Double Dragon III: The Sacred Stones is a 1991 beat ’em up released for the NES. Players once again take control of martial artists Billy and Jimmy Lee as they travel the globe—from the USA to Egypt—to recover the mysterious Sacred Stones. While it retains the core side-scrolling brawler action of its predecessors, it introduces a unique mechanic where defeated bosses join your roster as playable characters.
How to Play
The objective is to fight through waves of enemies and defeat the boss at the end of each country’s stage. Use the D-pad to move, B to punch, and A to kick (mapped to the arrow keys and Z/X in your browser). Pressing A and B together performs a jump. As you defeat certain bosses like Chin Seimei and Yagyu Ranzou, you can pause the game to switch to them and utilize their unique weapons and fighting styles.
Tips
- You only get one life per character, making health preservation critical. Switch to an alternate fighter when your current character’s health drops low.
- Hit detection can be unforgiving; use jump kicks frequently to knock down approaching enemies before they can grab you.
- Ranzou’s shurikens and sword have excellent range. Bring him in to deal with armed enemies and tricky bosses from a safe distance.
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