I covered the initial announcement of Double Dragon Gaiden a few months back and was overjoyed to have the opportunity to review the newest entry in the Double Dragon series. That review will be coming up in a few weeks so keep an eye out. However, I’d like to give my initial thoughts regarding the game’s first hour of gameplay.

Double Dragon Gaiden: Rise of the Dragons is an old-school arcade beat ’em up game developed by Secret Base. It’s the first game within the series since 2017 and follows martial artists Billy and Jimmy Lee as they battle against the gangs of a post-apocalyptic New York City.

Players are quickly thrown into the action after a short series of cutscenes that establish the core heroes and world. You are able to start the game by taking on any of the four gangs of your choosing and will play through that level using two characters who you can swap between. Double Dragon Gaiden doesn’t seem to do a ton of new things with its combat system, but that’s alright because what is here is immensely satisfying.

Just spending a few minutes with the game I was easily able to start building huge combo chains and had a lot of fun doing so. The basic controls are simple with two attack buttons and a jump. Building up combos fills your special meter which you can then use to swap between fighters or unleash their various special attacks. Using these attacks to KO multiple enemies rewards you with items that restore health or money that can be used to purchase character upgrades.

I enjoy how minimal the tutorial is here as it encourages players to experiment with different inputs to execute different specials. You can look at the moves for each character within menus but if you want to teach yourself it’s nice to have the option. Another aspect I liked in my first hour was the overall presentation and sound design.

The retro sprite work is wonderful with detailed animations for every fighter and most enemies. Hits feel impactful and special moves come out fast without disrupting the flow of combat. I also enjoyed the voice acting, especially the announcer who always punctuates big combos and boss kills with classic callouts reminiscent of Street Fighter. The few musical tracks I’ve heard so far have been solid as well.  The main title theme in particular stood out to me as my favorite thus far.

Character diversity is yet another strong point from the hour I’ve played. Out of the four starting characters, I had the chance to play three of them, the Lee brothers and Uncle Matin. While the Lee brothers are the most similar, each one has subtle differences that will affect your playstyle and help you to master different skills. Matin is a unique grappler character that is both fun to play and difficult to master.

All and all I’m excited to play more of Double Dragon Gaiden. The basic gameplay loop is satisfying and I’m looking forward to learning more characters and fighting the other three bosses. Double Dragon Gaiden: Rise of the Dragons releases July 27th for PC, PS4/5, Nintendo Switch, Xbox Series X/S, and Xbox One.

A PC Preview copy of Double Dragon Gaiden: Rise of the Dragons was provided by Secret Base for this preview 

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