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In 1987, sitting between Contra and Street Fighter, was perhaps the most influential beat ’em up arcade Double Dragon. Developed by Technos and director Yoshihisa Kishimoto, this title followed the adventures of The Lee brothers. The twin martial artists known as Billy and Jimmy became pop culture icons branching out into cameos of several other titles such as WWF Superstars, River City Ransom, and even a blockbuster cross over with Rare’s smash hit Battletoads. In the 90s, Double Dragon reached its popularity with both a live-action movie and an animated series. Soon after, Billy and Jimmy Lee faded into nostalgic obscurity, relegated to remakes over several virtual consoles. Then, Wayforward had obtained the licensing and released Double Dragon Neon in 2010, a tribute to the franchise filled with 80s cultural references. In 2017, Arc System Works purchased the rights. They developed Double Dragon 4, a title chronologically taking place shortly after Double Dragon 2. The original director, the character designer, producer, music composer, and programmer who first created the series for Technos over 30 years ago were also hired for its creation.

The Good

This title tries its best to follow behind its predecessors while giving a new experience for all players and does a good job achieving that. The main menu song is a remix of the iconic Double Dragon theme with several different features like a fighting mini-game and online play. The gameplay itself has the graphics of the first NES Double Dragon combined with gameplay from the sequel. The special moves in The Lee twin’s arsenal have been simplified, a massive improvement from other Double Dragon titles. To give those who have never played a point of reference, I have played those titles for over 20 years and have still not mastered the whirlwind kick. The programmer included the enemy sprites from the original trilogy, so old school fans will see some old friends like Linda and Abobo. The programmer Kei Oyama and character designer Koji Ogata improved on all of the old sprites, giving them more animations and a sharper look. Ogata also introduces several new characters adding more diversity to the title.

There were some elements from the previous titles, but with improvements. One such was the more liberal use of all four planes to create more unique stages while still keeping that old charm. After various titles such as Double Dragon 5 and SNK’s release based on the live-action movie, many felt the Technos classic had jumped the shark. So, the retro feeling levels are a welcomed addition to the overall design. While not as memorable as its previous titles, the music still has that “rocking 80s” vibe with an option to play the 8-bit version of the title’s entire soundtrack.

Perhaps the biggest improvement is a mode they first introduced in the NES version of Double Dragon. There was a versus mode, but it was constrained back then. Both players had to choose the same character, and every fight felt the same regardless of the character chosen. In Double Dragon 4, you have the entire game roster at your disposal; granted, you have to unlock most of them by playing the story mode. From what I played, several characters have certain moves or begin the fight with a weapon. At some point, I would like to try the versus mode with a friend, but not being able to play versus doesn’t take from the experience.

The Bad

As much as I enjoyed playing this title, there were some things I felt they could have executed better. The plot didn’t have too much thought put into it, which I expected from Double Dragon. I love the franchise, but it was not known for its stellar writing. Roughly halfway through playing, you relive the iconic scene where Marian gets kidnapped the same way she has in previous titles. Other than the fact the masterminds are revealed to be the Okada sisters, there is truly little change, makin

g it feel redundant.

Another issue I found with this title was the length of some levels. While it was cool to fight on top of a moving semi-truck, the level ended once I cleared all the enemies on screen. And that wasn’t the only level to suffer from the under the 2-minute mark; I counted at least three while making notes for this review. And while we are on the subject of levels, there were points when it fel

t like the team just threw in a bunch of the same enemy to try and reach a time frame of some kind. I recall walking up a mountain randomly facing up to six duplicates of a larger enemy. And yes, I know larger enemies appearing throughout beat’ em ups are to be expected, but this is far more excessive than the sprinkling we are used to.

It is quite easy to get ganked in this game, and I am used to being ganked. Be it Streets of Rage or Smite; I’m going to get jumped at some point. But it can get downright infuriating in this title at certain points. Fans of the older titles will remember those moments when an enemy is standing just over your prone body; you would get up, get hit, and fall again. Well, great news, it is back, and when you combine that with an excessive number of enemies that can appear on screen together, you are in for a bad time. I found the jumping knee to break out of a mob to be the most effective way to create distance,e but depending on where enemies are positioned, that can be somewhat tricky.

The Verdict

If I were to be perfectly honest, I would love to see this franchise get a resurgence. This title may not be the best of the series, but it is a fine addition and proves what many fans back in the 80s knew. The original team from Technos just wanted to make a fun game, and they did just that a little over 30 years later. If Arc System Works, or whoever may hold the licensing, were to release another title somewhere down the line, I would buy it to see what new ideas they come up with.