Double Dragon is a legendary series but it has not had the best run in the last few years. After a successful comeback with Double Dragon Neon, the games that followed were lacking with Double Dragon 2 Wander of the Dragons being a disaster, and Double Dragon IV being far too rooted in the NES days of the series for its own good. With the franchise’s sister series Kunio-kun given to WayForward for the River City Girls games, it was only a matter of time before indie developers got the chance to work on Double Dragon and the results are amazing.
Secret Base, the developers of Streets of Red Devil’s Dare Deluxe were given the chance to make a new Double Dragon game and what we have is very different from a typical beat ’em up. What we have in Double Dragon Gaiden: Rise of the Dragons is a roguelike brawler similar to the developer’s early game, where you will take on various stages in a run to get as far as you can. Even the setup of stages is different here, due to the unique way the levels are handled.
When you first start a run, you will have a choice of stages to choose from, and whatever stage you pick first will be the shortest stage. From there, each stage you pick gets harder and harder, with more sections and sub-bosses added, including Linda and Abbobo coming into the picture. Each stage also has objectives to reach and the further you go, the more objectives you will have.
Combat is handled in an interesting way in Double Dragon Gaiden: Rise of the Dragons, and the Double in the title is well deserved. When playing in single-player mode, you will pick two characters, one primary and one secondary, and will need to tag in each character at the press of a button when the situation calls for it. Each character has their own life bar and meter for use in special attacks, and it is these special attacks that is key to success. Of course, when playing in co-op mode, both players are active at all times and act as primaries so the game will feel very different depending on how you play it.
You will rarely find food to replenish your health just lying around, but that does not mean there is none. Performing hyper moves on more than 3 enemies at a time causes a crowd control action and this brings bonus cash and food. The more enemies you take out, the more cash and the better the food option will appear, encouraging you to do this as often as you can.
Your characters will start out weak but at the end of each section, you will get the chance to use the cash you have earned to buy upgrades, one for each character. This helps the characters get stronger, but you can also choose to buy upgrades that get you more money or just unlock content faster. Each character plays in a unique way as well, with both Lee brothers feeling very different, and Marian and Uncle Matin playing in their own style.
That being said, there are a variety of difficulty options and you can choose to make the game as easy as you want or as hard as you want. On the hardest settings, you will be in for a true challenge, but the rewards will also be significantly greater. This is also a great way to find more replay value, as trying the game again in different difficulty settings will make you look at the game differently.
But this would not be a roguelike without unlockable content and at the end of every run, you can cash out for tokens, or even buy tokens instead of upgrades at the end of sections if that is one of the choices offered. These tokens can unlock content such as gameplay tips, music and artwork, or even just continue the run if you are out of money. But the best unlocks in the game are without a doubt the characters, which is where the meat of the game is.
There is a wide roster of characters to unlock, consisting of bosses and enemies from the franchise and all play very differently from each other, giving the potential for a lot of variety in each playthrough. There are multiple possible team combinations, and the sheer variety of attacks and ways the characters interact with the environment really stand out. It would have been nice if the unlockable characters made a difference story-wise, but this is a small trade-off to have.
There is no other way to say it, other than Double Dragon Gaiden: Rise of the Dragons has some of the best combat seen in a beat ’em up in years. Even when not just using hyper attacks, the moveset of each character is extremely varied, with both subtle and major touches helping to set everyone apart. While some characters do have similar movesets in a general sense, there are small touches that really separate how you handle the character and this is a nice touch often missing from brawlers.
The music is also great, with tunes that call back to classic Double Dragon music, and new music that manages to stand with some of the best. The stages all have their own identity and character to them, and the ways they extend all feel just right. The art style is also well done, calling back to the Secret Base’s earlier title Streets of Red Deluxe, but with some updates to fit better in the Double Dragon style.
Is everything perfect? No, sometimes you can get hit out of a hyper attack and waste your whole meter, and online co-op is not available just yet. Still, these are things that can be lived with and updates will no doubt come to fix things. There is a lot of potential for future content as well in Double Dragon Gaiden: Rise of the Dragons, and there is a solid platform to build on. With how customizable the game already is, there is so much more for this video game ahead.
Ultimately the choice to make this a spinoff title worked best and Double Dragon Gaiden: Rise of the Dragons stands out for how different it is from the rest of the series in a good way, while still keeping with the spirit of the Double Dragon franchise. This is an excellent example of how to revive a series while keeping it fresh and respecting what came before at the same time, by making it a side game so the differences are not an issue. It is very easy to recommend Double Dragon Gaiden: Rise of the Dragons and this is very much a title any Double Dragon fan or any beat ’em up fan in general should definitely check out.
Disclaimer: A review key was provided
