Double Dragon Gaiden Rise of the Dragons is the latest entry in the beat ’em up series which first debuted in 1987 on arcade systems. This title was developed by Secret Base and Modus Games is available on all platforms. This review will focus on the PC version of the game.

I’m a newcomer to the Double Dragon franchise and haven’t played any of the previous games in the series. However, I have played a good amount of games within the arcade beat-em-up genre so I pretty much knew what to expect jumping in. The major story mode takes place in a post-apocalyptic version of New York City.

Anarchy has descended on the streets which are ruled by four distinct gangs: The Killers, The Royals, Osaka Clan, and Triangle Cult. Our heroes are the Lee brothers Jimmy and Billy who are martial artists specializing in the Sosetsukan style. After a short opening cutscene, the brothers decide to take on all the gangs and bring peace to the city along with help from their friends Marian and Uncle Matin.

The story isn’t really the main focus of the game and is more of a background element with very little in terms of characterization. Nonetheless, I feel what’s here does the job well enough with just enough worldbuilding to keep you interested. I’m not coming to this genre for an intense emotional narrative or complex world. Including something along those lines would honestly feel out of place. However, I did enjoy the final twist that the game throws your way in the final act which I won’t spoil here.

The major gameplay loop is typical for the genre. You face hordes of enemies and traverse 2D environments while serving up combos and dishing out special moves galore. You are also able to freely swap between your two main heroes from the starting roster of four characters. In addition, the entire campaign can be played through with a friend as well. At the end of each level, you will encounter a boss who leads one of the four respective gangs. Defeating them will encourage the other gangs to beef up their forces, thus increasing the difficulty as you progress.

Defeating enemies and destroying objects also gives you cash that you can use to buy character upgrades from a pool of random options or revive yourself after the team has been defeated. If you happen to go down with no cash left, your journey will end and you will be forced to restart from the beginning. This is the major Roguelite element of the game, along with the open-ended level selection. Double Dragon Gaiden allows you to take on any of the four major levels in any order you wish, subtly changing events and enemies within the story.

As I mentioned in my preview, the combat is simple but incredibly smooth and satisfying, with every hit accompanied by some stellar sound design. Each character has a multi-hit basic combo and various special moves that can be executed with different directional inputs and button presses. Each character also has a jump attack and most characters also have a grab that can open up throws or different basic combos. However, each character has a wholly unique playstyle and move set. Billy and Jimmy are most similar, but even they have subtle differences. It’s fun to learn each character’s strengths and find team compositions that work best for your playstyle.

Overall, I enjoy the main combat loop of Double Dragon Gaiden, but there are a few issues I’d like to highlight. Ranged weapons are incredibly overpowered, as you can easily stun-lock enemies without fearing getting caught up in counterattacks. This goes for ranged enemies as well. Without any sort of defensive mobility options, there’s not a lot you can do against ranged projectiles. Since most characters rely on getting up close and personal this can lead to some frustrating encounters where you are forced to eat damage and watch your health drain instantly.

This lack of defensive options is also a big problem in later boss encounters. At times there are so many enemies and attacks happening simultaneously that you won’t be able to deliver any sort of consistent damage without being knocked down over and over. This certainly increases the difficulty of the game but not in a way that feels fair. Fortunately, there are adjustable difficulty options if you desire to lessen the challenge or punish yourself with some impossibly tough enemies.

Enemy variety is also somewhat weak. Most are simply reskinned versions across each of the four levels to fit with the appropriate theme. Double Dragon Gaiden tries to make up for that by throwing dozens of goons at you but it still is noticeable. As a result, once you learn the ins and outs of each of the main foes you will barely have to adjust your game plan. Thus, I could see some players quickly growing bored of the combat after fighting through two or so levels.

My final issue is simply the lack of content outside of the main story mode. Though the game technically has endless replay potential, you won’t find much in terms of actual alternative game modes outside of replaying the main levels. Post-game content is also somewhat limited with the main goal being to unlock the rest of the characters. Although that is fun, it would have been a little more interesting to accomplish that through varying game modes or secret levels.

In terms of graphics, there’s nothing but positives for me. The game has a charming retro art style with great animations and sound design that adds lots of personality to enemies, bosses, and playable heroes. Double Dragon Gaiden ran perfectly on my machine with no crashes, frame drops, or other bugs that were encountered.

Music is another strong point. Every level has a unique theme that boasts a good variety of instrumentals and fleshes out the game’s overall setting. I also enjoy how the soundtrack is able to strike a great balance between modern and old-school arcade tones.

I enjoyed my time with Double Dragon Gaiden and think it’s certainly a solid game for the price point, especially if you like the genre. I’m hoping the game will receive some continued support in the form of DLC that can add additional story modes, levels, characters, or other features but even without that, you can definitely have a lot of fun here with a friend or by yourself.

 A PC review copy of Double Dragon Gaiden was provided by Secret Base for this review.  

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Double Dragon Gaiden: Rise of the Dragons

24.99

7.5

Score

7.5/10

Pros

• Snappy, fun combat
• Distinct character play styles
• Retro music and art style

Cons

• Lack of defense options
• Not much enemy variety
• Little post game or game modes