Double Dragon Gaiden: Rise of the Dragons

Double Dragon Gaiden: Rise of the Dragons (ダブルドラゴン外伝 ライズ・オブ・ザ・ドラゴン, Daburu Doragon Gaiden: Raizu obu za Doragon^?, "Double Dragon Gaiden: Rise of the Dragon") is a roguelike beat 'em up video game, spin-off of the Double Dragon series, developed by Secret Base under license of Arc System Works and published by Modus Games. Double Dragon Gaiden was released on July 27, 2023 for most current generation platforms,^[1] including PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, Nintendo Switch, and PC via Steam.^[2] The game was then released in Japan on September 14 for PlayStation 5 and Nintendo Switch.

A free downloadable expansion, "Sacred Reunion", was released on April 4, 2024.^[3]

Plot[]

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.

—Description from the official website

Gameplay[]

Double Dragon Gaiden: Rise of the Dragons is a beat 'em up video game that incorporates roguelike elements to its gameplay. At the beginning of the game, the player has to select two different characters to play with from an initial roster that includes Billy Lee, Jimmy Lee, Marian and Uncle Matin. The player can freely switch between these two characters during the course of a mission, allowing them to develop diverse strategies and combos to fight against their enemies. The game features a local co-op mode where up to two players can join in simultaneous cooperative gameplay.

The game features a dynamic mission select function, where the order in which the missions are selected will affect their length, number of enemies, and overall difficulty. A shop list is accessed at the end of each mission, where the player can spend their earned cash to purchase upgrades for their characters. These upgrades are randomized each time, making each playthrough unique. Additionally, cash can be used to revive downed players during ongoing missions. A Modifier option is also available to enable permadeath or even infinite mode.

Tokens are earned as the player advances through the game, as well as converted through remaining cash at the end of the game, which can be spent in the "Token Shop" to purchase new playable characters, gameplay tips, etc. The game's difficulty setting can be adjusted to affect the amount of tokens that are earned per session. Up to nine more playable characters can be unlocked this way, for a total of 13, each with their own strengths and gameplay styles. If the player is defeated, they get to choose two characters again upon continue, taking into account the dangers and obstacles presented on following stages, with certain characters being able to overcome their difficulties more easily.

Playable characters[]

Main characters[] Billy Lee Jimmy Lee Marian Uncle Matin DLC characters[] Yagyu Ranzou Sonny Lee Chin Sei Mei

Unlockable characters[] Abobo Burnov Chin Tai Mei Linda Willy Duke Anubis Lady Okada "The Mayor"

Enemies[]

Bosses[] Willy (Killers leader) Duke (Royals leader) Anubis (Triangle leader) Lady Okada (Okada Clan leader) "The Mayor" (final boss) Mid-bosses[] Abobo Burnov Chin Tai Mei Linda

Minions[] Common M Common F Fighters Pounders Slashers Muscles Sledgehammers Animals Robots Dual Uzi

Mission Select[]

There is a selection of four missions that can be played in any order. After completing them all, the Town Hall will become accessible if the player(s) chooses not to accept the Mayor's offer to join him.

Stage Name	Mid-boss	Boss
Killer's Fortress	Abobo	Willy
Royals' Hideout	Chin Taimei	Duke
Triangle's Junkyard	Burnov	Anubis
Okada Clan Headquarters	Linda	Lady Okada
Town Hall	Willy Duke Anubis Lady Okada	"The Mayor"

Development[]

Double Dragon Gaiden: Rise of the Dragons was first announced on May 3, 2023.^[4] An official website was made available the same day, featuring screenshots, in-game features, and gameplay footage.^[5]

Double Dragon Gaiden had been in the works for three and a half years. According to a June 26 interview that Siliconera conducted with Secret Base founder Raymond Teo,^[6] Arc System Works contacted him somewhere between 2014 to 2015 when they were looking into publishing his parody beat 'em up, Devil's Dare. Because the game already had a publisher for the console version, they were unable to work together. Four years later, a new publisher was found to re-release the title as Streets of Red: Devil's Dare Deluxe for the Nintendo Switch, bringing much needed success for Secret Base. After the release of Double Dragon IV in 2017, Teo used a mock-up video of the game design and artstyle to pitch an idea to Arc System Works for a brand new entry in the series. The two sides spent another year of discussing and studying the material of the IP before they finally gave the green light in late 2019. The game's development was influenced by all the previous Double Dragon games, as well as various movies, comics and animated shows.

A third trailer was released on June 29,^[7] showcasing the game's roguelike mechanics, fighting maneuvers, Token shop, and unlockable characters.^[8][9] A ten minute video of gameplay was shown on July 10, with Mike from publisher Modus Games giving an overview on the Okada Clan Headquarter mission.^[10] Another trailer was posted the next day that spotlighted both the main cast and some of the unlockable fighters, with Modus also providing character bios detailing their backstories and combat specialties.^[11]

One week after the game's launch, Teo revealed plans in an interview with Retro Gamer (Issue 249) to incorporate an online co-op mode for a future update.^[12]

Sacred Reunion[]

On March 15, 2024, a free DLC pack entitled "Sacred Reunion" was advertised for an April 4 release,^[13] promoting a trailer that teased Yagyu Ranzou being one of three new characters, two new modes (Survivor and Versus), the aforementioned online co-op, and other new upgrades.^[14] Three days later, Teo unveiled Sonny Lee as another playable character for the DLC pack.^[15] This was followed up on March 27 when Chin Sei Mei was finally revealed for the last trailer.^[16]

Credits[]

Developed by Secret Base[] Creative Director & Producer: Raymond Teo (张奕权) Lead Programmer: Tan Sian Yue Junior Game Designer: Rey Koh Wei Jie Junior Level Integrator: Nicholas Ng Ming Hao Mastering Engineer: Arman Aspromonti (R Man) Voice Director: Jacob Browning Animator: Luis Peche QA Tester: Hansen Chew Art Team[] Animators: Zhang Shu Ming, Raul VitorDaim, Vaughn Angelo M. Garcia, Isair Soberanis, Yusuke Nakataka, James Mitchell Weisbecker, and Josue Pecha Concept Artist: Chan Ying Hol Portrait Artists: Daniel Sanford, Steven La, and Daniel Tafur Vásquez General Artist: Dessaint Romaric Background Artists: Victor Athayde (Tic), Thomas Jean-Pierre, and Zulqernein Salehin Overworld: Kervyn Stott Concept/Sketch: Adcel M. Villanueva and Naoki Ichiryu Trailer Sketch: Shahidah Shukoor Cutscene: David Spencer and Daniel Hernandez BGM Arrangement[] Menu: Sophie Song Cutscene: Sophie Song and Douibyorthst (credited as Douibyorthst) Title Song: Cosmic Gem (credited as Cosmic Gem) and R-Man (credited as R-Man) Boss Fight: Connor Tovey Gang: Killers & Mayor: Cosmic Gem (credited as Cosmic Gem) Victory: Douibyorthst (credited as Douibyorthst) Gang: Royal & Okada: R-Man (credited as R-Man) Gang: Triangle: Simon Peltola and Jonny Ikonen Unused: Title Electro Remix: Douibyorthst (credited as Douibyorthst) Unused: City Slum Accapella: Art Hawk

Porting & Network Development by Initory Studios[] Game Designers: 王兴琛 and 宣程浩 Producer: 李建新 Programmers: 郭本宁, 武海强, 將宝峰, and 伊作宇 Testers: 祁会杰 and 唐雨 Translators[] Main Translation: Keywords Studios Chinese Simplified & Traditional: Joystick IP Services Portuguese: Ricardo Douglas da Silva Chinese Draft: Will Zheng Modus Games, LLC[] CFO: Thierry Bonnefoi CEO: Christina Seelye President: Shane Bierwith Executive VP of Production: Derek Neal Global Studios Director: Bruce Hayles Producer: Jared Neal Senior Release Manager: Franziska Richter Associate Release Manager: Daniel Baron Content Coordinator: Paxton Wright Business Development Manager: Stefan Metaxa QA Lead - Internal: Kyle Smith Director of Marketing: Tristan Corbett Assistant Brand Manager: Deisy Ochoa Mendoza Director of Communications: Joscelyn Willett Director of IT: Trevor Seelye Director of Creative Services: Ryan Young Director of People: Emily Shepherd Office Manager: Alicia Gomez Digital Sales Manager: Kirill Borisov Joystick & Neogamer[] Joystick & Neogamer: Qi Lu, Denny Wang, Joe Zhang, Jing Lu, Stanly Liu and Hang Qiu Special Thanks[] Special Thanks: Takaomi Kaneko, Makoto Ito, Jonathan Bouquet, Zack Tan, All staff at Arc System Works, and thank you for playing!

Voice Actors[]

Billy Lee & Sonny Lee: Eddy Yeung Jimmy Lee & Yagyu Ranzou: Jacob Browning Marian: Amanda R. Gish Uncle Matin: Gary Scales Linda: Katelyn Barr Abobo: Paul Greene-Dennis Chin Tai Mei & Chin Sei Mei: Alex Mai Burnov: Ethan Gallardo Willy: Andrew Boa Duke: Michael A. Zekas Anubis: Eli Farmer

Lady Okada: Nicole Endicott Mysterious Warrior: Jacob Browning Minion: Fighters: T.J. Anthony Minion: Pounders: Logan Raposo Minion: Slashers: Gabby Raedisch Minion: Common F: Sam Slade Minion: Common M & Dual Uzi: Jonny Kaufmann Minion: Muscles: Freddie Heinz Minion: Animals & Robots: Jacob Browning Announcer: Michael A. Zekas Minion: Sledgehammer: Bradley Gareth

Reception[]

Double Dragon Gaiden: Rise of the Dragons got a mixture of good to average reviews from media outlets. Jarrett Green of IGN scored the PlayStation 5 version 7 out of 10, commending the tag combat and roster of diverse characters while finding some fault with the execution in platforming, roguelike elements, and the final stretch of the game. In his final verdict, he wrote, "It is very easy to have a good time playing a few runs of Double Dragon Gaiden: Rise of the Dragons roguelike gauntlet of four levels and bosses. Jumping in and learning its satisfyingly punchy combat and long list of fun and unique playable characters that you can tag in for combos turns a somewhat shallow pond of an early game experience into an impressive lake of collaborative combat options. But things got a little too repetitive and frustrating before I even got my first clear thanks to the shallow enemy pool, few game-changing upgrades, a brutal difficulty spike if you choose to save the wrong boss for last, and lack of worthwhile unlockables to chase outside of new fighters."^[17]

Marcus Stewart from Game Informer gave the Nintendo Switch port a 7.25 out of 10, finding the combat to be adequate and most rewarding when defeating multiple foes at once. However, he found the late levels designs, stage hazards, and offscreen attacks from enemies to be frustrating. For his conclusion, he noted, "Double Dragon Gaiden: Rise of the Dragons has some aggravating design choices that prevent it from reaching the heights of similar comebacks like TMNT or newcomers like Young Souls, but this is a respectable return for the Lee brothers. If you’re hankering to punch goons in the face, a good time can be had as long as you bring a measure of patience. "^[18] Nintendo Life's Tom Massey scored with 7 out of 10, applauding the tag feature, graphical art style, remixed soundtrack, and broad move set. For the cons, he thought the game still lacked a bit compared to its predecessors, feeling that the roguelike aspect was oversold in the marketing. He also saw divisiveness in the cash system, and questioned the replayability factor. At the end of his write up, he says, "It’s a game that has secrets to uncover, twists to happen upon, and plenty of cash grinding and unlocking to do. While initially fun to work through, how many times you’ll feel encouraged to replay the campaign is questionable, especially with its overall pacing and neutered thrill of brutally knee-slamming someone in the face. Still, it’s certainly worthy of attention for beat 'em up fans looking for old things in new forms."^[19]

Paul Acevedo delivered a two page in-depth review of the PC game for Co-Optimus,^[20] giving an overall rating of 4.5 out of 5.^[21] While Paul felt the use of the tag mechanic was limited, he still cited the creative gameplay, music, and level design as some of the best the in beat 'em up genre. He also noted the replayable through adjustable difficulty toggles and additional contents to unlock. He concludes that, "The age and enduring popularity of the Double Dragon series has resulted in some unique games over the years, and Gaiden numbers among the best of those interpretations." Techraptor writer Giaco Furino rated Double Dragon Gaiden with 7.5 out of 10, praising the controls, cash/token system, and visual style. The few things he didn't praise was the token shop having few game changing features and repetition from similar ground-level enemies. He concluded by writing, "With fun, bright graphics and a novel approach to level design, Double Dragon Gaiden: Rise of the Dragons refreshes the classic beat-em-up genre, even if it can sometimes feel a bit repetitive."^[22] Leon of Use a Potion, who reviewed the PC version, also gave the game 7.5, calling it, "a fun return for the series that changes up the formula in a simple yet rewarding manner. It is guilty of keeping things a little simple in places and it won’t demand much strategy from the player, but there’s plenty of excitement to be found as you beat up countless baddies in this revamped take on a classic."^[23]

Gallery[]

Packaging artwork[]

Screenshots[]

Miscellaneous[]

Videos[]

References[]

External links[]

Standard links[] Double Dragon Gaiden official website Double Dragon Gaiden Japanese official website Double Dragon Gaiden: Rise of the Dragons at MobyGames Double Dragon Gaiden: Rise of the Dragons at GameFAQs Double Dragon Gaiden: Rise of the Dragons at Nintendo's official website Double Dragon Gaiden: Rise of the Dragons at PlayStation Store Double Dragon Gaiden: Rise of the Dragons at Xbox Store Double Dragon Gaiden: Rise of the Dragons on Steam

Interviews[] "Interview: What Went into Designing Double Dragon Gaiden" at Siliconera "Double Dragon Gaiden: Rise of the Dragons - Developer Interview" at Co-Optimus "Interview: Double Dragon Gaiden on Modernising an Arcade Classic for a New Era" at Push Square "Double Dragon Gaiden Interview: Dev Talks Series' Legacy, Challenges of Updating a Classic, and More" at Game Rant "Double Dragon Gaiden on Modernising an Arcade Basic for a New Period" at Super Parmeni "Geek Interview: Singapore’s Secret Base Punches In To Arcade Games Ring With ‘Double Dragon Gaiden: Rise of the Dragons’" at Geek Culture