Drop - The scoop and digest

Christopher Landon's mystery thriller is written by Jillian Jacobs and Chris Roach.

Meghann Fahy - Violet

Brandon Sklenar - Henry

Violett Beane - Jen

Jacon Robinson - Toby

Reed Diamond - Richard

Summary

Following the death of her abusive husband Blake, Violet goes on a dinner date with photographer Henry, leaving her sister Jen at home with Violet's son Toby.

With geezer running late, Violet props up the bar and begins receiving 'Digi-Drops' from an unknown troll, which become increasingly more threatening.

After Henry arrives, a live video streamed from her house shows a masked gunman knock out Jen and lock Toby in his room.

With the restaurant bugged, Violet is forced into dancing to tormentor's tune or Toby dies.

During which, an embezzlement scandal involving the mayor unfolds.

Yahtzee

Taking cues from Phone Booth and the much more recent Carry-On, daft premise is surprisingly fun, until the third act hits a brick wall.

Before it's revealed that Henry is working for the mayor and plans to testify against him, I think most can relate to Violet's situation of pretending everything is okay when it's really not.

Although not identical, principle of Richard plummeting to his death through a window is kinda like Hans in Die Hard.

Happy trails.

The Last of Us: Season 2 - Episode 3

The Path

Written by Craig Mazin

Directed by Peter Hoar

Three months after Joel's death, Jackson is recovering from the assault by the infected.

At Joel's house, Dina tells Ellie she knows that Abby leads the Washington Liberation Front out of Seattle.

We briefly meet the Seraphites and a little girl called Constance, who hide after hearing Abby's crew closing in.

At a council meeting, Ellie's proposal to find and execute the people that killed Joel out of justice rather than revenge is rejected.

Ellie and Dina leave for Seattle, with Seth assisting unauthorised escape.

En route, Ellie visits Joel's grave and when they arrive on the city's outskirts, find a mass of Seraphite corpses.

Meanwhile, armoured vehicles and WLF soldiers take to the streets.

Demons and wolves

First off, title sequence removes Joel, which is a nice detail.

But episode itself was extremely dull, plagued by idle chit-chat, nebulous pacing and heavy-handed dialogue.

My predictions for next week:

Tommy unleashing hell on the WLF (if he leaves Jackson of course), or flashbacks begin.

Maybe?

The Accountant 2 - The scoop and digest

Stylised as The Accountant² (in some posters and title card), Gavin O'Connor and Bill Dubuque return to direct and pen screenplay respectively.

Ben Affleck - Christian Wolff/The Accountant

Jon Bernthal - Braxton

Cynthia Addai-Robinson - Marybeth Medina

Daniella Pineda - Anaϊs

J. K. Simmons - Raymond King

Summary

After her boss Raymond King is killed by unknown assailants, Marybeth Medina, deputy director of Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) is forced into contacting Christian Wolff to solve murderous puzzle.

With the help of his volatile younger brother Braxton (who he's not seen in eight years), Christian hops across America applying mind and muscle to find out the truth, with a mysterious female assassin pivotal to their investigation.

Call of Juarez

Buddy comedy works because of the chemistry between Affleck and Bernthal.

Ignoring the nonsense of Anaϊs acquiring savant syndrome, story essentially boils down to Wolff and Braxton infiltrating a compound to rescue kids from cartel-backed human traffickers.

Gunplay takes place during the final 20 minutes and although we've seen it a million times before, Rambo shit is really well done.

At one point, Braxton tells a woman about how Terry the dog (Toto) in The Wizard of Oz got paid more per week than human Munchkins.

Ridiculous but true.

Double Dragon: The Madness Ends

Double Dragon II: The Revenge (1988)

Promo poster is iconic, but Marian never made any sense to me.

As Willy promptly guns her down in cold blood.

Photograph is dated 7.20.88.

Arcade was initially released in November 1988, so significance remains unknown.

Before getting to three primary slices of beef, let's look at specifics of home computers (all developed by Binary Design Ltd).

Spectrum
Believe it or not, they forgot to call their game Double Dragon II on title screen.

HA HA HA!

Amiga port inserts a unique story (edited) which alters continuity.

"Five years ago Marian, the friend of our heroes Billy and Jimmy Lee, was attacked and abducted by the evil Shadow Boss and his henchmen.

You mean Willy?

For years life was happy for the three friends, but unknown to them the twisted mind of the arch-criminal was again at work, this time creating an insidious underground organisation, based on a forgotten black magic art, and driven by an insane desire for revenge on those who put who put an end to his previous empire.....

Finally he struck!

Marian was gunned down in cold blood!!

....Billy and Jimmy know who will pay for this.....

This time...

THEY WILL FINISH THE JOB!!"

So in conclusion, original game takes place in 1984 and Billy and Marian were never lovebirds.

PC (left) and C64¹ (right) kept us up to speed with story between missions.

¹Of course it should be Billy's and who the hell is Marion?

But ending contains a unique alteration.

11.6.89 (as in 11 June).

I guess date is when devs finished programming game.

Mega Drive (1991)

Palsoft's bastard child (the only 16-bit port to be based directly on arcade) was released only in Japan and featured horrendous slowdown.

NES (1989)

Although sharing arcade's title and having a similar story, content is radically different.

Likely because of the inclusion of co-op play (a feature missing in the original), Jimmy as former end boss is retconned.  Instead, we get a nameless martial artist possessing supernatural abilities.

Plot

New York City, 19XX.

In the aftermath of the nuclear war, Billy and Jimmy Lee were brave enough to oppose the violence crime syndicates were spreading on the streets.

One day, Shadow Warriors attacked the city and Billy's girlfriend, Marian, was killed.

Given the size of her chest, no wonder geezer is grinning like a demented pervert.

The Double Dragons swore to avenge her death!

Supreme Master difficulty ending

"It appears our battle is finally over. But, I will leave you with the legend of the Shadow....

'If the illusion spreads, the evil will live again. But if two dragons soar through the sky, an angel will fall to the earth."

 "Soon... I will die and you will join me. Farewell Double Dragons. Ha, ha, ha!"

The mysterious warrior died, leaving no clue to what his last words meant.

But, Billy and Jimmy felt their revenge was complete... at least for now...

That night an angel descended from the heavens and returned Marian to the Double Dragons alive and well.

What complete and utter bollocks.

Double Dragon II, Game Boy (1991)

Game is completely unrelated to arcade or NES and was actually a localised version of Nekketsu Kōha Kunio-kun: Bangai Rantō Hen (1990).

Plot

After the Black Warriors were gone, the streets of N.Y. were very calm.

To train others in martial arts, Billy and Jimmy joined "Scorpions" and in only a few months, they became teachers.

A guy called Anderson didn't like this, so shot Wright² and tried to frame the brothers.

At once, Gordon (who made training hall a good name), gave out orders to get Billy and Jimmy.

²ROM had an unused cut scene showing Anderson murdering Wright, but Nintendo's censorship policies couldn't show shit like that.

For some reason, cover art reuses Double Dragon 3: The Sacred Stones (1990).

Why does Anderson look so much like Fatal Fury's Geese Howard?

Hmmm.

PC Engine Super CD-ROM² (1993)

Naxat Soft's remake of NES version boasted fully voiced anime-esque cut scenes.

Intro gives off strong vibes of Fist of the North Star (1986).

Billy vs Kenshiro

And because they can.

Jimmy vs Geist - M.D. Geist

Double Dragon III: The Rosetta Stone (1990)

Arcade forced players into using real money to buy extra lives and powers from the shop, making this the first example of micro-transactions.

So now you know.

Home computer art was very similar to Nintendo efforts.

What's this?

Double Dragon 3: The Arcade Game - Genesis/Mega Drive

Yeah, artist was batshit.

Billy's shoulder pads could've been based on Road Warriors' Animal and Hawk.

Parallel project The Sacred Stones was similar to arcade, but removed item shops and introduced two additional characters playable once defeated as bosses, namely Chin Seimei and Yagyu Ranzou.

Each character could be switched during gameplay and effectively became 'lives'.

Fun fact.

1990 Neo Geo game Ninja Combat also used the same concept, but you couldn't swap between characters during gameplay. 

Anyway.

End boss Princess Noiram is revealed to be Marion under an evil spell.

One more on Game Boy.

Double Dragon 3: The Arcade Game (1992)

Emilio Estevez and Charlie Sheen 'lent' likeness for Jimmy and Billy respectively.

Apart from original arcade flyer, poses may have been influenced by classic martial arts movie posters.

Take a skeg.

L-R: Lionheart aka A.W.O.L. and Wrong Bet, Angel Town and The Big Brawl

Miscellany

The next numbered entry at least was Double Dragon V: The Shadow Falls, released for the SNES and Genesis in 1994, and Jaguar in 1995.

One-on-one fighter was based on the animated TV series Double Dragon, which shouldn't be confused with 1994 live-action film or loose Neo Geo adaptation of same name.

So as game obviously isn't a sequel to DD III, what the fuck gives with title?

Leland Interactive Media acted on the presumption that Super Double Dragon (known as Return of Double Dragon "Sleeping Dragon" Has Awoke in Japan) was number 4, but SNES exclusive was only the fourth in the series.

In truth, 1992 game is best described as a reimagining and/or soft remake of original.

So did a Double Dragon IV exist?

Yes, but game was just a bootleg hack of Target Renegade (1990) on NES.

27 years later, we got the real thing.

Double Dragon IV was a direct sequel to the NES version of DD II: The Revenge (oddly not Double Dragon III: The Sacred Stones).

It was also the first entry directed by Yoshihisa Kishimoto since the NES era.

Battletoads & Double Dragon - The Ultimate Team (1993)

Beyond providing the licence, Technōs had little or no credited involvement in the production of Rare's crossover beat 'em up, highlighted by engine and design based directly on the Battletoads series.

The Dark Queen is back with another plan to dominate the galaxy and allies herself with the Shadow Warriors.

To even things up, Rash, Zitz and Pimple contact Billy and Jimmy who agree to help.

SNES

Unlike other versions, title screen music rips off Duran Duran's Girls on Film.

Billy and Jimmy mean business.

NES

I'm digging Jimmy's green jacket. 

Wait a minute, GREEN?

Mega Drive/Genesis

Same as SNES, but expanded.

Player select

Billy and Jimmy are bizarrely scanned from Jimmy in DD 3: The Arcade Game. 

 

However.

NES
Brothers switch hairstyles.

Right, I'm done with the Lee brothers and never want to see those bastards again.

Sou-Setsu-Ken.

Sinners - The scoop and digest

Supernatural period horror is written, directed and co-produced by Ryan Coogler and scored by Ludwig Goransson.

Michael B. Jordan - Smoke and Stack Moore

Hailee Steinfeld - Mary

Miles Caton - Sammie "Preacher Boy" Moore

Jack O'Connell - Remmick

Wunmi Mosaku - Annie

Jayme Lawson - Pearline

Omar Benson Miller - Cornbread

Delroy Lindo - Delta Slim

Summary

Clarksdale, Mississippi,

16 October 1932.

Clutching just the neck of his guitar, Samuel enters his father's church who demands whippersnapper renounce music and seek salvation.

The day before.

Identical twins and WWI veterans Smoke and Stack Moore return to their hometown years after working for Al Capone in Chicago.

They buy a sawmill to start a juke joint for the local black community, taking cousin Sammie with them.

On opening night, Sammie's transcendent music attracts the attention of Irish-immigrant vampire Remmick, who arrives on the scene with his minions.

But something tells me they're not in the mood for dancing (or romancing).

Mid-credits

60 years later in Chicago, Sammie gets a surprise visit from Stack and Mary who survived the massacre.  Stack offers to make him immortal, but declines saying "I think I've seen enough of this place."

Post-credits

A youthful Sammie plays and sings African-American song This Little Light of Mine on the same guitar he'll use to fight the undead.

Friendship and love

A little slow to begin with, but once the vampire action kicks in, it's a rip-roaring, bloodsucking thrill ride.

Think From Dusk Till Dawn, less the comedy.

Another key influence cited is The Faculty (also directed by Robert Rodriguez).

Also, you cannot rule out Salem's Lot.

Two Creeds are definitely better than one, and once Stack is turned, the brothers even engage in a brutal fight.

At one point, those not bitten are forced into eating a clove of garlic to pronounce them human, surely paying homage to the blood sample test in The Thing (1982).

The Last of Us: Season 2 - Episode 2

Through the Valley

Written by Craig Mazin

Directed by Mark Mylod

Abby warns her past self not to enter the room where her father was killed.

When she awakes, Abby scopes out Jackson.

Ellie chats with Jesse (Young Mazino) who tells her that Joel is already on a patrol with Dina.

After Abby inadvertently awakes a horde of infected hiding beneath the snow, Joel rescues her and they meet with Dina, who says his name.

Uh oh.

Abby convinces them to go back to the lodge where her friends are waiting.

Amidst this, more tendrils are found inside a pipe, redirecting the infected to attack Tommy's settlement, resulting in multiple human casualties.

When Joel says they must leave, Dina is held at gunpoint and knocked out.

Abby gives a lengthy monologue and kneecaps Joel, then repeatedly bashes wound with a golf club until it breaks.

Ellie is restrained and forced to watch Abby apply the killer blow by stabbing him in the neck with the broken end.

Jesse turns up and Joel's body is taken with them.

Certainty masquerading as knowledge

Action sequence of the infected swarming compound World War Z-style was exciting and Tommy emptying flamethrower on a Bloater before it dies in front of him smacked of The Thing (1982).

Shit is just window dressing for infamous event, and while still fucking ridiculous, set up is slightly different.

Joel will be back for flashbacks and emphasis may shift to guilt and grief.

Although TV series has reached the point when I stopped caring about anything what happened next in the game, I'll soldier on.

The Woman in the Yard - The scoop and digest

Jaume Collet-Serra's psychological horror is written by Sam Stefanak (in his feature film debut) and scored by Lorne Balfe.

Danielle Deadwyler - Ramona

Okwui Okpokwasili - Woman

Peyton Jackson - Taylor

Estella Kahiha - Annie

Russell Hornsby - David

Summary

After her husband David died in a car crash, widowed single mother Ramona cares for her children Taylor and Annie.

When a mysterious lady draped in black appears in their yard (who's a dab hand at shadow magic by the way), Ramona begins acting strangely, suggesting she's hiding something.

Oh, this isn't a crossover of The Woman in Black.

(Laughs).

If Mediabreak's Jess Perkins in Robocop (1987) was reporting on the situation, I'm sure she'd say something like:

"Woman: Who is she? What is she? Where does she come from?

Questions have desperately predictable answers.

Today's the day

Decent idea is strangled by a boring script, lifeless characters, sub-par performances and turgid pacing.

Unhappy with her marriage and life, Ramona had an argument with David, crashed the jeep and killed him.  On doing so, she created the Woman, a physical manifestation of her psyche.

Yeah, another shitty derivative of Silent Hill.

Anyway, the Woman convinces Ramona to commit suicide, telling her the kids would be better off without her.

Ramona sends Taylor and Annie away and places a rifle under her chin.  Satisfied that she'll pull the trigger, the Woman disappears.

Err, okay.

She doesn't go through it and the kids return.

A downer ending would've hit harder and improved a very ordinary chore.

The Last of Us: Season 2 - Episode 1

Future Days

Written and directed by Craig Mazin

In Salt Lake City, a group of Fireflies bury the dead from the hospital massacre.  Tending her father's grave, one such member Abby (Kaitlyn Dever), vows to find Joel and kill him slowly.

5 years later at Tommy's settlement in Jackson, Wyoming, Ellie (now 19) is estranged from Joel after telling her porky pies about the Fireflies.

Joel visits psychotherapist Gail (Catherine O'Hara), with original character revealing that client killed her husband Eugene.

During a patrol, Ellie kills a new type of infected capable of silent cover and stalking, but is bitten in the process.

At a New Year's Eve party, Ellie and Dina (Isabela Merced) kiss, prompting Seth (Robert John Burke) to call them 'dykes'.  Joel attacks him for doing so, but Ellie doesn't need his fucking help.

As tendrils emerge through a broken sewage pipe, Abby and her crew observe the town from afar.

Bearbque!!!

Before diving in, let's remind ourselves of how TV series altered timeline.

Original game - 2013, 2033-2034.

Season 1 - 1968 (very briefly), 2003 and 2023.

Part II - 2038.

Season 2 - 2028 (effectively 2029 as episode ends on New Year's Eve).

Anyway, Eugene Linden now plays a more pivotal role.

In the game, he only appears in a photograph when Ellie and Dina find his cannabis den.  They mention former Firefly served with Tommy and regularly went on patrols with Dina.  He died from a stroke aged 73.

While by no means a terrible opening, Ellie's unpleasant nature annoyed the hell out of me.

Also, nobody encountering a stalker in 25 years is far-fetched to say the least.

Although that 'event' could easily happen next week, I think shit will be dragged out until number 3, with Gail possibly taking a swing.

A Minecraft Movie - The scoop and digest

Jared Hess adapts arguably the best-selling video game of all time.

Jason Momoa - Garrett "The Garbage Man" Garrison

Jack Black - Steve

Emma Myers - Natalie

Danielle Brooks - Dawn

Sebastain Hansen - Henry

Summary

Struggling salesman Steve enters a mine to realise a childhood dream.  Inside, he finds two mysterious artefacts (the Orb of Dominance and Earth Crystal) and combines them, opening a portal to the Overworld, where anything imaginable can be created.

After Steve tames a wolf he calls Dennis, they build endless masterpieces together and life is perfect.

That is until they enter the Nether, a dimension solely populated by evil Piglins, ruled by gold-obsessed sorceress Malgosha.

To prevent Malgosha from controlling the Overworld, Steve gives objects to Dennis to stash under his bed back on Earth.

Some time later, former video game champion Garrett Garrison is about to be evicted from his store Game Over World.  To earn some much needed cash, he successfully buys an Atari Cosmos at an auction, but box only contains Steve's junk, including the Orb and Crystal.

School misfit Henry ignores written warning to never combine the artefacts, causing his sister Natalie, Garrett and real estate agent Dawn to be led to the mine and sucked into the Overworld.

But have no fear, 'master crafter' Steve is here.

Post-credits

Steve returns to his former home to collect a crate and a woman called Alex answers the door.

We only see her from the back, but voice is provided by Kate McKinnon, with Alice May Connolly as the physical body.

Chicken jockey

Yeah, I said it.  But please don't hurl popcorn at your device's screen.

Although spectacularly unremarkable and instantly forgettable, distributor Warner Bros. won't give two shits, as this is on course to take over a billion dollars at the box office.

From the Boots of Swiftness to Ender Pearl, there's enough references to make fans go hysterical and even adds a few of its own weapons - the Tot Launcher and Buck-Chuckets.

Aside from other cameos, a pig wearing a crown pays homage to late YouTuber Technoblade.

Digital world is okay I suppose, but inhabitants and human beings kinda felt unnatural.

Who knows if intentional, but the cabinet artwork and gameplay of fictional arcade Hunk City Rampage appears to be based on Double Dragon and Final Fight respectively.

The Alto Knights - The scoop and digest

Barry Levinson's second mob drama after Bugsy (1991) is written by Nicholas Pileggi (whose non-fiction books Wiseguy and Casino: Love and Honor in Las Vegas were famously adapted by Martin Scorsese into Goodfellas and Casino respectively).

Oh, title is taken from the social club where a young Frank and Vito hung out.

Robert De Niro - Frank Costello/Vito Genovese

Debra Messing - Bobbie Costello

Kathrine Narducci - Anna Genovese

Cosmo Jarvis - Vincent Gigante

Summary

New York City, 1957.

Mob boss Vito Genovese sends his enforcer Vincent Gigante to assassinate Frank Costello, but fails.

At the hospital, it's revealed he survived because the bullet didn't penetrate his skull and miraculously exited near his left ear.

When interviewed by the police, Frank claims he didn't see his assailant.

Frank decides to retire and concede control of the Luciano family, but the ultra paranoid Vito is suspicious of his true intentions, igniting a deadly war between former best friends.

King of the rackets

While not terrible, a fascinating story is hampered by a dull script, clumsy editing and multiple scenes outstaying their welcome.

As Genovese and Costello weren't twins, placing De Niro in a dual role makes absolutely no sense.

After all, this isn't Legend (2015).

Rather than de-aging cinema legend (a la The Irishman), prosthetics are applied to Vito and voice is kinda Joe Pesci-esque.

For shiggles, Jack Nicholson's character Frank Costello in The Departed (an English language remake of Infernal Affairs) was a fictionalised version of Whitey Bulger, who Johnny Depp portrayed in Black Mass.

De Niro arguing with himself in a handful of scenes was fun, and there's a nice take on the famous restaurant scene in Michael Mann's Heat.

As an interesting quirk, the film's cinematographer is Dante Spinotti.

Would this have been a classic if Scorsese was at the helm?

We'll never know.

The Madness of Double Dragon

Strap yourself in for a ride with the Lee brothers like no other.

Atari 2600/7800 vs The Warriors (1979)

Or something to that effect.

Home computer art was widely recycled across various platforms.

Now let's look at other ports in more detail.

Famicom/NES (1988)

Billy becomes Kenshiro from Fist of the North Star.

To get around the omission of simultaneous play, plot is altered to make Jimmy the Shadow Boss and leader of the Black Warriors.

Game Boy (1990)

Japanese box art

Although looking and sounding like NES game, stages are completely different and we can only play as Jimmy via a Game Link cable.

Sega Mark III and Master System (1988)

Rick Astley appears on a poster for the BBC of all things.

Holy shit - I've just been rickrolled.

Europe

From the back.

"Using the ancient oriental martial art of Kenpo, fight your way through a city controlled by ruthless gangs of thugs. Keep your guard up as you as you battle to save your sweetheart and restore the streets to law and order."

First of all, it's Kenpō, there's only one gang, Marian is relegated to just sweetheart (girlfriend of whoever) and considering Billy and Jimmy aren't the police, how can they can restore law and order?

North America

"In a city destroyed by war and crime, you count on each other to survive. You are Billy and Jimmy Lee, the twins they call the Spike and the Hammer. When it comes to martial arts, you're both street lethal. Leaping kicks. Knee smashes. Judo throws. You are the masters. Now get ready for your biggest battle of all. The Black Warriors, meanest gang in the city, has kidnapped Jimmy's girlfriend Mary Ann. She's the bait they're using to lure you onto their turf. You're going to get her back... and take care of the Black Warriors' gang once and for all!

It's going to take every fighting skill you have. And if you make it to the headquarters of the Black Warriors, you'll face the greatest surprise of all, the leader of the gang!"

War? I guess they meant the gangland kind.  According to the famous arcade flyer, Jimmy is Spike and Billy is Hammer.

But the strangest change is Marian becoming Mary Ann, now Jimmy's other half.

Finally, there is no surprise, as end boss is still Willy.

Manual

Same kinda thing, but claims brothers are masters of 'Kenpo' and Kung Fu.

Mary Ann is described as 'your' sweetheart, implying that Marian is a tart.

Game Gear (1992/1993)

North America

As per earlier Game Boy effort, a totally new game.

Back cover

Mess with the best die like the rest.

That's the motto of the Dragon Lords - the meanest, roughest street gang around (who taught Billy and Jimmy everything they know).

For reasons undisclosed, the gang murdered Jimmy, and no mention of Marian.

Manual

During a stroll, a group of the Black Warriors jump Billy and nab his girlfriend Marian and take her to their hideout at the Samurai Mansion.

There you will ultimately battle it out against the Black Samurai for Marian's freedom and your life (totally ignoring Jimmy).

But there's more.

The Black Samurai doesn't pose much of a challenge.

Who is revealed to be Jimmy.

Ending states we have been fighting the evil Dragon Clan and our exploits broke their inner circle.

THREE different stories... in the SAME game?

HA HA HA!

Europe

Game is subbed The Revenge of Billy Lee (but not on title screen).

Back cover

"Billy Lee is as mad as hell. His brother has been captured by the evil Shadow Boss who has filled the streets with his men. Will Billy break the Inner Circle and avenge his brother - or join him?"

Title and blurb makes absolutely no sense.

You can't avenge somebody who has only been captured.

Also, Black Samurai becomes Shadow Boss.

Not that it would right any wrong, but The Rescue of Billy Lee would be a more appropriate subtitle.

More importantly, game is identical to North American counterpart.

Miscellany

Double Dragon (1994)

Goofy live-action adaptation was directed James Yukich, with Scott Wolf and Mark Dacascos portraying Billy and Jimmy Lee respectively.  Stupid plot concerns crime lord and businessman Koga Shuko (Robert Patrick) seeking both pieces of a magical medallion called the Double Dragon.

Despite some decent special effects (for the time) and the T-1000, it was fucking AWFUL.

A year later, Technōs' final game before going out of business was loosely based on said film of same name and initially released for the Neo Geo AES and MVS, and later the Neo Geo CD (which boasted a far superior soundtrack).

It's worth noting this wasn't the first one-on-one fighter in series, as that belonged to golden turd Double Dragon V: The Shadow Falls (1994).

PS1 (1996)

Japan only port by Urban Plant Ltd was technically inferior to Neo Geo original for the following reasons:

1. Camera is more zoomed out, making sprites smaller.

2. Animation isn't as smooth.

3. Murkier colours.

On the other hand, intro is lengthier (with higher quality FMV), various stills of film are shown during end credits and we get three modes:

Over Drive - overpowered specials and supers.

Normal - self-explanatory.

Tiny 3D - camera rotating at numerous angles is hugely disorientating and made backgrounds and sprites look like cardboard cutouts.

Kudos for trying something different though.

Turning up the geekery, stages (less Eddie and Jimmy's) omit numerous details.

Billy

Signs aren't illuminated.

Dulton

Jet skis don't jump into water. 

Amon

Seagulls don't hover about and cliff walls scrolling at speed don't have tree branches.

Marian

Static on giant monitor screen is frozen, so film stills aren't displayed.

Rebecca

Flames of burning house don't reflect on floor and remnants don't fall from sky.

Burnov

No flame spurts from foreground. 

Abobo

It's impossible to destroy ceiling meaning wrecked train doesn't fall into sewer.

Duke

Destructible goddess statues are missing.

Shuko

Somebody nicked suits of armour.

Cheng-Fu

Fewer destructible objects, water doesn't move, a section of audience is missing and time of day doesn't change between rounds.

Phew.

Time for a little fun.

Double Dragon Advance (2003)

Excellent remake incorporates elements from arcade sequels, console versions and adds unique stages.

Cover art pays homage to The Way of the Dragon.

Back cover

Jimmy has feelings for Marian (and Marion).

Okay then.

Back to Bruce Lee.

Billy

At the end of Mission 3, a cropped poster of Game of Death is displayed.

If player picks up nunchucks and stationary, sprite expertly recreates pose in the famous freestyling sequence in Enter the Dragon.

Finally, Mission 5 complete screen with Mibobo smacks of Travis Bickle in Taxi Driver.

Mohawk and finger guns are rather similar, yes?

Join me next time for more.