Double Dragon Neon

Double Dragon Neon is a fighting game in the long-running brawler series and it was made for the 25th anniversary of the original game. Just like the original title the two protagonists are the brothers Billy Lee and Jimmy Lee. They need to rescue the girl Marian who has been kidnapped by the Shadow Warriors gang and their leader Skullmageddon. The game uses many features and elements from the first three Double Dragon games with a number of novelties. The game is now in a 3D and sports an eighties neon look with electro music and many elements that refer to American culture.

The game takes place over ten levels, starting in the familiar city streets and then moving on to a dojo in outer space, an Asian countryside, a laboratory, a graveyard and finally Skullmageddon’s palace. Most levels have a boss at the end. Actions are performed through three main buttons to punch, kick and throw. These can be combined into various combos. Throws can generally only be performed when enemies are left dazed after a series of attacks. Entirely new is a run button to sprint at enemies and perform two types of attacks. While jumping two types of jumping attacks can be performed. A duck button is used for two additional attacks, either doing a leg sweep or a high knee kick. Duck has another use, as successfully timing it to avoid an incoming attack provides ‘gleam’. The character receives a red glow for a short time and does double damage. A finisher move can be performed when an enemy is on the ground.

Next to the fighting there are hazards to avoid and jumping sections. Enemies leave behind weapons such as guns, baseball bats, whips, bombs and fans that can be picked up to attack or throw. The game encourages cooperative play with another player. In a two-player game the characters can high-five each other to split and share their life meters. Another ability is ‘psych’ where the other character can be put out of harm or made to fall over to get out a difficult situation. Gleam can be passed on by doing a high-five. There are three types of high-fives in total and they can even be performed by leaping across the screen. When one player is dead, the other can steal a life if there are at least two remaining. There is also an option to trigger friendly fire.

Items found along the way include sodas to replenish health, batteries to charge magic, extra lives, cash and mythril (after defeating a boss). These are often hidden in destructible objects. Two abilities are acquired by picking up songs of buying them from tapesmiths in in-game shops where they can be forged into mix tapes. The A side provides Sosetsitsu magic, the B side a stance. Stances are passive abilities that influence stats in various ways. These can be upgraded by spending cash. Magic is upgraded through the rarer mythril provided by bosses. Magic provides a special attack that can be performed when a meter is filled up. These include powerful kicks and combos, but also a dragon that burns the entire screen. Stances and magic can be swapped at any time. After a level has been unlocked, it can be played right away without going through the entire game.