iOS App of the Week: Double Dragon Trilogy

We’ve all done it, bought a retro game that we loved as a child only to realize that it is not as fun as we remember. This is why old games ported to new systems is one of the biggest causes for buyer’s remorse. Luckily, the Double Dragon Trilogy for iOS devices from DotEmu does not fall into this category.

The Double Dragon Trilogy features all three games including the two sequels, The Revenge and The Rosetta Stone. Players have the option to play all three in Arcade or Story mode, and can select between three levels of difficulty (mobile, normal or expert). The games also include their original 8-bit soundtrack, a brand-new remastered one, and a bluetooth co-op mode.

The Double Dragon games on iOS are exactly how you remember them, and they still feature the same frustrating controls that plagued early beat’em up, side-scrolling arcade games. I’m talking about annoying things, like picking up weapons off the ground while you’re trying to punch, and getting stuck on ladders when you accidently get too close to them. But that’s what makes the iOS port so much fun. Half the battle of completing old school side-scrolling games was learning how to work around the clunky controls and having enough quarters to get to the final boss.

The touch-based controls of the iOS version leave something to be desired, but that’s the case with most iOS games that require an on-screen joystick. Double Dragon is much better suited to the iPad, and it would greatly benefit from MFI controller support on the smaller display of the iPhone. I should also mention that the official app store description does promise the game will be compatible with “most iOS controllers” very soon, but it does not say which ones.

The only issue I can see with the touch-based controls is that I find myself accidentally facing the wrong direction a lot, but besides that the controls are basically the same. You can punch, kick, jump and elbow by mashing the three action buttons, and you can do all the combination moves, like the dragon kick and hair grabbing. You can also grab and restrain your opponents in co-op mode, and pick up various weapons by standing over them and tapping the punch icon. Taping the punch icon a second time will allow you to send boxes, trash cans and knives flying through the air.

The original story is also intact, players are tasked with fighting through the turf of the Black Warriors gang to save their girlfriend Marian. The game features all the classic Double Dragon bad guys we grew to love, and it is a lot of fun revisiting the various stages and seeing Marian’s panties again.

The Double Dragon trilogy is well worth the $2.99 download, and freemium haters will be happy to know it features zero in-app purchases. The option to play three complete games in two different modes, and on three difficulty settings also gives it a high replay value. This would make a great gift for gamers who enjoy the challenge of reconquering old video games from their youth.

The game is compatible with the iPhone 4 or later, iPod touch 4th and 5th generation, the iPad 2 or later and the iPad mini. It requires iOS 5 or later to download.

Download the Double Dragon Trilogy here.