Double Dragon IV - The Lee brothers strike again

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Hello everyone! In the last entry I talked about Fight ‘N Rage, a classic style 2D Beat ‘Em Up game inspired in some of the classics of a genre that was once among one of the most popular genres in the industry, and in this new entry I’m going to talk about yet another game that belongs to that very same genre. In fact, this game actually belongs to one of the “founding fathers” of the genre together with the Kunio-kun series, of which return I already talked about in this blog. Yup, as many of you already probably guess, I’m talking about the legendary Double Dragon. Let’s see what the return of one of the most popular games of the last century has to offer in its return in the 21st century.


Talking about Double Dragon is talking about the history of videogames, for this is one of the franchises that helped to lay the foundations of a genre that reigned during the golden age of arcade games, a genre that would spawn several classic video game franchises such as Final Fight, Golden Axe, Street of Rage or Dungeons & Dragons among many others, and that eventually evolved into modern action franchises such as Devil May Cry, Ninja Gaiden or God of War. Just like most of its contemporary arcade cabinet colleagues, the franchise faded into oblivion by the end of the 90s, entering a perpetual state of hibernation of which it tried to get out of a few years ago with a title called Double Dragon Neo. However, Double Dragon Neo poor reception seemed to have sealed the fate of series starring the Lee brothers, forcing it to live just in the memory of the most veteran players (and their emulators), but just when all hope seemed lost, Arc System Works, creators of modern cult classics such as Guilty Gear and BlazBlue, unexpectedly decided to buy the rights of Tecmo’s long forgotten franchise, which resulted in a new entry in the series called Double Dragon IV, which is the game we will talk about in this entry.

Double Dragon IV is, in every single aspect, a direct continuation of Double Dragon II version released for the classic NES in 1988, which is a bit surprising since the arcade counter was far superior, although it is not less true that it were the NES versions that helped to widen the franchise’s popularity, especially in the domestic market, and since we are talking about a game in which the nostalgia factor is pretty important, I guess Arc System Works though the game would reach a wider audience, a decision that helps the game as much as it limits it. As I was saying, Double Dragon IV follows on the steps of the second entry released on the NES, and that includes its story (a.k.a. excuse to punch and kick everything that moves), so we will once more take control of the brothers Jimmy and Billy Lee as they set on a mission to smash everything they find on their way to save the world, and, of course, poor little Marian (who I guess by now must already have developed quite a “Nintendo-kidnapped-princess” complex). Regarding the gameplay, the game is a carbon copy of its NES counterpart, so we will be able to perform the exact set of moves that we could use in the NES game, although this time we will have the possibility to assign each of the actions to a specific button, which will allow us to perform them in a much easier way, and while this makes perfect sense in the current times, it will also allow us to abuse some attacks that were much more difficult to perform in the original NES game, thus reducing significantly the difficult of the game as we will be able to spawn them again and again in an endless chain. The enemies we will find along our path will be the same ones we could find the NES title plus some new additions, and just like it happened with the NES title, the enemies will be as cheap as they were back then, which could make sense in the NES times due to the logical limitations of the system, but it could be a little too cheap for players used to more modern games, although the possibility of spawning certain attacks should compensate for it. An eye for an eye I guess. The stages will also include platforming sections similar to the ones we could find the original game, although they could feel kinda clunky and awkward for modern players (and even veterans). Regarding the multiplayer options included in the game, on top of being able to play the classic arcade mode with a buddy, the game also includes some sort of versus mode that will allow us to fight in one versus one combats against other players, being able to select from a wide variety of characters that include many of the enemies we will find along the stages and that we will be able to unlock by completing the arcade mode. The only negative point is that the multiplayer it’s only local (long life to the pizza and beer nights!).

Regarding the game’s presentation, just like it happens with all the other aspects of the game, the game retains exactly the same style as the one seen in Double Dragon 2, reusing most of the sprites we could find in the NES game, something that can be definitely charming for fans of the original game, but that could result a little bit too plain for some other players. The game also includes a great variety of stages, all of them full of detail. Regarding the soundtrack, the game reuses some of the catchy tracks we could hear in the NES and top of adding new ones, and we will have the option of listening to them in the classic chiptune version or in a more modern version.


Double Dragon 4 is a good game, but perhaps it relays a little bit too much in the nostalgia factor, keeping the game on the conservative side, and perhaps giving the feeling of a wasted opportunity to bring back the classic series the way it truly deserves. Don’t get me wrong; it is impossible to deny the love and dedication that Arc System Works has put into it, respecting the roots of the series as much as they could, but I cannot help to feel a bit of luck of ambition when compared to other recent titles, and although I personally cannot complain, after all Double Dragon 2 for the NES has always been one of my favorite Beat ‘Em Ups, if I could choose, I would have preferred they went for the style of the awesome (and terribly underrated) Super Double Dragon released on the Super Nintendo, as I believe it would have fit better with today’s standards, thus helping to bring the franchise closer to the new generations, for as much as a classic Double Dragon 2 is, not all the classics age the same, and just like Capcom’s Mega Man 9 and 10 seem to be immune to the pass of time, Double Dragon 2 cannot hide certain shortcomings typical of a time when things were… well, just different. With that said, I still believe Double Dragon 4 will manage to satisfy the fans of the series and this kind of game. Let’s hope this is just the first in a long series of new games based on the franchise starring the Lee brothers. The game is available in digital version for the P4, Nintendo Switch and PC via Steam. Happy retro fun!


GAMEPLAY VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c7MO2yd0Ods

The game includes a multiplayer versus mode that will allow us to control several of the enemies we will fight against during the adventure.