Double Dragon 3: The Sacred Stones
Reviewed by Adam Norfleet
After defeating the supreme master and his black shadow warriors,
rescuing Marion from the dead, life for the Lee brothers has returned
to normal. your famous Double Dragon dojo is doing well. Your
students are learning the ways of the ancient masters and building
their strengths. Brett, one of your top students tries to tell you
what happened. But he is cut down before he has a chance. Suddenly
Marion once again disappears. And you know it cant be the Black
Shadow Warriors so who is behind it this time? You meet Hiruko,
a soothsayer and a friend. She explains that the only way to get
Marion back is to produce, as ransom, the three Sacred Stones. Hiruko
promises to lead you to them, but they are scattered from one end of
the world to the other. And each is heavily guarded. As you travel
the globe, you'll fend off Ninpou masters, Ninja warriors and hordes
of others. You'll use your incredible cyclone spin kick and your
newest achievement, the "mid-air somer-sault."
Follow Hiruko to Marion, And discover the truth behind the Sacred
Stones. On the way you will find friends to help you on your journey
so use them wisely.
Graphics 6 out of 10
The background stages of this game were excellent but the characters
seem to have taken a step down from Double Dragon 2 graphic wise.
And I think the bosses of the second Double Dragon looked a lot cooler
than some of the bosses on Double Dragon 3. The cyclone spin kick looks a
lot better than before. That's really the only improvement graphic wise
I can think of for this game. Other than that these graphics are totally
standard. Billy and Jimmie's fighting stances also looks kind of dumb a little.
Music and Sound 6 out of 10
There really isn't much to say about the Music except it was totally
mediocre and stale. After listening to it for a while it all sounds the
same. And the music inside the Ninja house is just plain ridiculous!
The sound of this game really improved a lot. They seemed to have put
more bass into the hits that are made, especially when you hit with
a weapon or a kick.
Game Challenge 10 out of 10
Yep this baby is another hard one. The real challenge of this game is
trying your best not to lose a life because guess what..........you don't have
another. To make it worse you will only be able to continue when you
make it past level 3,so if you die before the 4th level that's all she wrote.
You will have extra lives in a way though. After you beat the level 2
boss he will forgive you and join your search for the stones to make
amends. This also happens in the third stage. So if you are low on
energy you will be able to switch and make a choice between two
characters. The only catch is that they aren't as good as your
original characters Billy and Jimmy.
Game Play-Fun 10 out of 10
This game is defiantly loaded with fun gameplay and a numerous
amount of moves you can perform. Playing this game on two player
mode makes this game a lot funnier but not easier. Since there are two
of you, your enemies will also double up. And when both of you are low
on energy you might start arguing about which one of you gets to control
the next best character so i usually play by myself. Its still just as fun.
Whenever me and my brother start playing we always wind up fighting
each other and dieing on the first board anyway.
Frustration
This is really not a frustrating game. All but the last board should be
really simple to beat. One part of the game that is really frustrating
is the room right before the final boss. You must fight a large group
of annoying little Ninjas two at a time. I swear there must have been
50 of them before you can advance into the next room. These Ninjas
aren't exactly a piece of cake either.
The second vein popping part is fighting the end boss he is extremely
powerful and his whole arsenal is filled with the cheapest moves I
have ever seen in my entire career of gaming. I don't know how many
controllers i have broken over the years in anger of getting totally
annihilated by that thing.
Replayability 10 out of 10
Since it is part of one the most famous fighting series in the gameworld
today Double Dragon 3 is automatically a classic game for the NES.
Replayability on this game is very high because the wide variety of
moves plus two other brand new characters to pick from will have
you coming back for more and more. This is another one of those series
that just keep getting better and better as they go on. And since this
game is so challenging I bet even the best gamer will be up playing
this one over and over again.
Game Value 10 out of 10
I bought this when it first came out for about 20 bucks now its only
like 7 bucks at places like funcoland. I still feel that i got my monies
worth on this baby.
New Features 10 out of 10
This game is a definite improvement of the Double Dragon series mainly
because of the two new characters and the new techniques you can do.
Billy and Jimmy can now catapult each other at there enemies they can
rebound off of walls and score major damage if it connects. The best
new maneuver is the head flip through. Billy or Jimmy will do a flip
over there opponent grabbing their neck in the process and flipping
them a great distance. This move is great for through pesky enemies
into nearby pits or spikes. Also all of the characters come equipped
with a special weapon they can use on and off for a limited time.
Overall 62 out of 70