Receiving my Nintendo as a kid is one of my fondest memories. Countless hours were spent saving the Princess from Bowser in Super Mario Bros., traveling through dungeons to find a princess in The Legend of Zelda, and punching a lot of people in the face to help my girlfriend in Double Dragon. The last one didn’t have a princess persay, but it was close enough. I grabbed my sister and we took to the streets with our whips, chains, and fists to gain retribution.

When I heard that Geoffery Golden and Kenny Keil had taken it upon themselves to create a page-for-page parody for the game guide of Double Dragon called Double Fisting; I had to take a look at it. Though it’s a very short instruction manual, I was cracking up the entire time. I was filled with nostalgia and laughter as I read through the pages.

Here’s a synopsis:

Are your fists ready for anything?! This instruction booklet will guide you through the tough, glitchy streets of Punching City. Bobby and Robbo are two bros on a mission: Bobby needs to rescue his girlfriend from thugs and Robbo needs to gently break it to Bobby that he hooked up with his girlfriend in Cabo. Learn all the punches, upper-punches and awkward conversation techniques you’ll need to win the game! More at [http://DevastatorPress.com/Fist]

Bobby and Robbo emulate their counterparts, Billy Lee and Jimmy, to a fault. The instruction manual exploits just how ridiculous the plot and fighting system of Double Dragon is. They make sure to point out that you’ll be ‘punching in the general direction’ of a bad guy as you battle through four extensive backgrounds on your journey! I couldn’t help but remember what it was like to play through the game and just how ridiculous it was.

I love that Golden decided to be so exact with the parody. It made it even more funny that he went through the FCC Compliance and Warranty information. One of my favorite parts of the manual was that the game would get ‘crazy broken’ on day 91 and that you couldn’t get help for it unless you solved ‘three ancient riddles.’ It was so irreverent and out there that I laughed out loud when reading through that section.

I highly recommend this book to anyone who is a fan of fantastic humor or fans of the classic Nintendo game itself. It’s a super fast read and it’ll be more than enough to make you chuckle. I give this manual 5 outta 5 Fists!


Author Geoffrey Golden is Editor-in-Chief of The Devastator and a bestselling novelist. He’s written for Cracked, Buzzfeed and more. Illustrator Kenny Keil draws comics for MAD and Vibe magazines.
Disclaimer: A review copy of the manual was provided for this review