NES Double Dragon Mission Four Wall Strategy

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Chambers_N Gaming

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Published on July 13, 2015 5:40:11 AM ● Video Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1T-CiKFroSE

Game:

Double Dragon (1987)

Duration: 1:30

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19

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I numbered the blocks 1, 2, 3 and 4 from top to bottom. This concerns the what blocks can follow others.

- 1 is always followed by either another 1 or a 3. A 2 can occur but is rare and possible the result of reaching the end of the 2nd wall section, but this can be treated the same as another 1 block for our purposes even if it can occur during normal conditions of simply traversing the wall section. I have reason to believe that a 2 will never occur while simply observing wall behavior without traversing the wall.
- 2 is always followed by a 3 or a 1
- 3 is always followed by a 4 or a 2
- 4 is always followed by another 4 or a 2

In other words, 2s and 3s NEVER repeat.

Credit goes to Retroshinobi for these numbering observations which I was able to confirm during my trials to develop this pattern. Check out his channel here: https://www.youtube.com/user/retroshinobi

Below is what I have concluded as a result of 34 non-hit successful traverses of the entire wall segment of level 4. Here is the NES Double Dragon Wall Successful Trials video that shows these in case someone is interested. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7RLGkOAI4Jc

The Speed of Block Movement and Processing
It is my observation that the 1's move slower and delay longer before coming out, and this time for both increases as it progresses down the wall with 4's being the quickest to process and to move. This is actually helpful.

Safe Stop
There are places to stand while you attempt to traverse the wall sections. The best and most applicable for this strategy is the very middle. You need to develop a feel or have some visual aid to place yourself in the safe spot so that you are as far to the right as possible to be able to properly time your next movement.

Practical Application to Each Block

The 1 Block First
I have confirmed, waiting for two 1's at the beginning is actually quite favorable and often results in more 1's at the beginning of the second wall section. Since a 1 can be followed by a 3 however it might be wise to wait to see if the second 1 comes out before you progress. In some other situations such as when a possible 2 might come out there is usual good timing to avoid it because of its delay. But I thought to try to rush only after the first 1 block. Since the delay before the 1 comes out it may be possible to begin progressing to the middle where there is a safe place where you can wait for the possible 3, which will come if you don't get another 1. But once again since there is a delay with the 1, then once you get to the middle safe point and the 3 does not come out close to immediately then that delay tells you it is safe to proceed although you have not yet seen the next 1. If I remember correctly this can work, or the 3 comes out too fast if you did not get a close enough jump on the first 1 because the second to longest delayed 2 might be what is coming so you can't progress too early. It might always be better to wait to see what comes after the first 1. So this general strategy says to always wait.

The 2 Block First
As mentioned in the last example there will be some delay before you see the 2 block once you get to the wall's edge. Since a 2 is always followed by a 3 or a 1 then you have to wait to see if a 3 comes or you might get hit. In which case the simplest is to wait. Once you see the 3 or the 1 after the 2 then you respond to those accordingly. So this general strategy says to always wait. Another good idea here which can be seen in the video is that there are times after I see a 2 come out, I may actually begin to move if I felt that the delay was long enough. There is a difference between a faster 3 block and a slow 1 block, so at times if I did not see the 3 close to immediately after the 2 then I progressed to the next safe spot.

The 3 Block First
If one walks to the edge of the wall and gets a 3 for the first block, then we know that we will get a 2 which will have the 2nd to longest delay or a fastest 4. So as soon as the 3 retracts you can proceed with a jump into the middle of the first wall section. The immediate 4 is jumped over and the delayed 2 is too slow which comes out behind you. This is a guaranteed opening to begin progressing to the right.

The 4 Block First
If a 4 comes out then it is the same as you would handle the 3, since they both are followed by a 4 or a 2. Once the 4 retracts then progress with a jump, if another 4 comes out it will be jumped and if the 2 comes out it will be too slow and come out behind you. Situating yourself in the middle safe spot on the first wall section.

I think by now you start to get the idea of how this analysis actually proves helpful towards finding a standardized approach. I believe there is probably much more that can be known about this which could better fine tune what I have presented here.

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