I could make an editorial on shameful retro game sequels alone, but it'd possibly contain as many words as War & Peace. But I digress. The Double Dragon series has always been dear to me, I'm a giant mark for the series. Much like Punch-Out!! I am more of a fan of the home ports, it's probably more of a sentimental thing, and I'm more acclimated to how they play. The first game is a classic and the granddaddy of the brawler genre. Double Dragon II The Revenge improved many aspects of the original with sharper gameplay, better graphics, and the inclusion of co-op play. The third one isn't a bad game, but I find it to be the weakest of the NES era Double Dragon titles.

Released in 1990, Double Dragon III The Sacred Stones was developed by Technos Japan and published by Acclaim. Developed along the same time as Double Dragon III The Rosetta Stone, this is more a side game that coexists with the aforementioned. Some changes were made in the North American and European releases to tie events to rescuing Marion and the final boss of the game is Queen Noiram instead of a revived Cleopatra. An elderly woman Hiruko approaches the Lee twins and warns them of powerful stones that could fall in the wrong hands and leave the fate of the world in peril. The journey takes you through USA, China, Japan, Italy, and Egypt. 

It shares traits similar to the previous games, but Double Dragon III takes a step backwards in every category. This game made Double Dragon unfun. Visually, it looks good and there's decent animation, though I think the sprites this time around are smaller and lacks personality compared to The Revenge. Up until the final stage, each level is more or less two or three rooms full of thugs to wallop. Sure, it's a brawler, so I expect fighting, and it might be a snobby stance to say this, but I don't feel like there's a relationship being built between me and the environment. Beyond one room with a trap floor of bamboo spikes in Japan, it's just a rotating door of enemies. It gets boring to look at after a while.

As far as the controls, this is the stiffest, most awkward entry. Billy and Jimmy Lee must've took some training off, because their techniques are just flat out dull. Even though you have the ability to run, your defensive options are nil and the offense is very robotic. The jabs are a little delayed, and depending on when you press it, you'll either throw two right jabs consecutively or a single straight left. You have zero control over it and it could throw you off.

Double Dragon III does add two new characters to control in Chin Seimei (Chin's brother from the previous games) and the ninja master Ranzou. I do like this, as they have some different variables. Chin is very slow, but he's the strongest. Ranzou boasts great speed with weak attack strength. Billy/Jimmy are pretty average overall, but the Spinning Hurricane Kick give them the best defense as it can get enemies off of you. Now, the DOWNSIDE of this is unlike the previous games, the amount of lives you get in Double Dragon III is determined by gaining these allies. If you play solo, you have at most three lives and one continue once you reach stage 4, which is more or less a practice level to get acclimated to the new characters. I thought it would be neat if you had the option to select them from the get-go.

This game is hard, but not really a traditional escalating difficulty. Double Dragon III starts off at a 7 or a 9 and stays that way. The enemies are incredibly aggressive to the point that it's more exhausting and wears on your patience. The final stage is very demanding and the only time I feel genuinely challenged beyond repeating the same attack patterns I've figured out to wear down the offenders. I don't want to compare it to Dark Souls, but I'm gonna, because I beat Dark Souls the same tactical way. It gets repetitive.

Overall, this is okay. I just happen to have a lot of beefs with it. I will give it credit for not being the arcade version, which is an absolute mess. I've only really beaten it once and have only teased defeating it a second time in my life, the fight against Noiram is quite a task. The Sacred Stones is in the lower tier of Double Dragon games.