Double Dragon Neon (PC) Review

By Javier Jimenez 10.02.2014

Review for Double Dragon Neon on PC

Open on black screen. Neon lights, city streets, a garage, a woman in a red dress, thugs, a kidnapping. Enter the Double Dragons, Billy and Jimmy Lee. Waves of thugs, killers, freaks, ninjas, and madmen. Blast off to space. An evil magic skeleton man. A killer helicopter. A giant tank. Cassette tapes dropped by enemies that provide new fighting skills and stances. Butt kicking kung fu. And a totally radical soundtrack.

That's Double Dragon Neon, from WayForward Technologies - a reimagining of the original arcade Double Dragon, one of the early pivotal arcade games that defined the beat 'em up genre. Double Dragon Neon doesn't stray far from the core design of its source material. In fact, it reveres it, going so far as keeping the slow, deliberate movement speed of the original game - a choice that at first feels strange in this day of instant gratification gaming, packed full of cut-scenes and QTEs.

Double Dragon Neon goes further than just mimicry, though, because after it nails the feel of the original classic, it intelligently and thoughtfully expands the core design. Upgradable movesets and stances provide an addictive quality and much needed variety to the experience. Modern ideas such as air juggles and two-in-one combos flesh out the simple kick-punch gameplay into something much more engaging. So, a very simple brawler is transformed into... well, a simple brawler that's a hell of a lot of fun.

Screenshot for Double Dragon Neon on PC

Double Dragon Neon doesn't transform the gaming landscape. It's not supposed to. What it's supposed to be is a damn good remake of Double Dragon. And it is. The game design is always thoughtful. One can see the mind of the designer behind the pacing of levels, the design of enemy encounters, the careful placement of traps and weapons, and the takes on silly 80s action movies such as with the rocket knives (themselves an excellent challenge that tests and improves the player's understanding of the game mechanics).

The rest of the game accompanies the gameplay well. The artwork is thoughtful, carefully reworking Jimmy and Billy, Williams and Abobo, and all the rest into some impressive 3D models. It's work that looks cartoon quality, with supreme textures and animation. Hand drawn backgrounds also look good, usually, from city streets to dojo temples, though a couple of minor issues (odd perspective issues, 3D models on 2D layers) cause distraction. Then there is the soundtrack, by gods the soundtrack...

Screenshot for Double Dragon Neon on PC

Cubed3 Rating

9/10
Rated 9 out of 10

Exceptional - Gold Award

Rated 9 out of 10

Cubed3 recommends Double Dragon Neon wholeheartedly, to almost any type of gamer. Old-school gamers? Check. Hardcore gamers? Absolutely. Action gamers? Yes, yes, yes. Eighties gamers? Just do it. Gamers who like super awesome totally radical stuff? Yeah! At $10, it's not a wallet buster or much of a brain bender; just a good time. On a side note, it's interesting to note that many of the lead developers of Double Dragon Neon went on to found Yacht Club Games. Their list includes Sean Velasco, the game's director; Ian Flood, the lead gameplay programmer; Nick Wozniak, the lead art guru; as well as David D'Angelo and Lee McDole, also programmers. Given how solid Double Dragon Neon is, that fact speaks well for the upcoming Shovel Knight.

Developer

WayForward

Publisher

Midnight City

Genre

Brawler

Players

2

C3 Score

Rated $score out of 10  9/10

Reader Score

Rated $score out of 10  0 (0 Votes)

European release date Out now   North America release date Out now   Japan release date None   Australian release date Out now   

Comments

Comments are currently disabled

Subscribe to this topic Subscribe to this topic

If you are a registered member and logged in, you can also subscribe to topics by email.
Sign up today for blogs, games collections, reader reviews and much more
Site Feed
Who's Online?
Azuardo

There are 1 members online at the moment.