Arc Systems Works has finally released a new game in the Double Dragon series, oddly enough it is called Double Dragon IV, and so far it looks like it will be exclusive to the Asian (JAP/HKN?) market, at least for the time being.

Arc Systems Works bought the rights to the franchise back in 2015 and to celebrate the 30th anniversary for the franchise we get a brand new game in the series from some of the same team that did the original back in the day.

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Yes, this is how the game looks on the PlayStation 4, the graphics are actually ripped/based on the Famicom/NES version of Double Dragon II: The Revenge and not the arcade version which looks way better.

This new game is also supposedly a direct continuation of the story in Double Dragon II… (hmm? there was a story?)

Why they decided that this was a good idea is beyond my brain capacity to understand, the game looks quite bad and good at the same time in my opinion.

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I won’t speculate too much in all of this but i know i would prefer a sequel to Double Dragon Neon (2012) over this 8bit looking thing, well, hell even one using the 16bit arcade assets would be better than this.

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Here’s a picture of Double Dragon Neon for the PS3, it may not have been the best game in the series but it looked good and had potential to be awesome, a sequel would have fixed this most likely.

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Double Dragon IV is in reality Double Dragon 7 if you go by how many original game releases we have seen since 1987.

Here’s an example, Double Dragon V: The Shadow Falls came out on the SNES/MD/GEN in 1995.

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It looks really bad and maybe this is why they decided to ignore it, but still, the name/number is off in the new game and i also think the same about the graphics. 

Will we ever get an answer to all of this?

Still interested?, check out their DDIV teaser trailer below, 

As a final word on the matter, the game is fine and it works and all, but when will this god damned 8bit retro mania go away soon? when will developers /publishers understand that retro doesn’t mean 8 or less bit? 

Thanks for your time.

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13 thoughts on “Double Dragon IV – A Brand New Game With An Old Look

  1. I have contacted arc for some more info, i noticed now that there’s a mention of european release the 30th too.

    It is available in the jap store right now ( search) ( not hkn, china or korea).

  2. Cool article, and I agree with you: “retro doesn’t mean 8 or less bit” … especially when you can use the engine of Double Dragon Neon for the PS3 and maybe add an 8-bit graphic filter as extra bonus, if you really have too.

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