Sure, it feels nostalgic, but it's underwhelming nonetheless. The animations are smooth enough, but the backdrops are rigid and clunky. Like I mentioned earlier, the size ratio doesn't feel authentic to the series, and the aesthetic is over-stylized, again more like other brawler games of the era than a true Double Dragon game. My biggest complaint is with the character models. I am a little more critical, however, with how the graphics were handled. No elbow or knee attacks.įormats: Xbox Live Arcade (reviewed) and PlayStation Network Price: 800 Microsoft Points/£6.Suggestive Themes, Partial Nudity, Fantasy Violence Interesting power-ups, fantastic soundtrack, and great sense of humour.Ĭons:No online co-op at launch and the collision detection can be hard to predict. Pros:Just enough depth to keep the game interesting, while still maintaining the same great co-op action as the original. This masterful reboot of the granddaddy of scrolling beat ‘em-ups has real punch. In Short:As gaudy and over-the-top as the ‘80s itself, but not quite as shallow. Or whether you lived through the ‘80s or just heard about it from your elders. It isn’t just the best Double Dragon game for years it’s one of the best retro remake of any kind, whether you’ve heard of the original or not. Neon is ridiculous but in an undeniably cleverly way. Thanks to the mixtapes, and the fact that the game’s quite easy by default, the higher difficulty levels are a lot more compelling than they might have been, and for the paltry asking price there’s no question over the value for money. The game’s short at just two or three hours, but then scrolling beat ‘em-ups were always like that. Collecting multiple tapes can level up their power, and there’s a shop that can increase their level cap or allow you to buy specific tapes. On technical merit alone it’s one of the best soundtracks of the year, but the mixtape concept itself adds a great deal of longevity and depth to the game. These are portrayed as actual mixtapes and feature all manner of ‘80s music parodies, from Aerosmith to Rick Astley. There are two types, one of which offers some sort of passive power or stat boost and the other of which unleashes the magic powers. It’s already acknowledged as scientific fact that the ‘80s had the best music, but just to prove it the music in Double Dragon Neon gives you the ability to shot fireballs and summon dragons.Īs usual you can pick up weapons and health power-ups from the floor, but you can also collect music tapes. We can’t imagine the high five move (which lets you share health or boost attack power) having quite the same impact though, if you can’t actually replicate it with someone else in the same room.īut don’t worry about all that because we haven’t mentioned the best bit yet: the soundtrack. It’s been almost a decade since a new Double Dragon game and a couple of extra weeks really wouldn’t have mattered. It’s definitely much more fun to play the game with someone sat next to you, but why WayForward couldn’t have just waited till the online option was ready we don’t know.
Double dragon neon review ign Patch#
The other oddity is that there’s no online mode yet, although a patch is promised to fix this. The collision detection is a bit odd too, although this seems to be a purposeful nod to the originals in that you’re required to be exactly level with an enemy to ensure your attack connects with them. This doesn’t spoil the gameplay but it is a peculiar oversight for a game so keenly aware of its heritage. Bizarrely though the grab button is only used to throw enemies and you can’t perform the game’s signature moves of an elbow or knee to the head. The combat is still simplistic but less so than the original games, with a slightly wider range of moves – including running and ducking that can be used to dodge or counter enemies’ attacks. So before you’ve got a chance to get bored of the gameplay and enemies what seems to be a relatively straightforward remake of the original game switches bad guys for a new foe called Skullmageddon (an amusing pastiche of every ‘80s cartoon villain ever) and a wider range of far more fantastical backdrops. Instead it riffs on a much wider range of contemporary arcade and console games, in large part to avoid the repetition that is intrinsic to the genre. At the time Double Dragon was trying to play things straight but thankfully Neon avoids the grim and gritty approach.
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