Double Dragon III The Sacred Stones - NES Review
Double Dragon III is a Major Step Back for the Series
Nov 4, 2009
After two highly successful entries in the series, Double Dragon made its return to arcades and eventually the Nintendo Entertainment System. Double Dragon 3: The Rosetta Stone first appeared in arcades in 1990, and it was eventually ported to the NES in 1991 as Double Dragon III: The Sacred Stones.
Like its two predecessors, the NES port of the third installment in the Double Dragon series is a bit different from its arcade counterpart. The version of choice for the first Double Dragon is the arcade iteration. The superior version of Double Dragon II is the NES port. Double Dragon III on the NES is actually equal to the arcade original, but that’s not necessarily a good thing.
Double Dragon III Storyline – Obtain the Sacred Stones
In the game’s opening cutscene, it is revealed that Marion (formerly Marian) has been taken captive once again. Billy and Jimmy Lee are approached by an old woman who tells them that they must procure the three Scared Stones in order to reach her captors. With the game’s plot revealed, Jimmy and Billy set out across the world to obtain each of the Sacred Stones and rescue Marion.
Double Dragon III Gameplay
Double Dragon III is a difficult game, but not in the rewarding sense like so many other beat ‘em ups in the NES library. No, the gameplay in Double Dragon III is completely brutal and often borders on being unplayable. The difficulty sees an exponential increase in this installment of the Double Dragon series.
Bad controls and hit detection are also evident. The control scheme from the first game returns, only to be plagued with flaws. Many times, it is difficult to perform certain moves. This can become problematic as it usually results in the character’s death when two players gang up on him, which happens frequently throughout the game. Enemy characters don’t hold back, and players will find themselves unable to defend against a flurry of enemy offense.
At the start of the game, only Billy is playable. If he is defeated in battle, then the game ends, and players must start from the beginning. This causes a lot of frustration as the game’s high difficulty almost restricts players from progressing through the game long enough to encounter other playable characters (which act as extra lives).
Double Dragon III features two-player simultaneous play, and it’s easier to recommend this mode over the single-player game due to the fact that two players could probably get further in the game as opposed to a single player attempting to beat the game. Still, bad controls and poor hit detection are ever prominent in co-op mode, so it’s even hard to recommend this mode of play.
Graphics and Sound
Graphically, Double Dragon III is lower in quality as compared to the previous game in the series. It’s not a huge downgrade, but it’s a noticeable one. No longer do the locales and character sprites have the level of detail they did in the second game. Instead, Double Dragon III has the look of a very generic NES title.
The sound is not very impressive either. Despite not being overly complex or elaborate, the music in the previous games was at least catchy. The soundtrack in Double Dragon III isn’t inspired at all; instead, the music in the game is somewhat annoying and, like the game’s graphics, very generic.
Lasting Value
Whereas the second game had nine stages, Double Dragon III only contains five stages: United States, China, Japan, Italy, and Egypt. Even with the small number of levels, it’s hard to imagine most players completing the game or playing it over multiple times. The difficulty level is unreal, and even cooperative play is a frustrating experience.
Double Dragon III – A Complete Letdown
Two successful games paved the way for Double Dragon III: The Sacred Stones, which can only be seen as a complete disappointment. The difficulty makes the game nearly impossible to play, and it is not rewarding in any way. Just like its arcade counterpart, the NES port suffers from poor gameplay design, so it’s difficult to recommend either version over the other. Gamers are better off playing one of the previous games in the series.
Score: 4/10
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
