Modus Games has announced that Double Dragon Gaiden: Rise of the Dragons, the latest installment in the classic beat ’em up franchise from developer Secret Base, will be released for PC, Nintendo Switch, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, PlayStation 5, and PlayStation 4 this summer. This appears to be the 15th game in the series, and while it’s been 36 years since Billy and Jimmy Lee’s original adventure, they are back in this one to punch and kick a bunch of people in what sounds like a post-apocalyptic NYC. Players can choose two characters (13 in total) and seamlessly switch between them as part of the game’s tag team system, enabling different moves, while roguelite elements are also there to ensure that each playthrough is unique. Meanwhile, the Double Dragon movie that released in 1994 is still considered by many as the worst video game movie ever made.
Double Dragon Gaiden: Rise of the Dragons Features
- TAG TEAM ACTION – Choose two fighters and seamlessly switch between them, giving you a multitude of strategies for devastating combos, defensive and offensive moves.
- BEAT ‘EM UP WITH ROGUELITE ELEMENTS– Experience endless playthrough possibilities with a dynamic mission select function; the order in which you choose your mission will affect mission length, number of enemies, and overall difficulty. Choose where you improve with randomized purchasable upgrades for your characters at the end of each mission, or save your cash to revive your players in-mission.Â
- 13 UNIQUE PLAYABLE CHARACTERS – Start the fight with Billy, Jimmy, Marian, and Uncle Matin. Earn tokens along the way to unlock a diverse roster of 9 more characters, each with their own playstyle and strengths. Strategically choose your fighting duo by taking into account each characters’ strengths and weaknesses.
- SHAPE YOUR EXPERIENCE AND REWARDS – Adjust game difficulty to affect the amount of tokens earned per session and use those tokens to unlock content from the Token Shop including characters, tips, and more. Modifier can be used to enter permadeath or even infinite mode.
- LOCAL CO-OP – Grab a friend and clean up the city streets together in local co-op mode that supports up to two players.
From a Modus Games press release:
Prepare to throw down the Double Dragon way in this fresh addition to the iconic beat ‘em up franchise. It’s the year 199X, and nuclear war has devastated New York City leaving its citizens to fight for survival as riots and crime engulf the streets. The city has been overtaken by criminal gangs who terrorize its ruins as they fight for total dominance. Unwilling to endure these conditions any longer, young Billy and Jimmy Lee take it upon themselves to drive the gangs out of their city.
Explore the early beginnings of the young Double Dragon brothers as they take on both new and familiar enemies in this alternate story. In this fresh roguelite take, every playthrough is brand new chance at new action. Featuring a unique and dynamic level structure, the difficulty of the missions you take on will change depending on the order you have selected them.
Tag in and out as the classic duo Billy and Jimmy, switch it up with Marian and Uncle Matin, or experiment with 9 additional unlockable characters, each with their own special moves and unique playstyles. With 2 player local co-op, the action quadruples as you and a friend clean up the mean streets.
Discussion (4 replies)
Join Discussion →It hasn't been 36 years since their last game:
[URL unfurl="true"]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Double_Dragon_Neon[/URL] (this game sucked)
[URL unfurl="true"]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Double_Dragon_IV[/URL] (this game was okay)
EDIT:
Whoops, I misread. I read it as "while it's been 36 years since Billy and Jimmy Lee's last adventure" but it's actually written as "while it's been 36 years since Billy and Jimmy Lee's original adventure". My bad.
Still though, 36 years, wow.
It's just a reminder of something I was mentioning in another thread recently in that many of us here are a part of those first generations that got into gaming either through consoles or PC. I knew folks in their 30s-40s when I was a kid who introduced me to some of the first text adventures, and text-based games (Telengard, Scott Adams, Hunt the Wumpus anyone?) and such but once we got to actual "video" games it was the start of everything that exists now.
It's really weird to me to run into people who didn't start gaming until 5th-gen (or the equivalent time period on PC) or after. Now there are adults who said they were playing DS and PS2 and sh1t when they were kids, and I'm like "WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT!" That seems really late to me.
Yeah in the 80s I was playing Atari 2600 then moved over to NES by the time the 90s rolled around, and that's when I my life shifted to focus mainly on video games. And while I didn't start PC gaming in my own home until the mid-to-late 90s, I was always playing PC games at other friends' houses well before then. It was the late 90s when I switched my focus from console to PC, but I've still stuck with consoles ever since. We'll see if 9th-gen is the first generation since 2nd-gen that I end up skipping a console generation. It's crazy that there have been 9 generations of video games, and I've participated in all but the first one. It's still a major goal of mine to play Spacewar! on the original hardware (DEC's PDP-1 computer).
Can't say I'm a huge fan of the new art style - too much River City Ransom. I would've preferred something more gritty or closer to Streets of Rage IV.
Gameplay-wise it sounds good, I like the fusion of Roguelite elements into the beat 'em up. Not sure about only 2 player coop (if I read that right), feels like 4 should be the minimum for these beat 'em ups.