Double Dragon Gaiden: Rise of the Dragons enriches the feel of classic beat 'em ups. The basics are supplemented with modern sensibilities that sprinkle in some variety but perhaps not enough longevity for players drawn in by its "roguelite" branding.
Double Dragon Gaiden: Rise of the Dragons didn’t entrance me the same way 2012’s Double Dragon Neon did. And that’s okay.
Coming in the midst of new beat ’em treasures like Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge and Streets of Rage 4, Double Dragon Gaiden has a lot to prove. Does developer Secret Base buckle down on old-school sensibilities with a polish of high-definition visuals, pepper in aspects of new genre’s, or attempt to reinvent the license?
What I loved about Double Dragon Neon was that it took a game that I played a lot as a kid–one I frequently struggled with–and made it weird and approachable. Using an incredible art style, a devotion towards 80s nostalgia, some goofy humor, and an interesting upgrade system, WayForward Games did Double Dragon differently but they also did it right.
Secret Base pushes Double Dragon Gaiden towards a similar path. Using stylized pixel art and introducing roguelite sensibilities, players will find touches of the modern infused in their classically-trained beat ’em up.
Much like those older games meant to gorge on your quarters, Double Dragon Gaiden loses steam only when players feel like they’ve seen and done everything and are comfortable putting it down. A lack of meaningful “endgame” content strips some lasting power but the moment-to-moment gameplay proves enjoyable enough out the gate.
The iconic Double Dragon theme bursts through the door when you start Double Dragon Gaiden. It flooded me with memories of janky platforming, crunchy sound effects, Abobo, glitching up a wall, getting stun-locked, and lots of dying. Why is this game remembered as much as it is? Maybe it’s because I only ever owned the NES version and didn’t play the game in arcades. Oh well. My young brain still eked out as much enjoyment from the game as I could.
Double Dragon Gaiden pits brothers Billy and Jimmy Lee, frequent damsel-in-distress Marian, and Uncle Matin against four gangs in 199X that have taken over New York City since nuclear war ravaged the metropolis. And after that, the story matters very little but definitely made me think about that Double Dragon movie with The Chairman from Iron Chef and Robert Patrick.
Players choose two of the four starting heroes and then opt which of the four gangs they want to take down first. Because I felt like Billy and Jimmy had their time in the spotlight I went with Marian and Uncle Matin. Marian came equipped with a gun that could hit enemies from any distance, while Matin used his bulk and shield to grapple and throw baddies. I’m not going to lie, Marian for several stages felt like the secret cheat code of Double Dragon Gaiden.
You see, Secret Base injected the game with a number of interesting mechanics meant to provide players with as much variety in a genre that doesn’t handle being played for long stretches of time. Before starting a run, players can choose modifiers that will adjust the difficulty of the game but influence how their coins earned will convert into tokens. Enemy aggression, player and enemy health, revive cost, and more could be altered. Harder settings meant a better exchange rate for tokens.
What are tokens used for? Primarily for unlocks in the main menu. Players can use them to unlock art, music, game tips, and new playable characters. Guess which one of those is most appealing? And yeah, it’s really strange that the game rewards you with the privilege to buy tips, some of which are pretty damn obvious. Not to jump ahead but the unlockable characters in Double Dragon Gaiden are actually quite amazing and not palette swaps but have their own moves and style, meaning that if the game sinks its teeth in you will want to try them all out.
My initial playthrough of the game I opted for a medium-ish difficulty that made enemies aggressive but not too healthy and bumped up the cost of revives a bit because I definitely didn’t want to do permadeath. I chose a random gang and was off! I blasted through the level and its boss in a matter of minutes.
Success felt well-earned. Marian was a beast with her long-range attacks and I could stand at a good distance from most enemies before they got close. But Double Dragon Gaiden also features a mechanic that is probably meant to be abused in the form of crowd control special KOs. By killing three or more enemies at once with a special move, players are rewarded with health drops. One of Marian’s special moves is a rocket launcher with massive splash. Let me tell you, for a massive chunk of the game I was getting hamburgers and turkeys dropped for me like it was Thanksgiving at Burger King. Getting these crowd control KOs feels rewarding because the game pauses for a second and announces it in a flashy way.
Fighting in Double Dragon Gaiden is responsive and fluid, not chunky like the old times. There are extremely simple directional combos players can pull off to execute special moves. Marian could also lay down a trip mine that sucks in enemies that got near it. Uncle Matin could charge with his shield or body slam gang members. Specials can be performed when the special meter has filled up, which is constantly charging through taking and dealing damage. A basic attack button performs all the melee hits, keeping things simple. An action button that performs a move unique to each character is primarily used for utility. Marian had a dodge-roll and Matin had a grab. Neither of them could grab dropped weapons like Billy and Jimmy, completely stripping my first playthrough of one mechanic.
Having different characters capable of slightly different playstyles is one way Secret Base extends the life of Double Dragon Gaiden. The initial four fighters are very capable have their own skill ceilings. This is complimented by the ability to tap in your teammate with a trigger pull. Players can use this to escape from a hairy situation or further extend combos. Maybe the partner can get some health drops to get your main back to full.
At the end of each level, players can spend earned coins to purchase incremental upgrades to either character. These upgrades usually go towards extending the damage and capabilities of special attacks or supplementing a character’s core strengths. Options also exist to waste an upgrade to earn tokens or receive a lump sum of cash.
Once the boss of the first gang is defeated, the other three decide to buff their defenses. This means that the second level will feature more enemies, more stages, and more bosses. Eventually when players get to the fourth gang, the level will be a sprawling group of individual stages and maps, culminating in the strongest version of the boss. I loved how Double Dragon Gaiden created this gauntlet of endurance that was definitely unexpected the first time. But it also made me curious what each gang would be like through each subsequent power level. After all four gangs are defeated, players have the option to get a mass coin reward or complete one last challenge that builds towards a boss rush.
Marian’s strengths got me through all five “levels” on my first try. We fought through a mall, a junkyard, a pyramid, a skyscraper, and about every other classic video game locale. It wasn’t easy though.
When players reach the third gang, I would argue the difficulty begins to ramp up if you’ve tuned Double Dragon Gaiden‘s challenge appropriately to your skill level. Eventually, the deluge of enemies is going to result in moments that are perfect for crowd control KOs but also times where players get stun-locked. Melee attacks are usually not bad to dodge and a large portion of enemies can be taken down in a few hits. However, there are enemy combinations that can be deadly. Thrown weapons and fast enemies can take advantage of your panic.
Stage hazards start becoming more frequent, whether they are holes to fall into or spikes to trip over. Platforming around these obstacles isn’t great and can put a spotlight on the game’s imperfect jumping and slower movement speed. And let’s be honest, it doesn’t feel great to be trapped in enemy attacks, tag in your partner, and have them fall into the trap as well.
Strategy does exist in Double Dragon Gaiden, especially when you begin to respect the upgrade system and which beefier gangs you want to avoid. But once you master that system, what’s really left?
After defeating the actual final boss of the game, all my coins were converted to tokens. I can’t remember how many I had but it was enough to unlock the most expensive character (which I think was at least 50 tokens if not more) but instead I unlocked four other characters, represented as this game’s bosses or other noteworthy characters from the series’ past. I thought about spending tokens on a piece of art or music, maybe unlock a cheap tip. But I realized those things wouldn’t spice up the gameplay at all.
Instead, I immediately went back into the game, raised up the difficulty and started a run with two different characters. This time, I decided to start with the Anubis gang, who I saved for last with Marian and was met with spike traps and a crazy otherworldly boss fight, this time with less stages it would be significantly easier, at least at first.
But I had just been playing for about an hour and a half. I made hundreds of thugs explode (without any blood, naturally). Had been met with an infrequent variety of enemies. Enjoyed the responsiveness of the controls and the wall-to-wall sound design that enhanced it all. I thought about the gorgeous art from Double Dragon Neon and wished the sprites in Double Dragon Gaiden were more expressive like Scott Pilgrim vs. The World: The Game. And I thought about the fun I had just had.
I was good for the moment.
Double Dragon Gaiden: Rise of the Dragons is missing a little zest, something extra. When I dived back in after that first run, the fun and the warts and all were still there. Combat was a blast and my newly unlocked characters asked me to play the game in a different way and tackle its gauntlet of gangs in a different order. And much like the classic Double Dragon with its handful of stages, that’s eventually all that would become of it. Maybe the game needs permanent unlockable buffs, more levels, better ways to spend tokens, and more ways to tweak the difficulty. All games must run their course and, depending on who you are, Double Dragon Gaiden: Rise of the Dragons will be a long ride or a short one. Thankfully either imperfect journey is still fun.
