Gameitall The first game I’ve ever played was Double Dragon on the NES, and I blame that game for my love of the beat’em up genre. When it was announced early this year that a new Double Dragon game was coming from Wayforward (the team behind Contra 4) I was pumped because I knew the team would take this in the right direction.
Then the first few screenshots came out, Neon!?! The new Double Dragon game was going to be a “love song” for the 80’s. Just like the 80’s a whole lot of this game just doesn’t make sense.
Double Dragon Neon is simple enough, the Lee Brothers are back to beat up everybody in their way to the shadow boss, this time called Skullmageddon, who has kidnapped Marion. The rest of the story feels like a bad grindhouse movie that probably would have Bruce Campbell as a star and be shown on SyFy on Saturday night.
Then again, who plays Double Dragon for it’s story? It’s all about the beat down and this is where DD:Neon succeeds. Following the basic pattern of punching and kicking things until they blink away. Wayforward has done a few things to bring the classic gameplay to a modern time.
The Lee Brothers have learned a few new tricks, they can now dodge attacks which also gives them a boost in attacks and sets up to new low strikes such as sweeps and flying knees. Also a new magic system comes in the form of Mix Tapes which can be collected to boost your stats or do special abilities like launch fireballs and the classic Hurricane kick. The more you collect these mix tapes, the stronger your strikes and stats become.
There is a good mix of bad guys in the fight, from the classics like Abobo to new teleporting Geishas, jet pack ninjas, and dominatrix. Each area feels like a challenge because of the new fighters and have a great mix to keep the fight challenging.
The game works best in Co-op… Sorry I meant Bro-Op, as the game states it to be. While there is a major lack of no online “bro-op”, Having a friend with you on the couch beating down the members of the Skullmageddon makes the game much more fun. There are some special moves that can be pull based off of High-Fives. These can help you share health, add more damage or steal health from your… Bro… I swear my brain cells die a little more each time I say/type that.
One thing to notice with the game is it’s music, Double Dragon fans will be able to catch on to most of the tunes that have been used from Double Dragon 1 – 3, with some that were created for the mixed tape section that make fun of 80’s music and actually sounds somewhat good.
When it comes down to it, Double Dragon: Neon isn’t a bad game, but it take some strange design choices with it’s levels and story that makes it really confusing.
Double Dragon Neon – 6 out of 10
Pros: Nice upgrade to the classic mechanics, great music, great local multiplayer
Cons: Short (3 hours completion), no online multiplayer, Horrible story
