The Mysterious Warrior[4] (謎の格闘家 Nazo no Kakutō-ka, lit. "Mysterious Fighter") is the final boss in the Famicom/NES and PC Engine CD versions of Double Dragon II: The Revenge. He replaces Willy as the game's main antagonist in those versions of the game.
Appearances[]
Double Dragon II: The Revenge[]
The Mysterious Warrior's true name and origin are unknown. All that is known about him is that he is a master of a deadly martial art known as Gen-Satsu-Ken, whose school has presumably been in conflict with the Lee brothers' own style of Sou-Setsu-Ken.
He is the leader of the Black Shadow Warriors, a criminal organization which targets various martial artists, including the students of the Lee brothers' own school. When Billy Lee's girlfriend, Marian, is killed during one of their attacks, the Lee brothers pursue the organization to their island stronghold and eventually come face to face with their leader himself. After an arduous battle, the brothers manage to defeat the Mysterious Warrior, who with his last breath tells them about an ancient prophecy that has been passed down his school for generations:
But if two dragons soar through the sky,
an angel will fall to the Earth."
That night, Marian miraculously came back to life and was returned to the Double Dragons alive and well.
In the Famicom version of Double Dragon II, the Mysterious Warrior always appears regardless of the difficulty the game is set on, whereas in the NES version, he only appears on the hardest setting ("Supreme Master").
The battle against the Mysterious Warrior consists of two phases. During the first phase, he fights on a green battlefield in the middle of the night, with a demonic statue in the background and a pair of floating eyes staring from above (in the PC Engine CD version, this illusory backdrop is even more surrealistic, resembling an alternate dimension). After he has sustained enough damage, the illusion breaks and the background changes to the interior of what appears to be an ancient temple, in front of an altar. His techniques include a thrust, a roundhouse kick, a backflip kick, and a spinning clothesline. In addition, he can also turn invisible at will during the first phase.
In the PC Engine CD version, the Warrior can be fought on any of the three different difficulty settings, although the ending differs depending on the choice. On the easiest setting, he will escape after the first phase of the fight, mocking the Lee brothers for their failure to defeat him and resulting in the bad ending.
Double Dragon Gaiden: Rise of the Dragons[]
The Mysterious Warrior first appears in the guise of New York City's newly-elected "Mayor", who arrives at the Sōsetsuken Dojo carrying a wounded Marian in his arms. He explains that she was injured in a gang conflict and asks for Master Lee's help in retaking the city, to which Uncle Matin reveals Master Lee has gone missing. At the Lee brothers' insistence, the group agrees to help take down the four gangs that control the streets.
After all four gangs are defeated, the Mayor thanks the brothers and asks them to be his new enforcers and re-establish order in the city. If they accept, the mayor proceeds to take over the city and rule with an iron fist, though the gangs secretly plot revenge. If they decline, he expresses disappointment and reveals himself as the Mysterious Warrior, sparing their lives but ordering them to leave the city forever. The brothers then fight through his security forces and the four gang leaders, now in his employ, before defeating the Mayor himself.
After the Mayor protests that the city will descend into chaos without his leadership, the brothers decide to teach their Sōsetsuken art to the citizens to help them defend themselves, and peace and order are eventually restored.
Notes[]
- The English manual for Double Dragon III: The Sacred Stones retrospectively mentions the Mysterious Warrior and calls him by the name of "Supreme Black Shadow Sensei".[2]
- The criminal organization the Mysterious Warrior leads, the "Black Shadow Warriors", is most likely the same Black Warriors from the first game, probably having reorganized after their first defeat. The change in the name could be attributed to publisher Acclaim, known for often changing established terms.
- In the PC Engine CD version of Double Dragon II, the organization is specifically given the name "Shadow Warriors", and it is indeed treated as the same organization as the Black Warriors.
- Further supporting this, is that in this version, Willy, the main antagonist from the first game, appears as an underling to the Mysterious Warrior, probably being his second-in-command (he is fought before the Double Illusion, although these could just be magical servant creatures with no commanding rank in the organization).
- In the PC Engine CD version of Double Dragon II, the organization is specifically given the name "Shadow Warriors", and it is indeed treated as the same organization as the Black Warriors.
Gallery[]
_-_02.png "Mysterious Warrior - Double Dragon II (NES) - 02.png (4 KB)")
_-_01.png "Mysterious Warrior - Double Dragon II (PCE CD) - 01.png (5 KB)")
Trivia[]
- While his organization is never given a name in the Japanese version, the English localization refers to it as the "Black Shadow Warriors" in the manual, and "Shadow Warriors" in the opening sequence. The only other time the term "Shadow Warrior" appears in the English script is when the player character uses it to address the Mysterious Warrior himself prior to their final confrontation. "Shadow Warriors" would be used as the name of the enemy organization in later games and works, such as the animated series, Double Dragon V and Double Dragon Advance.
- Even though the Mysterious Warrior is shirtless during the final confrontation in the PC Engine CD version of Double Dragon II, he appears with his full costume during the subsequent cinematic.
- In Double Dragon Advance, a group of enemy characters modeled after the Mysterious Warrior appear as an elite group that serve as Willy's bodyguards. They are known as the "Five Emperors" and appear as the end bosses of the penultimate stage. While all of their members borrow traits from the Mysterious Warrior, their leader, Raymond, is strongly implied to be the Mysterious Warrior himself (or at least his counterpart or successor). Besides using many of the Mysterious Warrior's characteristic moves, such as the spinning clothesline and the ability to become "invisible" (shadow trail), the Mysterious Warrior's theme, "The Fight Continues/Fight of Fate", starts playing when he enters the battle. Furthermore, when he is defeated, the screen will briefly turn to black and white and the action will turn into slow motion, just as it did when the Mysterious Warrior was defeated in the NES version of Double Dragon II.
- Further supporting this theory, Raymond and the PC Engine CD version of the Mysterious Warrior wear very similar clothes, consisting on a sleeveless purple costume with shoulder pads (sans the cape from the latter) and both fashioning long hair in a mullet style (although Raymond has his tied in a ponytail on the back).
See also[]
- Raymond - An antagonist character in Double Dragon Advance who is heavily implied to be the Mysterious Warrior.
- Shadow Master - An antagonist character in the animated series that plays a similar role.
- The Five Emperors - An evil organization in Double Dragon Advance whose members are loosely based on the Mysterious Warrior.
References[]
- ↑ Called "Shadow Warrior" by the player character prior to their encounter, although this could just be in reference to the organization he belongs to, the Shadow Warriors.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Double Dragon III: The Sacred Stones manual, page 4.
- ↑ Double Dragon Gaiden: Rise of the Dragons
- ↑ Called "Mysterious Warrior" in the ending of the NES version of Double Dragon II, which closely resembles his translated name, "Mysterious Fighter" (謎の格闘家).
| Double Dragon II: The Revenge | |
|---|---|
| Versions | Arcade • NES |
| Characters | Billy Lee • Jimmy Lee • Marian |
| Bosses | Arcade: Burnov • Bolo • Abore • Willy • Double Illusion NES: Burnov • Bolo • Abore • Double Illusion • Mysterious Warrior |
| Enemies | Williams • Roper • Linda • Right Arm • Ninja • Bolo • Abore • Chin Taimei • Jeff |
| More | Soundtrack • Double Dragon II: Wander of the Dragons |