Double Dragon II: The Revenge is a 1989 beat-’em-up game developed and published by Technōs Japan. It was originally released for the NES, based on a 1988 arcade game of the same name. In more recent years, the game has been rereleased on Xbox, PlayStation, and Nintendo platforms, as well as part of a trilogy on mobile devices.
Double Dragon II: The Revenge Premise
©Screenshot from Double Dragon II: The Revenge.
The gameplay in Double Dragon II: The Revenge takes a big step forward from its predecessor, allowing cooperative play for the first time in the series. There are a total of nine levels to fight your way through, which can only be unlocked in full by selecting the hardest of the three difficulties on offer. At the end of each level, a boss appears, offering one final challenge to pass before you can progress.
The game’s combat system is directional based, and you have access to every move for Billy and Jimmy from the very start. This allows you to get comfortable with the moveset and the new abilities added from the original game. To balance combat in your favor, the game ensures that no two enemies will attack you at any given time. Because the game’s combat can become quite hectic, this is a useful way for the game to tip the odds for you.
Double Dragon II: The Revenge Main Characters
©Screenshot from Double Dragon II: The Revenge.
On the surface, Double Dragon II: The Revenge doesn’t have a particularly deep plot. It was the 80s, after all – few games did. However, it does follow on from the story of the original game, so fans who do enjoy the plot will enjoy what’s on offer here.
For the most part, the story is used as an excuse for protagonists Billy and Jimmy Lee to move from one beat-’em-up setpiece to another, and that’s okay!
- Billy and Jimmy Lee: Brothers Billy and Jimmy Lee are the playable characters of Double Dragon II: The Revenge. These two skilled fighters are looking to avenge the death of Billy’s girlfriend, Marian.
- The Black Warriors: The Black Warriors are the main antagonists of the game, and a shadowy group of martial artists. The game begins when they shoot Marian.
- Marian: Marian was the main female character in the original Double Dragon, and the girlfriend of Billy. She is gunned down at the start of the sequel, prompting brothers Bill and Jimmy Lee to seek vengeance.
Double Dragon II: The Revenge Titles in the Series
©Screenshot from Double Dragon II: The Revenge.
Double Dragon is a series that began life in arcades across Japan. Its popularity meant that it was quickly expanded to home consoles and spread worldwide. For the first few years after its 1987 debut, new games in the series were released relatively frequently, up until 1995.
After this point, the original developer of the series, Technōs Japan, moved on and was defunct by 1996. Because of this, the series was abandoned for some time, with only Double Dragon Advance between 1995 and 2009.
While several smaller games, remakes, and compendiums were released between 2009 and 2013, it wasn’t until 2017 that a true sequel in the series was developed. With developer Arc System Works at the helm, the series was truly back from the dead. This comeback was only further confirmed in 2023, when the release of Double Dragon Gaiden: Rise of the Dragons saw another mainline entry into the franchise. For a series that was so dead and buried, it has been an impressive return, even if the games aren’t exactly mainstream.
- Double Dragon (1987)
- Double Dragon II: The Revenge (Arcade) (1988)
- Double Dragon II: The Revenge (Console) (1989)
- Double Dragon III: The Sacred Stones (1991)
- Double Dragon II (1991)
- Super Double Dragon (1992)
- Double Dragon V: The Shadow Falls (1994)
- Double Dragon (1995)
- Double Dragon Advance (2003)
- Double Dragon (2009)
- Double Dragon (2011)
- Double Dragon Neon (2012)
- Double Dragon II: Wander of the Dragons (2013)
- Double Dragon Trilogy (2013)
- Double Dragon IV (2017)
- Double Dragon Gaiden: Rise of the Dragons (2023)
Double Dragon II: The Revenge Cheat Codes
©Screenshot from Double Dragon II: The Revenge.
Out of the box, the only cheats available for players to use in Double Dragon II: The Revenge are continue codes. These are a series of button presses that need to be done while at the Game Over screen. You’ve got to press them fast, too, or else you’ll miss your chance!
If you’re playing the game on an emulator, you may struggle to enter these codes quickly enough, unless you’re using an older controller.
| Continue Codes | Continue Code Effect |
|---|---|
| Up, Right, Down, Left, A, B | Allows you to continue the game from Stages 2 and 3. |
| Up, Down, Left, Right, B, A, A | Allows you to continue the game from Stages 4, 5, and 6. |
| A, A, B, B, Down, Up, Right, Left (controller two) | Allows you to continue the game from Stages 7, 8, and 9. |
Alternatively, if you’re playing Double Dragon II: The Revenge on an emulator, you can use Game Genie codes instead. These codes allow you to change many aspects of the game in interesting ways, with far more options available than in the base game. You can find the full list of these below, which can be entered in the Cheats section of the emulator you’re using. It should be noted that these will only work for the NES version of the game, as opposed to any rerelease.
Double Dragon II: The Revenge Game Genie Cheats
| Cheat Code | Cheat Code Effects |
|---|---|
| ASSGAS | Changes a lot of the game’s colors. |
| UNAGAL | Makes the game’s visuals flash. |
| ULLYZE | Gives the game a purple shade. |
| ELLYZE | Makes the game black and white. |
| VYEGAGYE | Makes the game’s music a much faster tempo. |
| IPGAGG | Adds more strange music to the game. |
| OOIGLYGS | Changes the music so that it is missing most beats. |
| XTPAPL | Removes all in-game music. |
| SSLUTX | Makes punches sound much different, as if they’re barely making contact. |
| SZYLNX | Slows down the in-game music. |
| LUZATK | Makes some sound effects last longer or loop. |
| XXGOES | Some enemies can one-hit-kill you. |
| KOLPGS | Allows you to advance through the entire game in seconds. |
| AEVNTZYY | The game always shows a Continue screen after a Game Over. |
| PITTSI | Makes the game’s background black, white, gray, and blue. |
| PELAVG | Makes most enemies in the game punch slowly. |
| PEPENG | Billy will use his closest arm to punch. |
| NNZASK | Billy will use his farthest arm to punch. |
| EIPOIS | Makes it so that you can only perform one elbow to the back of the head, instead of the usual three. |
| EIPOYS | Makes it so that you can perform an infinite amount of elbows to the back of the head, instead of the usual three. |
| AIIEGK | You can no longer throw pipes after you pick them up. |
| NYZSIU | Disables the Level 4 wall trap. |
| EIPOTS | Elbowing enemies to the back of the head drains four units of energy each time you do it. |
| AANNAIEA AENNGLEA | Enables a Beta difficulty selection. |
| OZULYPOU YZUUAOPZ | Makes enemies die instantly when they try to attack you. |
| AEUEXXZA | Enemies now disappear instantly after being killed. |
| OLLZOA | Enemies now fall to their knees and get straight back up most of the time, instead of falling to the ground. |
| ONKEXZEI | Enemies don’t flash when they’re killing. |
| GKZZAT | Enemies no longer fly through the air when they’re knocked down. |
| ZYZPPA | Enemies simply never appear, with the exception of the helicopter on Level 2 and the bulldozer on Level 5. |
| LVZAGV | The second enemy in every set will almost always have a weapon. |
| PSLOUYII | Speeds up the movement and attack animations. |
| SLNAKUSO | Fixes the Extra Lives glitch on Level 4. |
| EOYTSI | You’ll get a Game Over after completing Level 1. |
| AAVZOIAZ AANZNSZA PTNXOIVK XANXXSSX SZVEOZSL ZPVEXXNU GAVEKZPP ELVESZEI AZNAOXSA VGNAXXYL SZNAUZTE ATNAKZET AAEXETYP | Allows you to hit from anywhere. |
| NNSZKTGE NNSZUVTO | Gives you infinite health. |
| VSGPPL | Allows you to perform infinite knees to the face on enemies. |
| IALAZG | Gives you infinite lives. |
| VYNEPENN | Makes enemies invincible. |
| SGYAGK | Allows you to jump higher. |
| NYUPNTAT | Allows you to jump much further. |
| AGGAKN | The boss in Level 1 now appears much earlier. |
| EEZLNO | The boss in Level 1 now runs away. |
| KGZLUG | The helicopter door is always open in Level 3 (but not visually). |
| PSIAEZEO | Makes enemies make a weird pose while dying. |
| SZXAYKVS | You no longer lose lives from falling. |
| SXOANXVS | You no longer lose lives from low energy. |
| SZVESUVS | You no longer lose lives from water. |
| OXUPGLOU PEUPIULZ PAVXAILP PAOEOVYY | You can one-hit-kill enemies. |
| EAIVEV | Makes player one start with 128 lives. |
| NYSVETGE | Makes player one start with 259 lives. |
| LVZAGT | Player one will always face to the right, even if they are walking left. |
| KKIZLY | Players and enemies fall through the floor when knocked down. |
| PVOEXG | You can punch to do a teleporting jumpkick. |
| AITXUY | Punches now knock down players and enemies in one hit. |
| EZIZOE | Gives you a red health display. |
| YZAAEO | Regular uppercuts now knock enemies way up into the air. |
| LOOAPZZU | Makes the rising knee easier to do. |
| TOKEXT | The rising knee now goes higher. |
| TXSVSYSV XPNTKSTG | Allows you to skip the intro screens. |
| ZOZNNX | Allows you to skip most of the intro to Level 1. |
| NNEVOIAE | Slows down the gameplay. |
| PAOAIAEI | All enemies will now die in slow-motion. |
| TALTXV | Allows you to start from the final battle. |
| PAUTXTAA | Allows you to start from Level 2. |
| ZAUTXTAA | Allows you to start from Level 3. |
| LAUTXTAA | Allows you to start from Level 4. |
| IAUTXTAA | Allows you to start from Level 5. |
| TAUTXTAA | Allows you to start from Level 6. |
| PAUTXTAE | Allows you to start from Level 7. |
| GAUTXTAE | Allows you to start from Level 8. |
| ZOVAGPLA | You can now stay ducked after jumping, just like your enemies. |
| AIIISX | The screen scrolls further to the right, causing enemies to come out sooner. |
| XUTANK | Turns an unarmed forward attack into a jumping knee butt. |
| UUTANK | Turns an unarmed forward attack into a super uppercut. |
| XXTANK | Performing an unarmed forward attack on an enemy transforms them into Level 1’s boss. |
| KUPUTL | Enemy movement will be much different than usual. |
Double Dragon II: The Revenge Cheat Code FAQs
©Screenshot from Double Dragon II: The Revenge.
How Do You Use Continue Codes in Double Dragon II: The Revenge?
To use the continue codes, you have to press the relevant cheats while on the Game Over screen. You have to do it fast, too. If you miss your opportunity, your window is gone, and you’ll have to restart and try again the next time you reach the Game Over screen.
What is the Invincibility Cheat in Double Dragon II: The Revenge?
To become invincible in Double Dragon II: The Revenge, you’ll need to use the Game Genie cheats. This will almost certainly involve playing the game on an emulator. The code that you’ll need to use is “NNSZKTGE NNSZUVTO.” This should give you infinite health, essentially rendering you invincible.
Does Double Dragon II: The Revenge Have Achievements?
Actually, yes! While the original release of the game obviously never had achievements, the Xbox version of the game added them for you to collect another 1000 Gamerscore. If you’re playing Double Dragon II: The Revenge on Xbox, these are the achievements you can grab:
| Achievement Name | Achievement Description |
|---|---|
| Revenge in Progress | Clear Practice |
| We’ve Made It This Far | Clear Warrior |
| Revenge and a Miracle | Clear Supreme Master |
| Reverberation of retro sound | Turn on reverb in sound options |
| Master of control | Open all control manuals |
| Change your backgrounds | Change backgrounds |
| CRT screen | Adjust Scan lines |
| Show us what you’ve got | Create your own Private Match |
| Transform | Change your avatar |
| Completion | Unlock all achievements |
The image featured at the top of this post is ©Screenshot from Double Dragon II: The Revenge..