Without a doubt, Double Dragon is a difficult game that requires teamwork when fighting. Two players, two friends united, who take on the roles of brothers Billy and Jimmy Lee to rescue Marian. But not everything is as it seems, because the ending of this classic confronts us with the unexpected: The betrayal of a friend.
Over time, video games have allowed us to experience different points of view with each game. From classic stories playing for good, where you have to rescue the girl of the moment or save the world, or playing for evil, spreading chaos and destruction with the aim of eliminating or conquering the planet or universe.
The player can choose a side and follow its story with a set ending that awaits at the end of the adventure. Of course, sometimes an unexpected situation can arise, as is the case with the ending of Double Dragon, where you must face your friend for the love of Marian.
Love and Betrayal: The Ending of Double Dragon
Let's start from the beginning: Billy and Jimmy Lee are twin brothers trained in martial arts, owners of the Sou-Setsu-Ken dojo. With them is Marian, dojo instructor and Billy's girlfriend. The game begins when Marian is kidnapped by the Black Warriors, one of the most violent gangs in America, and Billy goes out to rescue her.
If you play the arcade version of Double Dragon cooperatively, the other player takes control of Jimmy, thus starting this adventure where both brothers (and players) go out to throw punches and kicks through the city streets. They will pass through a factory and a forest, tossing enemies and breaking faces, until finally reaching the Black Warriors' hideout.
When you reach the last level, the young Marian is tied to a wall and Willy, the leader of the Black Warriors, appears on the scene, the last boss to defeat. Undoubtedly a difficult fight but nothing the Lee brothers cannot handle. Once defeated, one would expect a happy ending... but nothing of the sort.
Instantly a message appears on screen saying that both players have to fight each other. The winner gets Marian. This outcome abruptly changes the story of Double Dragon and its protagonists, as well as the two players who reached this moment.
It is assumed that Jimmy's motivation is to help his brother, because that is exactly what brothers do, help each other. But at the end one understands that Jimmy is also romantically interested in Marian, and waited until that moment to reveal his true intentions, attacking his own brother! Of course, Marian is not free of suspicion either because while she is tied up she sees the fight between both brothers.
If Billy wins, she frees herself and goes to kiss her beloved; if Jimmy wins, she frees herself... and also goes to kiss him! This makes one suppose that there was already something between them and that they planned the kidnapping so that Jimmy could finally get rid of poor Billy. In fact, in the NES edition the story changes when it is revealed that Jimmy is, in reality, the leader of the Black Warriors and that he orchestrated Marian's kidnapping.
And what about the two players who reached this point? Because Double Dragon is a difficult game that requires teamwork when fighting, covering each other's backs and attacking the enemies that come out to ambush. Reaching the end of the adventure and having the game itself tell you that now you have to face your friend, that companion who accompanied you throughout an arduous mission, is undoubtedly a bucket of cold water in the middle of winter.
There is only one (unofficial) way to end the game ethically: instead of fighting, let the time run out until it reaches zero, at which point both players automatically lose. A Game Over that marks a defeat in the game, but a victory for friendship. Or will you be capable of betraying your friend?
