Despite being one of the elder statesmen of the beat ‘em up genre, the Double Dragon series doesn’t quite have the same level of recognition as the likes of Final Fight or Streets of Rage. Double Dragon Neon was enjoyed by a lot of people, but that came out a decade ago, and fans of the series have been waiting patiently for a proper new entry in the series. After getting some time with the Double Dragon Gaiden: Rise Of The Dragons, this could be a new highlight for the franchise — but it might not be for everyone.
Diving headfirst into the weird world of Double Dragon, DDG: Rise Of The Dragons is set in the far-flung future of 199X, with New York City having been devastated by nuclear war. Four rival gangs rule the entire city, and with nowhere else to turn, the citizens look towards martial arts experts Billy and Jimmy Lee to take down the violent thugs. Teaming up with longtime girlfriend Marian, who’s finally become her own playable character, alongside newcomer Uncle Matin, you’ll take to the streets to exact your own justice.
The gameplay is as you’d expect from a beat ’em up, with players battering their way through hordes of goons before reaching a boss at the end. There’s your basic “mash X” combo, along with special moves on Y that can be used to end combos and deal massive damage. So far, so standard, but there’s a few key gimmicks and ideas in Double Dragon Gaiden: Rise Of The Dragons that help set the game apart from other games in the genre, including its tag mechanics and the roguelike structure of its levels, giving players more choice about how they want to progress.
Players pick two of the characters, and can switch between them whenever your special gauge is full. It’s mostly used during combos or when you’re being attacked by enemies, allowing you to turn the tables on your attackers. As it stands, you could just stick with one character and only switch between the two once their health gets low, but expert players will be able to get a lot of value out of switching between both characters and decimating the nefarious forces standing in your way.
That special gauge also governs special moves, obviously, with players only able to use special moves when the gauge is full, but you can chain different special moves together when you do so to deal maximum damage. As an additional bonus, KO’ing three or more enemies with a special move triggers a Crowd Control bonus, spawning a healing item for your trouble. In a genre where healing items are the most valuable and sometimes rarest items, having a reliable way to keep your health topped up is great, and you’ll need it when the game starts throwing massive waves of enemies at you.
The other gimmick that sets Double Dragon Gaiden: Rise Of The Dragons apart from other beat ‘em ups is the roguelike nature of the game’s campaign. Players are given the choice between one of four levels, one for each of the four gangs. Once you pick a level and complete it, you’ll be able to buy from some random upgrades, but the other levels will now fortify against you. The three remaining levels will now be twice as long, with tougher enemies and more rewards, with the cycle repeating until all four levels are complete.
It adds a bit more strategy to the gameplay, as each level also offers its own bosses and randomised challenges, so players can choose based on whether they want to focus on easier to complete challenges and earn more money, or get more problematic bosses out of the way first before they have the potential to kill a run later on. As a system, it’s fairly unique and allows the campaign to have some replayability before it gets a bit samey, but some players would likely prefer the game to have a more linear progression instead, or more control over what moves and stats can be upgraded.
Whether the replayability will be enough to last will have to remain to be seen once the full build goes live, but Double Dragon Gaiden: Rise Of The Dragons certainly delivers when it comes to the gameplay. If you’re looking for a great beat ‘em up to play, either by yourself or with a friend locally, there’s plenty to enjoy here.
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