Double Dragon Gaiden: Rise of the Dragons

At the time of Double Dragon Gaiden: Rise of the Dragons' release, it had been just over six years since the last instalment of the Lee brothers' franchise, Double Dragon IV in 2017. Despite the time that has passed, this legendary saga, the leader of the beat 'em up games that was so popular in the nineties, refuses to die.

This time, with the permission of Arc System Works (owner of the Double Dragon IP at present), Modus Games has turned to Singapore-based studio Secret Base for the development of this spin-off of the main series. However, it’s not so much another instalment, it simply has Gaiden in the title and basically repeats the story we already know, but with some nuances. They have not limited themselves to just creating an adaptation with gameplay similar to that of other instalments of the franchise; they have also jumped on the bandwagon of roguelike mechanics.

Before delving into what this title has to offer, we should explain the origins of Double Dragon to understand why this is such a high calibre game. Double Dragon was released in 1987 on Arcade. It was developed by Technōs Japan (a company founded by former members of Data East) and established the concepts and ideas that were later followed by other beat 'em up games such as Final Fight or Street of Rage. The game follows the story of two brothers, Billy and Jimmy Lee, in a post-apocalyptic world where street gangs have taken over the cities. We have to rescue Billy's girlfriend, Marian, from the clutches of the Black Warriors, the gang that dominates our city.

This is a beat 'em up with classic 2D gameplay and scrolling in different depths. We have four playable characters to start with: the brothers Billy and Jimmy Lee, with fairly similar and well-balanced handling; Uncle Martin, the heavyweight of the team; and Marian, the damsel in distress from previous instalments who, on this occasion, will be the enemies' nightmare. At the start of the game, we have to choose two characters instead of one and we will be able to play as both characters by swapping them at any time during the game. This opens up a strategic component when it comes to forming a team ready for any kind of situation.

The story is very similar to the original Double Dragon, with some changes such as Marian no longer being the damsel in distress, the appearance of the new character Martin, or that this time it is the mayor who recruits us to face the four gangs that plague the city of New York. There are four levels which we can play in any order we want and then there’s a final level. These four levels become progressively more difficult, with changes not only in the number and strength of our enemies, the rewards or the appearance of minibosses, but also in the length of the level.

The roguelike mechanics are applied in the upgrades section and in the section for acquiring continues and lives. We have an item called a token that will be used to unlock music, images and new playable characters, or to be able to continue if we run out of lives and can't buy more. When we start to play, we will be able to configure several game parameters that will modify the difficulty of the game, and depending on our choices, the cost of the tokens will be higher or lower. It will be up to us if we want to maximise the purchase of tokens or make the game more affordable. With the money we collect, in addition to getting tokens, we can buy lives when we lose our own, although each life is more expensive than the previous one. We can also buy random upgrades between levels.

Aesthetically, the visual change is undeniably the first thing that stands out in this Double Dragon game. There is a rather stark shift away from the franchise's signature style, with a clear inspiration from River City Girls and a more American comic book style. As far as the soundtrack is concerned, we can't complain. The most iconic themes of the franchise are back, remixed for the occasion and just as impressive as they have always been.

Double Dragon Gaiden: Rise of the Dragons is a super interesting beat ‘em up. The roguelike mechanics give a fresh breath of air to such a classic formula, and the new gameplay features, such as the wide range of movements or the fact we have to play with two characters and the opportunities that this provides, make the game a real winner. The artistic change may come as a surprise at first, but we will soon get used to it, and the legendary soundtrack will help put us in the middle of the action.