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After the recently acquired Double Dragon franchise in 2015, Arc System Works is sparing no expense and has proudly announced Double Dragon 4 for PC and PS4.
Arc System Works revealed a surprise trailer showing off Double Dragon IV, tied into a celebration of the franchise’s 30th anniversary which is in 2017. Briefly showcased in the trailer is each three games in the series: Double Dragon, Double Dragon II: The Revenge, and Double Dragon III: The Rosetta Stones.
It ends with the reveal of Double Dragon IV, which looks like it uses the NES sprites of Double Dragon II. It’s a retro revitalization like what Capcom once tried to do with Mega Man. To interrupt the reveal, Arc System Works also announced that the game would launch on January 30 for the PC and PlayStation 4.
As previously mentioned, the game uses the same sprites as the NES version of Double Dragon II. That design choice stands for protagonists Billy and Jimmy, including, as far as what’s shown in the trailer, couple of enemies players will encounter in Double Dragon IV. Furthermore, the gameplay in Double Dragon IV also looks similar to the mechanics of the original games. There are knees, uppercuts, grabs, and mid-air spin kicks. But judging from the footage, it appears that Double Dragon IV is putting some priority into a combat system that encourage combining those into strings of attacks. Or it just looks that way to make the Double Dragon IV footage seem that much more interesting than the other games.
What question is likely on many people’s minds is, “Wasn’t there already a Double Dragon IV?” The answer to that is “Sort of.” After Double Dragon III’s release on the NES, Technos Japan rushed the development of Super Double Dragon. The title was made with a brand new, inexperienced director and a bunch of content was removed from the final product. It didn’t even manage to see a release in arcades, which was a big part of the franchise’s popularity up to that point.
Double Dragon IV, a classic beat-em-up with 2-player co-op, is set to launch on January 30, 2017 for the PlayStation 4 and PC. More info as it develops in the weeks to come, stay tuned.
