Double Dragon IV (ダブルドラゴン Ⅳ Daburu Doragon Ⅳ) is a beat 'em up video game in the Double Dragon series developed and published by Arc System Works, and released on January 2017 for the PlayStation 4 and PC (Microsoft Windows), and on September 7 2017 on the Nintendo Switch.
Double Dragon IV was followed up in 2023 with the release of Double Dragon Gaiden: Rise of the Dragons.
Plot[]
After the defeat of the Black Warriors in Double Dragon II, Billy and Jimmy Lee look to spread their Sōsetsuken martial art by establishing dojos around the country. However, they soon face a new threat in a gang called "The Renegades", who have teamed up with the Black Warriors to put an end to Billy and Jimmy once and for all.
In addition to helping reestablish the Double Dragon canon, the new official website also goes over some of the game modes and features of Double Dragon IV.
While on a trip to San Francisco, the Lee brothers are attacked. They beat up the attackers, including Burnov, who tells them he was hired by Jake of the Renegades. They fight through more thugs and see Jake getting away in a chopper. They follow him on a truck and take down more guys, including Mason, who tells them Jake killed Willy and took over the West Coast. And by defeating Willy, the brothers unknowingly allowed it to happen. After a truck ride, they take down Jake at his casino where he informs them Marian has been captured. The brothers beat the information out of Cody to find that the Okada Sisters, who own the company that rules over Japan, have taken Marian to Japan. As the brothers take a ship to Japan, the Okada Sisters, Casey and Shannon, tell Marian they plan to take over America after beating Billy and Jimmy. Its also revealed their family was slaughtered for being weak and Casey is obsessed with strength. After landing in Japan, The Lees take down more Renegades and use a motorbike they took from them to get to the Okada Tower. After fighting to the top of the tower, Shannon Okada escapes in a chopper and the brothers beat information out of Rowper. Following his tip, they go to Rinka Kabukicho and beat up the sumo Kodani. He tells them to go to the castle in Odawara. At the castle, they fight Ashida who takes them to the sisters private villa once defeated. At the villa, the sisters drop the Lee brothers down a trap door to the basement. They fight their way out and save Marian, who tells them the sisters went to the bridge of the gods. The Lee brothers go after them and beat them down. Defeated, Casey urges the brothers to finish her but the brothers tell her they don't kill. She wonders if she can go on living and her sister tells her she's the strongest woman she knows. The Lees tell her they also have weaknesses but use their martial art to overcome them. Hearing this, Casey wonders if she can start over and the brothers tell her that she is on the right path.
Gameplay[]
In addition to the Story mode, Double Dragon IV features a two-player Duel mode and a Tower Battle mode. Duel mode turns gameplay into a fighting game, with new characters being unlocked by playing through the story. In Tower Battle, the player must clear rooms of enemies to climb the tower, unlocking new characters to play as along the way.
Characters[]
image: http://gematsu.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/Double-Dragon-IV_01-20-17_013.png
The successor of the Sōsetsuken technique, and a master of his craft. Billy currently works as an instructor with his brother Jimmy at Sōsetsuken dojos.
image: http://gematsu.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/Double-Dragon-IV_01-20-17_014.png
Billy’s older brother. Jimmy works to preserve peace by building Sōsetsuken dojos all across the US.
image: http://gematsu.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/Double-Dragon-IV_01-20-17_015.png
A body-building, tank top-wearing character. Also has a strong fear of spiders and cockroaches.
image: http://gematsu.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/Double-Dragon-IV_01-20-17_016.png
A rugged character wearing a vest with no shirt underneath. A weapon collector who excels at throwing weapons.
image: http://gematsu.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/Double-Dragon-IV_01-20-17_017.png
An enemy character who uses Kung Fu. Especially skilled at spin kicks, slides, and other leg attacks.
image: http://gematsu.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/Double-Dragon-IV_01-20-17_018.png
A leotard-clad female with a fine feminine figure. Enjoys bullying men.
image: http://gematsu.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/Double-Dragon-IV_01-20-17_019.png
A buff macho man. Honed his tackle technique by playing football. His hobbies are singing and dancing.
image: http://gematsu.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/Double-Dragon-IV_01-20-17_020.png
An enemy whose movements are so quick they make opponents dizzy. A master of Chinese Kenpo whose jump attack catches opponents off-guard.
image: http://gematsu.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/Double-Dragon-IV_01-20-17_021.png
A former underground wrestling heavyweight champion and a giant at 400lbs. (including his armor). Loves everything manly.
Linda (Mohawk)
image: http://gematsu.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/Double-Dragon-IV_01-20-17_022.png
A leotard-clad female, now with a stylish mohawk hairdo. Skilled at elbow attacks.
image: http://gematsu.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/Double-Dragon-IV_01-20-17_023.png
A bald enemy character. A lackey for the Renegades who can dash to quickly close a gap and attack.
image: http://gematsu.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/Double-Dragon-IV_01-20-17_024.png
A masked enemy character. A lackey for the Renegades
image: http://gematsu.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/Double-Dragon-IV_01-20-17_025.png
An enemy character dressed in a karate gi. Excels at jump attacks. His special attack is a jumping chop.
image: http://gematsu.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/Double-Dragon-IV_01-20-17_026.png
An enemy character similar to Yamazaki. Excels at combo attacks. He is worried about his receding hairline.
image: http://gematsu.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/Double-Dragon-IV_01-20-17_027.png
A ninja hired by the Renegades. Moves quickly and has many ninja tools at her disposal, like shuriken and smoke bombs.
?????
image: http://gematsu.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/Double-Dragon-IV_01-20-17_028.png
Jake The leader of the Renegades, a gang that took over the West Coast after killing Willy Mackey.
Kodani A Sumo who is fought at Rinka Kabukicho.
Ashida A martial artist with a special attack. He is fought in the Castle in Odawara.
Shannon Okada Casey's sister who questions her methods. Their family was slaughtered for being weak.
Casey Okada One of the Okada Sisters. She plans to take down the Lee brothers and then take over America
Stages[]
| Mission | Name | Boss | Music |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Desert A | Burnov | "Desert" and "Boss A" |
| 2 | The Desert B | Abobo and Chin Taimei | "Desert" |
| 3 | The Highway | Abobo (×2) | "High Way" |
| 4 | The Beach | Jake, Burnov, and Abobo | "Beach" and "Boss B" |
| 5 | The Slum | Burnov, Chin Taimei (×2), and Right Arm | "Slum" |
| 6 | The Harbor | Mibobo and Burnov (×2) | "Desert" and "Boss B" |
| 7 | Japan | Green Yamazaki (×2) | "Japan" |
| 8 | Okada Tower | Jake | "High Way", "Boss A", and "Okada" |
| 9 | The Pub | Kodani | "High Way" and "Sumo" |
| 10 | The Castle | Ashida | "Japan", "Slum", "Sumo", and "Ashida" |
| 11 | The Villa | None | "Okada" and "Castle" |
| 12 | The Bridge | Okada sisters (Casey and Shannon), Jake, and Kodani | "Ashida" and "Double Dragon Theme" |
Development[]
Unlike earlier games in the series, this sequel was developed by Arc System Works,[1] who bought the series rights in June 2015.[2] Several series developers continued to the project, including the original director, character designer, composer, and programmer. The game was announced in late December 2016 via a gameplay trailer.[3] GameSpot had expected a graphical update, similar to Double Dragon Neon, but the new sequel's gameplay and graphics are more akin to the ports made for the Nintendo Entertainment System, with several character sprites taken directly from those titles.[4] The new website provides scant Double Dragon IV story hints. Both Billy and Jimmy returned along with plenty of the memorable Black Warriors enemy types. There don’t appear to be any alternative protagonists like Chin Seimei and Yagyu Ranzou in Double Dragon III, but there is an image with dialogue teasing Billy and Jimmy traveling to San Francisco.
In addition to helping reestablish the Double Dragon canon, the new official website also goes over some of the game modes and features of Double Dragon IV. Story Mode is a given, but Double Dragon IV also features both Duel Mode and Tower Mode. Duel Mode turns Double Dragon into a fighting game, with new characters being unlocked by playing through the story – including the bulky, bald, behemoth Abobo. Tower Mode is as it sounds: defeat rooms of enemies to climb the tower, unlocking new characters to play as along the way.
The game was published on January 30, 2017, for PlayStation 4 and January 31 for Microsoft Windows, with the Nintendo Switch version being released digitally on September 7.[5] The title later received a limited physical release for the PlayStation 4 on December 8 the same year,[6] and on 2022 on Nintendo Switch by Limited Run Games.[7]
Credits[]
- Director: Yoshihisa Kishimoto
- Producer: Takaomi Kaneko
- Programming: Kei Oyama
- Character Design: Koji Ogata
- Music: Kazunaka Yamane
References[]
- ↑ "『ダブルドラゴン Ⅳ』(PlayStation®4ダウンロード専用ソフト/STEAM) 配信決定！！" at Arc System Works (December 26, 2016) (Japanese)
- ↑ "Arc System Works Acquires Property Rights of “Double Dragon”, “Super Dodge Ball”, “Kunio-kun” series from Million Co, Ltd" at Arc System Works (June 12, 2015)
- ↑ Double Dragon IV Officially Announced for PC, PS4 by Brandon Orselli at Niche Gamer (December 26, 2016)
- ↑ "Double Dragon 4's Gameplay Looks Unbelievably Old School" by Justin Haywald at GameSpot (December 26, 2016)
- ↑ "Nintendo Switchダウンロードソフト『ダブルドラゴン Ⅳ』2017年9月7日（木）配信決定！！" at Arc System Works (August 28, 2017) (Japanese)
- ↑ "NEWS Get ready to brawl with Limited Run Games’ releases of Double Dragon IV and River City Melee this week " by Elisha Deogracias at Gaming Trend (December 5, 2017)
- ↑ "Limited Run Announces Two Double Dragon Physical Releases For Switch" by Liam Doolan at Nintendo Life (May 22, 2021)
External links[]
- Double Dragon IV at Arc System Works
- Double Dragon IV at Arc System Works (Japan)
- Double Dragon IV at MobyGames
- Double Dragon IV (Classic Edition) at MobyGames
- Double Dragon IV at Hardcore Gaming 101
- Double Dragon IV at GameFAQs