View source for Double Dragon III: The Sacred Stones

{{Bob
 | bobscreen = Double_Dragon_III_-_The_Sacred_Stones_(U)_-!--0.png
 | aka = Double Dragon III: The Rosetta Stone (JP)
 | developer = Technos Japan
 | publishers = {{publisher|Acclaim Entertainment}} (US), {{publisher|Technos Japan}} (JP)
 | system = NES
 | japan = {{date|1991|February|22}}
 | usa = {{date|1991|February|nocat=true}}
 | graphics = Y
 | debug = Y
 | text = Y
 | region = Y
}}
<s>Billy</s> Bimmy and Jimmy Lee reunite and team up with a ninja and a kung-fu master to hunt down mysterious stones that will unlock a deadly foe who may or may not be one of their girlfriends.
==Debug Features==
There is a common debug feature in a couple of Technos games. Usually all debug code is controlled by a memory flag, hardwritten at the end of the ROM at address $FFF6 in M6502 CPU address space. Various bits of this variable enable or disable various debug features.
 
===Sample Version===
Bit 7 of the debug variable (to set it, use the Game Genie code {{hex|EKNYVYAA}}) switches between normal and "SAMPLE VERSION", which enables some debug features. In the Japanese version, all this features except the first one were disabled with the code patch. You can restore full functionality with additional Game Genie code {{hex|XVNXAPAV}}. In the US version all options are available by default, but you must enable debug mode first. At the "Technos" logo screen hold '''B + Left + Down''' and wait until the license screen appears.

Now, during the game hold '''Start''' on Controller 1, press any of the following buttons to get corresponding effects, then release '''Start''' and unpause the game to apply changes.
*'''A''' - Skip to the next level up to the ending sequence in the Japanese version, but no further than last boss in the US version.
*'''B''' - Makes all the characters selectable during the game. But it doesn't update the selection screen properly, so you couldn't see all the character icons anyway.
*'''Up''' / '''Down''' - Instantly eliminate the first and second enemies accordingly.
*'''Left''' / '''Right''' - Set the health bar to its maximum and minimum accordingly.

===Free Walk=== 
Bit 5 of the debug variable (to set it, use the Game Genie code {{hex|AXNYVYAA}}) enables free walk mode, which allows you to walk any part of level instantly.

==Unused Text==
===Unused Cutscene Screen===
[[File:Double_Dragon_III_-_The_Sacred_Stones-cutscene.png|left]]
The final cutscene of the Japanese version for some reason was removed from the US version and replaced by an epilogue for Hiruko, but the tilemap with translated text identical to the final ending text of the arcade version is present among the tilemap data of the US version.
{{clear|left}}

===Unusable Weapons===
The text values for all the weapons that can be used by the player (i.e. "BARE HANDS", "SAI", "SHURIKEN") is located at offset value {{hex|11DE0}}. The list includes two unusable weapons as well: the "KNIFE" (different from the "ARMY KNIFE" carried by the bald-headed "Gibson" enemies) and the "HAND SPEAR". This suggests that the blue knives thrown by the female "Davey" punks that appear in Missions 1 and 2, along with the small spears thrown by the Italian enemies in Missions 4 and 5, were originally meant to be usable by the player.

==Unused Graphics==
===Logos===
[[File:DD3NES Tradewest logo.png]]

Tradewest logo extracted from the Japanese ROM, which suggests that the company was in negotiation for the rights of the U.S. version before it was nabbed by Acclaim. Tradewest was the publisher of the first ''[[Double Dragon (NES)|Double Dragon]]'' on the NES and they eventually regained the western rights for the series with ''[[Super Double Dragon]]''.

[[File:DD3NES ATI logo.PNG]]

Every regional version has the same graphics data for Technos logo screen, which contains two different versions of company's name: "Technos Japan Corp" and "American Technos Inc.", which implies that they were planned to display corresponding logos for different regional versions. But, in the final releases for any region only the first one is used.

===Billy and Jimmy Profile Shot===
[[File:DD3NES Lee Brothers profile shot.PNG]]

Profile shot of Billy and Jimmy Lee standing back-to-back stored among the ending graphics. Presumably meant to be used during the end credits.

===Venus de Milo===
[[File:Dd3nes venus de milo.PNG]]

A Venus de Milo statue apparently intended as background decoration for Mission 5-2, which is where this graphic is stored.

===Chin Seimei===
The character selection screen uses sprites to display the character's icons. Since one icon uses 16 sprites, there are total four icons can be displayed on the screen. But there are 5, including Haruko! So, one character's icon is always drawn by the background tiles as a special case, it's Chin Seimei. Its tiles stored among the font graphics. But a different tile set for the sprite icon of Chin Seimei stored among the other icons graphics, obviously unused. It appears to be more carefully polished version of icon, than the background tiles, see its ear for example, probably they polished actually unused sprites and forgot to fix the used ones.
{{compare|
leftt=Used|
rightt=Unused|
left=[[File:DD3NES_Chin_Seimei_bg.png]]|
right=[[File:DD3NES_Chin_Seimei_spr.png]]
}}

===Ranzou===
[[File:Dd3nes ranzou climbing.PNG]]

All four player characters have a ladder climbing animation, but since the only ladder in the entire game is found in Mission 3, where Ranzou is fought afterward as the boss, his animation is never seen during a normal playthrough. It can still be seen if the player uses a cheat code to have Ranzou in his party before clearing Mission 3.

===Hiruko===
[[File:Nesddragon3-hiruko.png|I've fallen...and it's a stupid meme waiting to happen]]

Unused sprites of Hiruko getting knocked over, which was probably intended for a boss fight against her similar to the one in the coin-op version. In its lieu, she ends up getting killed by a curse before the final room, during which she only falls forward and disintegrates.

==Regional Differences==
===Title===
{{compare|
leftt=FC|
rightt=NES|
left=[[File:Dd3fc title screen.png]]|
right=[[File:Double_Dragon_III_-_The_Sacred_Stones_(U)_-!--0.png]]
}}
The Famicom version is subtitled ''The Rosetta Stone'', the same subtitle used by its arcade counterpart. The Rosetta Stone in this instance refer to the three gemstones that the Lee brothers must find for Hiruko, which have nothing to do with the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rosetta_Stone actual Rosetta Stone] (and probably the reason why the subtitle was changed overseas). The NES version also has an earlier copyright date than the FC version, suggesting it might have been based on an earlier revision.

===Difficulty===
{{compare|
leftt=FC|
rightt=NES|
left=[[File:Dd3fc player select.png]]|
right=[[File:Dd3NES player select.png]]
}}

The difficulty of FC version has been adjusted to make the game a bit easier than its NES counterpart. As shown in the above comparison, each player character starts a stage with 10 health points more in the FC version compared to the NES version (e.g. the Lee brothers both start with 94 HP each in the FC version and 84 in the NES version). 

The amount of enemies required to clear each area was also decreased in the FC version. For example, the very first area (the dojo) requires the player to defeat three enemies in the FC version, in contrast to the four enemies in the NES version. This also applies in 2P PLAY mode, where the amount of enemies required to clear an area increases proportionally.

===Story===
The game's plot underwent an extensive rewrite during the English localization for the NES version. Most notably, the NES version revolves around Billy and Jimmy saving Marion once again, whereas the FC version makes no mention of her in-game (which explains why Marion has no real presence in this game). Perhaps Acclaim's localization staff felt that Billy and Jimmy's motivation for helping Hiruko seek out the Rosetta Stones was a bit lacking in the original story. The identity of the final boss was also changed from a resurrected Cleopatra to Queen Noiram (who is revealed in the ending to be Marion under an evil spell). A comparison between the Japanese script and the English script can be seen [http://koti.mbnet.fi/goutetsu/misc/doubledragon3_comparison.htm here].

===Text===
{{compare|
leftt=FC|
rightt=NES|
left=[[File:Dd3fc Chin defeated.png]]|
right=[[File:Dd3nes chin defeated.png]]
}}
All of the in-game dialogue are two lines per text box in the FC version (to make room for Japanese [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dakuten dakuten] between lines) and three lines per box in the NES version. Additionally, the FC version always indicates the speaker at the start of each box, while the NES version only does so the first time. When Chin and Ranzou are defeated, their bodies will remain on-screen when they give their losing speech in the FC version. In the NES version, they give their losing speech after they disappear. 

Also Hiruko speaks to the player at the end of the first four missions in the FC version, while in the NES version she only does so at the end of the first and third missions. Additionally, Hiruko has an extra portion of dialogue in the FC version just before she falls into the ground and disintegrates during the penultimate area of Mission 5. However the NES version contains an extra cutscene after Hiruko's death, explaining how she died. 

===Ending===
While the FC version is easier, the ending sequence changes depending on which character survives through the end, unlike the NES version (where the player receives the same ending sequence no matter what). Each playable character has his own epilogue, but in the FC version the only ones that are shown are for characters who are still alive at the end. For example, if Billy and Chin are killed and the player clears the final stage with only Ranzou, then Ranzou's epilogue will be the only one shown. This gives the player an extra incentive to keep all of his characters alive no matter what. This also means that Jimmy's epilogue is never shown in 1P PLAY mode. 

On a related note, when Hiruko dies just before the player reaches final room, her portrait is removed from the game's "Player Select" screen, a detail not present in the NES version. Unlike the NES version, she does not have an epilogue in the FC version, which is instead replaced by an epilogue for the stones themselves. 

{{Double Dragon series}}