Rise of the Dragons. Preview with gameplay, price, game experience and trailers on PC, Playstation, Xbox and Switch

Neither Ken Masters, nor Chuck Norris (who also had a video game). The best ’80s arcade-style roundhouse kicks were given by brothers Billy and Jimmy Lee in Double Dragon. The brutal mold that established the phenomenon of me against the neighborhood. Double Dragon Gaiden: Rise of the Dragons picks up the baton from Technos by retaining the double identity to the saga shown in arcades and also on consoles and, in the process, adds a new nuance to the whole: to the smacks, keys and sweeps of all life is added to the concept of roguelite. what the hell is that?

If you are from the old school, everything you like and cannot be missing from the beat’em up pixelated still on your site at Rise of the Dragons. Even the cliché of eating hamburgers lying on the ground to restore health. A usual snack in a city surrendered to chaos, ruled by half-baked thugs and demanding that kind of street justice that leaves marks the next day. A classic recipe, simple but terribly fun, served the way we like it.

As an appetizer, here you go our gameplay. Ten great minutes in which we leave our knuckles throughout the initial bars of the game.

As you can see, and we already anticipate, Rise of the Dragons It constantly moves between the original arcade experience and the legacy on consoles like the NES, combining the strengths of both. The stubborn aesthetic of 8-bit systems is present, with a clear impulse towards the current trends of pixel-art seen in games like TMNT: Shredder’s Revenge or River City Girls, but what is involved is successfully avoided. Double Dragon IV (released in 2017) Stumbled: The gameplay is meant for both nostalgics and current gamers. Although it goes without saying that the first ones will have an even better time.

What is really new is the way in which Secret Base, those who sign this installment, face a common problem in this kind of game: Double Dragon Gaiden: Rise of the Dragons are fully aware that the duration of the beat’em up classics born in the arcades were created to give an afternoon of fun in exchange for 25 pesetas if we are skilled enough. Ten bucks if we play doubles on the same machine. Playing a game no longer costs a coin or two, and reaching the final boss in a single afternoon may sound tempting in certain cases, but the side effect is that -with few exceptions- they end up being transit games instead of special or memorable ones.

And it is there, at that point, when Secret Base introduces the secret weapon of Rise of the Dragons: the roguelite element. Introducing rewards, customizable elements that prevail between games even when we do not reach the end and the feeling that when starting the game from the beginning we are not going to repeat the same thing from the previous eight times. Not based on offering random elements, although there are some specific characteristics, but clinging to the bases and the essence of the me against the neighborhood. The same games that were set in the original Double Dragon.

The twins hit… two more times!

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If you are going to play Double Dragon Gaiden: Rise of the Dragons, The first thing you have to keep in mind is a truism that was not very clear in previous attempts to reimagine the saga: on paper, the Double Dragons work as Final Fight o Streets of Rage, but they feel different than the controls. In part, because it was the evolution of Renegade. And that is the first success of Secret Base. The second is how they put the strengths and hallmarks of the saga at the service of the star feature of this arcade roguelite.

As we already mentioned, on an aesthetic level Rise of the Dragons seeks that balance between color and the very defined techniques of the arcade deliveries of Double Dragon, and the simplicity and that chibi touch so ingrained in what has been seen since the NES and that has endured timelessly. So playing is much easier than in arcades, but it leaves the door open for us to show off based on technique and special movements.

Above all, because if we have the slightest intention of going far, we will need to be generous when it comes to distributing roundhouse kicks. A simple, but extremely effective technique that we always like to execute when we are surrounded by enemies.

Under the traditional Health bar is a Super bar that we will have to fill and empty very frequently, although it will not cost us too much to do so. While it recharges itself, each downed enemy offers coins and a small orb of energy. But now comes the interesting thing: with few exceptions, the way to restore our health (and this is very important) is based on knocking down a minimum of three enemies with a special technique. And this is very important, since in Rise of the Dragons there are no extra lives. At least, first.

Our game will last for as long as we can endure distributing tollinas and as long as we can turn our combos and enemies into hot dogs, hamburgers or rascals that will wait on the ground to be devoured. However, we are given an additional resource that, in turn, adds an additional layer of variety to the game: despite the fact that the local cooperative is maintained in Rise of the Dragonif we play alone we fight in pairs so that there is a second character waiting for him both to extend the combo started, and to take the initiative if we are in poor health.

Of course, unlike the originals, Double Dragon Gaiden: Rise of the Dragons He succeeds in putting four protagonists first who, on this occasion, not only have different styles, but also complement each other when it comes to attacking, adapting to situations or rethinking our range and mobility. Being Billy and Jimmy Lee the most similar and balanced, although they only resemble each other in their attire, and even their color is different.

Double Dragon’s unexpected arcade roguelite reinvents the classic with good ideas

The arcade sensations of Double Dragon Gaiden: Rise of the Dragons They are beyond doubt, but now it is time to talk about what pairs them with titles as disparate as Dead Cells, Hades or Vampire Survivors and their way of not offering two identical games: the roguelite element. In other words, the way in which we are invited to return to the starting box in better conditions and with redoubled motivation.

The roguelite premise has progressively spread throughout the arcade base, so that from the initial selection of levels (and bosses) we begin to notice an evolution: the number of sections, scenarios and enemies that we will face will decrease. to more regardless of where we start or whatever the next destination we choose. Encouraging that we always alter the order of the phases to see new elements.

However, this also applies to the gameplay: at the end of each level we unlock improvements with the money collected from enemies or that appears by breaking boxes that, in this case, are offered randomly. Also offering the option to stay as we are and redeem some very valuable chips.

Tokens are a kind of in-game currency that are earned at the end of each phase or by reaching certain milestones. In fact, if our two characters are eliminated we can exchange them to continue at the last checkpoint or convert what we have and our progress into more tokens. And despite the fact that the first is something that everyone who has played arcade games will do instinctively, we already anticipate that the way in which it is raised Double Dragon Gaiden: Rise of the Dragons always promote the latter.

With the tokens we unlock the contents of the game in a specific store, including many more characters that give more variety to the games, in addition to the art and soundtrack of the game itself and additional tips when playing. So, beyond the topic of turning all the scenarios upside down, our priority will gradually go to obtaining the maximum amount of chips with which we can have more options to reach the end of the game.

Always based on a very well planned replayability and constant incentives to restart the game or start a new one. That said, we will have help to make this as challenging or relaxed as we want: before we start we will have all kinds of adjustments that go from our amount of health to the difficulty of the enemies that will condition the amount of money we earn.

As a result, the greater the challenge of Rise of the Dragonsthe easier it will be to unlock content, but on the other hand, it also opens the door for us to have a blast hitting everything that moves on the screen.

You can’t talk about a new golden age for Beat’em Up without the return of Billy and Jimmy Lee

Streets of Rage returned hitting very hard. The Ninja Turtles that made us crazy in the arcades too. And in the absence of a new Final Fight, Street Fighter 6’s World Tour mode (and its arcade booths) also do the trick. Double Dragon could not be less. Not when all me against the neighborhood have renewed their vows for the longtime fans and those who simply want to clean pixelated scenarios based on hooks and suplex.

We are experiencing a veritable renaissance of beat’em up arcade with the return of classics and new proposals inspired by them; and the truth is that Arc System Works, who took over from Technos, was right to delegate the saga Double Dragon to Secret Base. Not only because of how he renews what distinguishes Billy and Jimmy Lee from the rest of the street fighters, but because of the way in which they put their stamp on the group.

Secret Base extend the lessons learned from Devil’s Dare y Streets of Red : Devil’s Dare Deluxe, as well as its retro aesthetics, to this new Double Dragon that balances between the classic and the new with success. Leaving us some really positive first impressions for its imminent launch. In the summer, of course, like all the great arcade fighting games.

Although it is still a little early for our final impressions, we anticipate that it will not take long to offer them: Double Dragon Gaiden: Rise of the Dragons it will go on sale on July 27 on all desktop and desktop systems. The best Double Dragon game? As it is being considered, the idea is that, at least, it is the one that you end up playing the most times. And that is already a double success.