My Played Video Games Review: Double Dragon III: The Sacred Stones for the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES)

Double Dragon III: The Sacred Stones is a side-scrolling action, beat-'em-up video game developed by Technos Japan Corp for the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) in 1991. It was the third Double Dragon game for the NES and it got published in North America and Europe by Acclaim Entertainment.

The Story

Marian's disappeared and the man who knows about it is dead! Now the twin Double Dragons must trust on an old lady fortune teller to find Marian and the Sacred Stones of Power! You will have to fight off nasty street thugs, deadly ninja warriors, killer gladiators, Manchurian goons, and more!

Defeat your brutal enemies and out of awe and respect, they will join your side - adding their weapons to your all-new martial arts skills - like the awesome mid-air somersault. Survive the action of Double Dragon III and you will rescue the hot babe Marian, keep your honor and discover the truth behind the damn Sacred Stones!

The Graphics and Sound

The graphics are a step down from the second Double Dragon game on the NES. But they are still nice-looking. Various country landmarks as stage backgrounds are easily recognizable. The many character sprites onscreen can make flickering occur but it isn't annoying. The animation is NES quality standard.

The audio is quite good. Sound effects are pretty limited, but it is martial arts action anyway. Most of the sounds seem to be recycled from the previous NES Double Dragon games.

The Gameplay

Double Dragon III does away with all of the previous game's moves. The new game engine makes the fighting a little bit more cinematic. The in-game menu enables you to select a weapon for each character. These weapons are strong but limited.

Gameplay is quite challenging because enemies can gang up on you and beat the shit out of you. Then it is game over for you. The game does not have a life points system. Once you die, you start all over again. So you have to fight smart, learn some useful moves, and memorize a little some enemy patterns.

For extra replay fun, the 2 Player Mode A is a great way to beat the game because you can do a double tornado kick and jump off your 2 player partner, then kick the enemy near you. Mode B can make you 2 player characters hit each other.

My Verdict

Double Dragon III: The Sacred Stones is a pretty decent game. Anyone who has not played the other previous Double Dragon NES games can get more out of it simply because the gameplay would feel fresh. This is, more likely, the best Double Dragon game on the NES. It is only plagued by a few flaws that can be likely overlooked.

Go get this challenging, gaming gem on the NES or play it on NES emulators for the PC. Go and have some fun with a 2 player friend.

Let's keep on gaming in the free world!