Double Dragon has had a long and rocky history, but not even a tumultuous past can stop Bimmy Billy and Jimmy. The two are reuniting once again for Double Dragon Gaiden: Rise of the Dragons, the newly announced entry that’s coming to PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, PC, and Nintendo Switch sometime in the summer.
There’s no Double Dragon Gaiden: Rise of the Dragons release date, though
Double Dragon Gaiden: Rise of the Dragons is a 2D brawler like many of its forebears, but it’s also got a few twists. Players can tag in a second character at any time and each has unique attributes that gives depth to character selection. There are 13 total, with Jimmy, Billy, Marian, and Uncle Matin being the only announced ones so far. It even supports local co-op, and both players can pick two characters to use. However, online co-op doesn’t seem to be an option.
Rise of the Dragons is also a roguelite that has a “dynamic mission select” feature that alters the length of the mission, how many enemies it has, and its overall difficulty. Random upgrades in the shop will also change a run, too.
This is the first installment in about six years, as 2017’s Double Dragon IV was the most recent one. It was widely panned, coming in at an average score of 52. This was quite a fall from 2012’s Double Dragon: Neon, which settled on an average score of 76. The series, while influential, was plagued by broad and numerous inconsistencies that mainly stemmed with how the brand was licensed out.
