populated by large foes and full of neat surprises, but there's little drama to be enjoyed up to that point. Weak sound effects and a low-key soundtrack plagued by ill-chosen vocal elements don't help establish atmosphere that would be suitable for a rough-and-tumble 16-bit beat 'em up.
PCE Double Dragon II is a game caught between generations. It looks nicer and plays more smoothly than its NES forebear, but it certainly isn't as memorable or impressive as the likes of Final Fight or Streets of Rage. It's pretty good, but it's also pretty expensive--and thus hard to recommend except to players in desperate need of a two-player brawler for their Duo.
~ FORGOTTEN WORLDS ~
Capcom / NEC Avenue
Super CD-ROM
1992
Already a veteran of the enjoyable (if somewhat emasculated) Genesis version of the game, I was familiar with the unusual manner in which Forgotten Worlds plays by the time I sat down with the Turbo CD rendition. I knew I'd have to determine the direction in which my airborne soldier would fire by rotating him as he'd soar through enemy lines. Those familiar with Macross 2036's boss battles will find a title here that takes a similar approach to blast-'em-up play. 2036, however, allows its players to turn in either direction without ever having to stretch clumsily for the Run button, while FW makes no such allowances except for those who acquire the original PCE bundle-release that includes an Avenue Pad 3. Being forced to reach for Run actually doesn't prove too terribly annoying--and the system is hardly the smoothest regardless of which control scheme one goes with.
Even with an Ave-3 in tow, players will likely find PCE Worlds a great deal tougher than its Genny counterpart. Enemies here are faster and stouter and typically fire many more projectiles. Those overwhelmed by the missile-heavy action won't be able to bring an ally along to make matters easier, as no true two-player mode is available (though a second person can assume limited control of the lone soldier's option pod via a bit of code-inputting).
That it fails to offer two-warrior play is no minor issue, but Turbo FW does employ red book audio to deliver fantastic renditions of the game's predominantly dark tunes (though to this day I'm not particularly happy about Stage 5's sinister theme being rendered "poppy"). It's also far superior to the Genesis version visually, as its enemies are generally larger and its zones are more colorful--virtues certainly worth citing for a game that strives to create an aspect of bizarreness by presenting unusual creatures and environments. Enormous ogres poke their heads through the clouds; super-fast serpents inhabit pretty pink sky-forests; and sorcerers drift about desolate territories that harbor ice-encased mammoths. The title seems to forget the benefits that come with diversity during a mid-game stretch of "pyramid-themed" boards, but it still ultimately attains a compelling "lost-land" feel.
Two of its atypical areas (one a small-scale throwaway tomb, the other a Terraforming-esque volcanic region) and a pair of its boss fights are among the noteworthy items that were not included in the Genesis version.
The post-stage still-shots, on the other hand, are quite similar to the cartridge's intermediary scenes and amount to nothing that a CD title should boast of, though there is amusement to be derived from the accompanying lines of text.
As enemies tend to attack in droves and from inconvenient angles, memorizing their flight patterns and spots of origin will be of great use in getting through the game. A little strategizing is to be done as well, as cash for purchasing health restorers and gun-fire upgrades isn't made available in abundance (though good players can stick with a certain hard-hitting, available-early-on devastator until late in the affair, when the best blaster of all can be acquired).
Come up with a sound set of strategies, keep the habits of your foes in mind, and develop proficiency with the game's unusual controls, and you'll in all likelihood find Forgotten Worlds both beatable and fairly enjoyable. Again, it never quite feels wonderful, but it always feels interestingly atypical--and perhaps that's why I've found it to have greater replay value than plenty of its good-but-not-excellent peers.
