The Eighties were great for cartoons, but the Nineties made the case for shows based on video games. With Nintendo being at the top of their, uh, game, it was an obvious choice for the networks to commission shows based on properties for the NES. One of the most popular early series on the console was Double Dragon, and the show that followed it wasn’t actually all that bad.
Starring series protagonists Billy and Jimmy Lee, the cartoon had a somewhat more mature plot. Separated at birth, the brothers grew up operating for opposite sides of a light/dark war. Billy was trained for good, while Jimmy followed the path of evil. Betrayed early on in the series, Jimmy joins the light side and the brothers are reunited. Not really all that heavy, true, but plots like this weren’t usually common to kids’ shows.
Taking cues from the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles animated show, Double Dragon was a fairly violent martial arts-based cartoon. The brothers acquired mystical dragon swords and often wore masks, battling characters from the games like Abobo and Willy. Its maturity and sometimes convoluted plot made it somewhat difficult for younger kids to follow along.
The series was produced by (who else?) DIC Animation and lasted only from 1993-1994, spawning a feature film and an actual game in the process.
Watch the first episode, Shadow Falls, in two parts below.
Check out the Saturday Morning Cartoons we’ve posted so far, and let us know what you think of the show and any other classic game-based cartoons you’d like to see us showcase.
No Comments