Double Dragon II PC Engine CD alternate stage music by LowPursuit
- Updated and officially released on 11/6/25
As someone who grew up on the NES version, I was never was a huge fan of the music used on this release. So using mostly the Arrange album versions, here is my attempt to rectify that.
Originally uploaded in 2023, I was never happy with that initial version so I didn't really promote it. Thanks to a suggestion by Paranoia Dragon on PC Engine Fans, I used TOC Fixer and while not perfect (see notes below), it's probably as good as it can be.
Included are replacement tracks for the stage music only + credits - tbh the default credit track is fine, but it's there if you want it.
What you need (Windows users only afaik):
* Double Dragon disc or disc image (mine is a bin/cue, not sure if that matters)
* A way to mount CD images if needed (I use Daemon Tools)
* Turborip (currently v1.42)
- https://www.ysutopia.net/forums/index.php?topic=69.0
* Would also suggest downloading TOC Fixer
- https://archive.org/details/toc-fixer-by-nightwolve-squaresoft74-v1.02.-7z
After inserting the (virtual?) game disc:
- Start TurboRip. Use /AUTO when prompted. You may need to allow access to the disc drive if Windows Defender/etc complains
- You should end up with 26 numbered tracks (2 ISOs, the rest WAVs) plus a .CUE and .TOC file
- Replace the tracks you wish to swap out with the ones included in this package
If the cutscene audio is way off, use TOC Fixer on your gamerip. Tested out several emulators, keep reading for my results. tl;dr avoid Mesen but otherwise should be fine
If you wish to contact me, try BlueSky ( @lowpursuit.bsky.social ), Discord ( LowPursuit#0915 ) Twitter/X ( @LowPursuit ), or Tumblr ( lowpursuit )
e-mail is slp3 at GMX dot com
Have fun! Peace
"It's more hard to love than it is to hate" - 0(+>
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Emulators tested:
BizHawk, PCEHawk core - Some minor desync in several scenes, nothing too bad
MedGui Reborn - No issues
Mesen - Couldn't get past title screen
Ootake - Desync towards the end of the cutscene between 4 and 5 but otherwise fine
RetroArch, Beetle PCE core - no issues
Sometimes there will be slight audio glitches at the mission start or during a track looping, they seem kind of random. In retrospect, probably could have edited a couple of these better oh well.
BizHawk sounded almost perfect, some glitching during the Doppelgänger fight but that was it.
If anyone tries on original hardware, please @ me and let me know how it went.
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Notes:
Most of the music is edited from the Arrange album, but a couple of the stages use the NES tunes because the album version sucks
imo. Of note is Mission 6, spent a fair amount of time tweaking that one. Includes some ambience from the arcade original.
Ending theme is an edit of the Arranged version and Brian Davis's amesome DD2 cover. Check out his Bandcamp!
- https://briandavis.bandcamp.com/album/cheat-codes
Also the music from stages 4 & 5 is swapped compared to the NES, but the timing works better this way.
Hid a secret sample in one of the tracks, and no that's not MJ
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Legal:
Not responsible if your house blows up or whatever. It's just some WAV files for god sakes! Chill out. Sure you can handle it. I believe in you!
- END
