Double Dragon 3: The Rosetta Stone

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Double Dragon 3: The Rosetta Stone
One of the first title that try to be more edgy than the previous games, something that would later be seen in the 2000s.
Genre(s): Beat em up
Platform(s): Arcade
Amstrad CPC
Amiga
Atari ST
Commodore 64
ZX Spectrum
MS-DOS
Game Boy
Mega Drive/Genesis
Release Date: NA: November 1990
JP: January 1991
Developer(s): East Technology
Publisher(s): Technōs Japan
Predecessor: Double Dragon 2: The Revenge
Successor: Super Double Dragon

Double Dragon 3: The Rosetta Stone (ダブルドラゴン3 ザ・ロゼッタストーン Daburu Doragon 3: Za Rozetta Sutōn?) is a side-scrolling beat 'em up developed by East Technology, and published by Technōs Japan that was originally released as an arcade game in 1990. It is the third arcade game in the Double Dragon series and the sequel to Double Dragon 2: The Revenge.

Note: This page does not focus on the NES version, as it is not only a completely different game, but was also positively received by critics.

Development

The game was not internally developed by Technōs Japan, who were busy working on other projects at the time such as WWF Superstars and The Combatribes. Instead a company called East Technology, whose previous work was the 1989 arcade shoot-'em-up Gigandes, was contracted to develop the third game in the series, resulting in a sequel with a drastically different gameplay and graphic style than its predecessors. The game was controversial upon its release due to the addition of item shops where players acquire power-ups by inserting real money into the cabinet, which was removed from the later Japanese release after negative feedback from play-testers.[1]

Plot

After returning home from a two-year training mission, Billy and Jimmy Lee come across a fortune teller named Hiruko. The woman tells them that in order to challenge the world's strongest adversary, they must seek out the three Rosetta Stones that have been scattered around the world.

Why It Doesn't Find The Rosetta Stone (Bad Qualities for DOS version)

Overall

  1. The main problem with this game is that it wasn't developed by Technōs Japan like the previous games, but rather by East Technology, who did an absolutely bad job at making this game. Not only that, but there's a countless number of flaws in this game, which will all be explained with the next pointers.
  2. The hit detection is extremely terrible and is a massive downgrade from the previous games, which had all great hit detection that was flawless. Here, it is so bad that sometimes, despite you attacking the enemies, they will either still attack you or even never be hit at all, despite having clearly made contact with you.
    • The hit detection might be even worse in the Game Boy port, which is at its absolute worst, since in that port, you will have even more of a problem hitting your enemies, hence making it the worst version of an already horrible game.
  3. The graphics, with the exception of the arcade version, are very poor and look like a Master System game rather than a 16-bit game since they lack details and the color palette is washed out. It's also trying to make the graphics more realistic, but also miserably fails due to the issues mentioned before; even the awful Genesis port of Double Dragon 2: The Revenge looks better than this.
    • The graphics are the absolute worst for the Sega Genesis and Amiga ports, since the color palette is even worse, and the character sprites are a bit less detailed than the arcade version, although the character animation is much better in that port.
  4. Awful controls for all of the ports (if you want more details about the awful controls, see the different console sections below).
  5. Terrible level design that is a massive downgrade from the first game and, to a lesser extent, the second game since here there's a lot of awful enemy placements and the platforming sections aren't too much present, which makes the game even more repetitive, even if the platforming wasn't the best in the previous games.
    • This is especially true with mission 4, where there's a ton of enemies to beat and other horrible things in this level that make it the absolute worst in the entire game (see WIDFTRS #7).
    • The levels also have mostly extremely repetitive sections where the levels have you going in the same direction, but compared to the previous games, it is to the point of being really bland and boring.
  6. Horrible bosses that are extremely frustrating due to the abysmal hit detection and are also the absolute worst in the entire franchise. They are also somewhat easy, but as said before, they are still hard due to the hit detection, especially in the Game Boy port.
  7. Italy is the absolute worst level of the entire game and would likely be the main reason why you would get a game over since there's a ton of enemies that take a huge amount of hits to kill or even the boss that is extremely annoying and deals a ton of damage, which is also why this game is considered to be the worst game of the entire franchise and even one of the worst beat-ups of all time.
    • The Egypt level is also close to being the absolute worst stage of the game too (at least on the Arcade and Sega Genesis versions), since there are tons of extremely annoying enemies and there's the one infamous moment where you need to jump on the right letter, and if you fail, then you fall and die. The level is also the absolute worst in the Game Boy version.
  8. (Console versions only) To buy something, you need to buy it with continue (which are coins), but the problem is that it'll make the game even harder because you will have less continues to beat the game, but at least it's not as horrible as the arcade version system.
  9. While it did have a story, the game almost does nothing with it since there's only a cutscene in the beginning and end, which are both poor and are the reason why the story is bare-bone, especially compared to Double Dragon 2.
  10. The game almost, if not feels nothing like a Double Dragon game since the elements and characters from the previous games such as Abobo or Marion are not present (though for the latter it is excusable since she was killed in Double Dragon 2, but still). and the levels themselves feel like they came from a different game such as Final Fight. The only thing that makes it a Double Dragon game is the presence of Billy and Jimmy, and if those two weren't present, then this game would have nothing from the previous games, so it's a Double Dragon game in name only; in fact, you could replace the main characters with other characters and absolutely nothing would change.
  11. Some of the power-ups are useless, such as the tricks that you will never, ever use.
  12. Some glitches are present in the game, such as graphical and especially collision glitches, but they are still hardly noticeable for some people.
  13. Due to how atrocious the hit detection is, for most of the time you can't hit an enemy without being hit. This is also a major red flag since this would already prove that a game is bad, especially for a beat 'em up, and at times you will never hit an enemy and the enemies will still hit you a lot of times before you do so, making the game an absolute nightmare to play, especially on the Game Boy.
  14. Not to mention that this game severely damaged the reputation of the Double Dragon franchise and made it go downhill since while Super Double Dragon was much better than this, it still didn't get as many positive reviews as the first two games, and Double Dragon V: The Shadow Fall was also a terrible game. It wasn't until the release of Double Dragon Advance that the franchise did get back on track, even though it was only a remake of the first game and it didn't get many games after it.
  15. Extremely unfair and unbalanced difficulty that is mostly because of the atrocious hit detection that make it unintentionally harder than it supposed to, while the first two games were challenging, it's because of being really challenging, here howewer it fails to do great challenging difficulty and balanced gameplay, this is especially true with the Game Boy version.
  16. Annoying enemies' AI that is on par with Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2: Battle Nexus and Mega Man X6 level of annoying enemies.
  17. It's ended the original trilogy on a horrible note, considering that it is the last Double Dragon game released on Arcade.
  18. Repetitive gameplay that is very tedious and boring due to the ton of flaws present in the game.

Arcade

  1. The framerate is absolutely abysmal and would even make you think that the game is horribly programmed, since the characters and enemies move frames by frames, and this could make the game even more unplayable and even slower than the other versions. Even the Sega Genesis port had a better framerate than this abomination.
  2. The controls are horrible since they are extremely unresponsive, clunky, and slippery too, since it sometimes even takes half a second to jump or kick, thus making the game literally unplayable and also making the game have no fun to be had too due to how much the controls ruin the experience.
    • Not to mention that the sluggish framerate makes the controls ten times worse than they already are since the characters move frame by frame, which would make you have an awful lot of trouble having the controls functional. This is also the main reason why this game is so unplayable on Arcade and even in general.
  3. The soundtrack is somehow extremely bland for this version since it's not only repetitive and forgettable, but it is so bland that you will likely forget that the music played. Also, it doesn't really fit the levels, despite the fact the fact that the Sega Genesis version had the same music, but fit the levels way better due to being less bland.
  4. While it is a bit longer than the other versions, the game is still extremely short and can be finished in only 30 minutes, even if it's longer than the other ports.
  5. While passable, the graphics are kind of bland and look much worse than Double Dragon 2: The Revenge since the sprites aren't so detailed and the sprites are much smaller than the other arcade Double Dragon games, thus making it the weakest-looking game of the trilogy.
  6. Awful ending, although that is still a bit better than in the Sega Genesis and Game Boy versions.
  7. Horrible characters' animation that moves frame by frame, as said before, is one of the reasons why the controls are so abysmal, since not only that, but the characters even look like they crap their pants with the way they walk, although it is way better in the Genesis port.

Sega Genesis

  1. The graphics are even worse than the arcade version, as here it is not only bland looking, but also very undetailed and feels like a 1988 arcade game, not helping the fact that the color palette this time is really washed out and makes the sprite work look even worse than before.
    • The sprites, while a bit detailed and having better animations than the arcade version, are terrible-looking since they barely had any faces, and the realistic style failed due to the abysmal color palette and the poor design of the game. It wasn't until Super Double Dragon came out that they matched the realistic style much better.
  2. The controls are atrocious and even more unresponsive than the arcade version, since they are horribly clunky and even make the game downright unplayable. Even when compared to the other ports, they are easily the second worst part of this port.
  3. The horrible hit detection was ported over to this version, and it is even worse, if not the absolute worst part of the entire game, and makes the bosses even more horrible than before (see WIDFTRS#5), since sometimes you will attack the enemies, but they will never be hit and will attack you in return, making the game extremely frustrating and even worse than the arcade version.
    • Also, it's even like an RPG game at times since at times you will hit an enemy, and the second time you try to attack it, it will be the enemy that attacks you in turn, thus making the combat so bad and annoying.
  4. The soundtrack is somewhat better than the arcade version and doesn't sound bad, but the problem is that it is absolutely ear-bleeding at times.
    • In America, it sounds decent, but causes ear bleeding, and it is also repetitive to the point of making Osomatsu-kun: Hachamecha Gekijō on the same console sound less ear bleeding in comparison.
    • In China, it doesn't sound bad, but rather it is repetitive and sometimes has an annoying loop, but it still sounds fine for what it is and is faithful to the Chinese music style.
    • In Japan, it sounded really repetitive and had once again an annoying loop, not to mention that some of the composition is pretty annoying too.
    • In Italy, the music sounds incredibly generic and repetitive to the point of being one of the weakest pieces of the entire game. Not only that, but it also sounds quite annoying.
    • Enter the Dragon is a short loop that lasts probably 33 seconds, and it can be annoying to listen to it. Not only that, but it doesn't even fit the final boss fight; it is also a bit catchy.
  5. Rather poor sound effects that are repetitive and annoying, especially when compared to the previous games; they also sound like ear bleeding, so that is likely why they are bad.

Game Boy

  1. Poor graphics that are likely the worst in any versions of the game, since it is so undetailed and looks much worse, and we mean much worse than the previous games on Game Boy, which looked amazing. Also, the sprite work is poor, with the characters once again barely having any faces, and it doesn't even know if it wants to be realistic or cartoony. Even Super Mario Land looks better than this, and it was released in 1989.
  2. Speaking of the graphics, the cutscenes look absolutely horrendous, even for a Game Boy game, to the point of making Last Action Hero on NES have better-looking graphics and cutscenes; in fact, it looks so bad that it's even looking like it got glitchy, despite not being glitchy.
    • Also, it is kind of creepy to look at, especially the old lady at the first cutscene, since her face is so poorly detailed that it is nightmare fuel and would traumatize the children that would play the game. Even the console and arcade versions had better-looking cutscenes.
  3. Awful soundtrack that sounds incredibly repetitive and generic to the point that it might be stuck in your head for a long time due to how repetitive it is. Not only that, but there's not many music in this port, despite the fact that the music in this port can still be funny to listen to.
  4. Absolutely horrible hit detection that is even worse than the already terrible collision in the Arcade and Sega Genesis versions, since here you will almost never hit an enemy and you will likely only use the jump kick that is the better attack to use in the game, but even with that attack you might get trouble to kill enemies, thank to how abysmal it is.
    • Not to mention that even with the jump kick, you will have a hard time to attack your enemies as said before since the hit detection is so poor that even if it looks like you got a contact with them, they will not be hit and instead would hit you and kill you easily, this is also why it is considered to be the absolute worst game of the franchise and port of the game, and even one of the worst games ever made especially on Game Boy.
  5. Extremely short, the game can be finished in only 15 to 20 minutes, even by comparison to the other versions that last 30 or 25 minutes, thus making it not only the shortest version of the game, but also the shortest game of the entire franchise, although it might be positive things due to how horrible the game is.
  6. Horrible ending that is worse than the other versions due to how atrocious the cutscenes look in this port.
  7. Horrible controls that are extremely unresponsive, clunky and stiff to the point of making this port absolutely unplayable and even making the game having artificial difficulty, such as taking down the motards that is hard because of the terrible controls.
  8. The Egypt level is the absolute worst of the entire game and is so much worse than the other ports since there are so many wrong things in that level to the point of making it one of, if not the worst level of the entire franchise, this include but not limited to:
    1. First off, the enemies are even more annoying than as usual since they deal tons of damage, had attacks that are almost impossible to dodge, take a lot of hits to kill and this already make it for an incredibly annoying and painful level.
    2. The first section of the level had you to beat two bikers, but the problem is that you guessed, they are annoying to deal with due to how fast they are and are even harder due to the awful controls.
    3. The level is also very long, with it being the majority of the game length, since it lasts 7 minutes to get through, and remember that it is the most annoying level of the game, so the longest level is actually the worst one of the game.
    4. Another horrible problem is the section where you need to jump on the right letter, but here it is, and we mean so much worse than the other ports, since here if you do a jump kick on the wall, you will likely either fall or land on the wrong letter and lose a life, not to mention that due to how poor the graphics are, it is hard to know what letters you need to jump on to success.
    5. Lastly, the second last section before the final boss had you fighting enemies that can teleport like DBZ, but the problem is that it doesn't make them cooler but even more annoying to take down; not only that, but they take a ton of damage before dying.
  9. It also had horrible bosses like the other versions, and here they are 10'0 times worse than the other ports due to how horrible they are, they are even more difficult and annoying to deal with since they have extremely overpowered attacks and huge hit-box in comparison to you.

Redeeming Qualities (Good Qualities for DOS version)

Note: This is only for the arcade and Sega Genesis versions.

  1. At least the graphics are passable in the arcade version, despite being very bland-looking.
  2. The NES version, Double Dragon III: The Sacred Stone is way better, despite being very hard with only one life and one continue.
  3. The Sega Genesis version made sole improvements over the arcade version, such as better framerate and a bit better and decent soundtrack. Despite sounding horrible and ear-bleeding, this is mostly because it is still catchy to listen to.
  4. The DOS version is a improvement over the other versions considering it has more passable graphics and better controls, despite some difficulity and also some flaws have been fixed in this version.
  5. The next game, Super Double Dragon is a major improvement over this game, despite the international versions being rushed and horribly frustrating.
  6. The shop system, while terrible, was pretty innovative for the time, howewer it was the start of microtransation in gaming so that still isn't a good thing unfortunately.
  7. The Japanese version of the Arcade version removed the system where you need to put real money to but power ups.

Reception

The game received extremely negative reviews by gamers and the fans, and even go as saying that this is the worst Double Dragon game ever made and was also controversial on Arcade due to the system of putting real money to buy power ups, which angered many peoples and fans.

The Sega Genesis version did get a bit better reviews by the fans, as they stated that there are some improvement such as the framerate and the musics but was still considered a terrible game overral.

Double Dragon 3: The Arcade Game was critically panned on the Game Boy by not only the fans, but even the critics. On November 1992, Video Games (DE) magazine scored the game with an overall 53%. They criticized its technical design, flickering sprites, and level of difficulty accredited to enemies striking faster than the player.[2] Olivier from Joystick (FR) gave the handheld title a total of 56%, citing the terrible gameplay and low quality graphics.[3] Play Time (DE) magazine rated Double Dragon 3" 69% on February 1993. They commented the impressive backgrounds and side-scrolling, but they also cited the limited attack methods while calling the music bearable.[4] Consolemania (IT) rewarded the game with a generous 70 points out of 100, asserting it as a well done coin-op conversion for Game Boy. The reviewer thought the graphics were ok, the sound to be average, and the gameplay being only sore point due to how difficult it is for inexperienced players to stop multiple opponents.[5] It is also considered to be the worst version of the game.

Trivia

  • In the episode 20 "The Game Center Monster" of Mysterious Nile Girl Thutmose, the arcade version of Double Dragon 3: The Rosetta Stone can be seen running in the background in an amusement arcade.
  • This was the last Double Dragon game on Arcade, until 1995 where they made another Double Dragon game on Neo-Geo.

Videos

Reviews

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Longplay

Arcade

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Sega Genesis

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Game Boy

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See Also

References

  1. ↑ https://www.gamer.ne.jp/news/201210140001/
  2. ↑ https://archive.org/details/video-games-de-1992-11/page/n117/mode/2up?view=theater
  3. ↑ https://archive.org/details/joystick032/page/n153/mode/2up?view=theater
  4. ↑ https://archive.org/details/play-time-1993-02/page/n83/mode/2up?view=theater
  5. ↑ https://archive.org/details/Consolemania-019/page/n69/mode/2up?view=theater

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