Double Dragon Gaiden Rise Of The Dragons Review (Xbox Series S)

by Jim Smale · August 7, 2023

For this Double Dragon Gaiden Rise Of The Dragons Review, where the Double Dragon brothers return in this fresh addition to the iconic beat ’em up franchise. With rogue-lite elements, every playthrough is a chance at new action. Tag in with 2 of 4 starter characters or unlock 9 additional characters, each with their own special moves and unique playstyles.

Double Dragon Gaiden Rise Of The Dragons Review Pros:

Decent modern pixel art graphics.
1.6GB download size.
1000 Gamerscore.
Fighting gameplay.
Can rebind controls for both player 1 and player 2.
Online leaderboards.
Four save slots.
2.5D playground so you can move around freely.
Many Breakable objects.
Combo counter.
Two-player support.
In Single Player you have two characters and can tag in and out, each has individual health bars.
The goal of the game is to earn cash and spend it during the game on buffs and lives
At a game, all cash is converted into tokens.
Doing special moves or massive combos earn.
Additional optional side quests.
At the end of a stage, you can choose to spend cash on some buffs like more health or improve damage, saying that you can just skip it and save money. Each character has its own set of unlocks.
Coins or cash drops from enemies and breakables.
You have a mix of Mini bosses and huge end-of-chapter bosses.
A chapter can be split into multiple levels.
Level select so you have some choice on your path, each shows the 3 optional side quests.
The difficulty and game setup affect how much cash and tokens you can earn.
Game settings – number of players, continue type (3 tokens/infinite/permadeath), player health, revive cost, upgrade cost, enemy stats, and enemy aggression.
At game over you can pay cash or tokens to continue otherwise you delete your save and cash out with any tokens you can earn.
Run-based game.
13 total characters to unlock.
28 game tips to unlock with tokens.
Classic still art cutscenes.
28 concept art pieces to unlock with tokens.
Arcade presentation.
28 music tracks to unlock and use ranging from old to new variations.
The original character shows on the loading screen.
Parts of a location can have optional routes and rooms to explore.

Double Dragon Gaiden Rise Of The Dragons Review Cons:

Very button-mashy combat.
Gets very repetitive.
Can be hard to see what is Breakable and what is not.
You have to build your special meter just to tag in your partner.
All the locations feel the same.
Any part of a level that requires platforming is frustrating.
Huge difficulty spikes throughout regardless of settings.
A lot of grinding is needed in order to get the characters.
No way to practice or try out new characters.
Cheap shots from off the screen are rampant.
The constant special ko pop-up stops gameplay, takes up most of the screen, and isn’t needed.
Health can be hard to come by.
Coins disappear fast.

Related Post: Hammer of Virtue Review (Steam)

Double Dragon Gaiden Rise Of The Dragons:

Official website.

Developer: Modus Games

Publisher: Arc System Works

Store Links –

Xbox

8/10

Graphics - 8/10
7/10

Sound - 7/10
8/10

Accessibility - 8/10
7/10

Length - 7/10
7/10

Fun Factor - 7/10

7.4/10

Summary

This is Double Dragon but not as you know it! Before it was a simple side-scrolling beat ’em up with a huge emphasis on Co-op play and big boss encounters. This time round it’s more a run-based game that’s not quite full roguelike but close to it, you warn cash and use these to increase your life count, continue or get upgrades between stages. Your ultimate goal is to cash out and get tokens that are used for permanent unlocks such as music, art, tips, and characters from the series. You can extend and end your run as it were at any point but obviously, this affects how many tokens you get. The gameplay is very much the same as before except combos are more prominent as these earn special charges for better attacks, tag a partner in if solo, and also drop more coins and items. You can still pick up and use weapons, and break objects for loot. Locations can be chosen by yourself and this dictates the type of enemies you will face, how many levels are in the location, and of course the boss you will face. Overall it’s fine to play as it maintains what we know of the game and adds in run-based elements but for me it just got a bit too much. The combat felt mashy and the unlocks honestly didn’t feel worth the grind. I just found it outstayed it’s welcome and is fine in short bursts but long plays highlight its shortcomings.