Welcome to the ninth episode of 23 Endings: The Early Years, the show where we put old school video game endings into proper context. Today we're talking about revenge, comradery and the deepest betrayal, the ingredients that make Double Dragon's climax so heartbreaking. Find out what happens next when you watch this brand new episode of 23 Endings: The Early Years!


Double Dragon conveys so much without saying a word. After Marian is viciously attacked by a local street gang, the Lee brothers hit the pavement to punch everybody they can find responsible for the abduction. This sends Billy and Jimmy through their regular stomping grounds, through a factory, into the woods, up a rocky mountain and into the secret lair where they'll go up against a gun-wielding killer named Willy.

In most games, this would be where the story ends. You punch Willy a few times, rescue Marian and call it a day. Roll credits. But Double Dragon is not your ordinary game. After you kick Willy's ass, the two brothers will turn on each other in order to win Marian's hand. Mind you, she's tied to the wall watching this whole thing goes down. It's a brutal moment that leads to this bittersweet ending.

Okay, seriously question, who is saying "may you live happily forever" here? There has been no other narration in this game, you already kicked Jimmy to the curb and it seems like an odd thing for these two lovebirds to say to each other. Maybe it's just me, but there's nothing about this ending that makes me think they are going to live happily forever. Even if I didn't know that Marian gets gunned down at the beginning of the second game, I still would think this relationship is doomed for failure.

If I'm being honest, I have to say that I've never liked this ending. There's nothing in the lead-up to this twist to suggest that Billy and Jimmy would turn on each other, and it doesn't even make sense. They're taking the risk that Marian will want to get with whoever wins, but that's not how people work. I mean, if Jimmy had won that bout, wouldn't Marian be pissed off that he just beat up her boyfriend? And couldn't they have just worked this family drama out back at home? There's legitimately no reason why this game should have ended this way.