Double Dragon Gaiden: Rise of the Dragons is a Retraux 2D Beat 'em Up in the Double Dragon series, developed by Secret Base (the makers of Devil's Dare) and published by Modus Games under license from Arc System Works. It was released on July 27, 2023, for PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch, and PC.
Using a Super-Deformed art style and light Roguelike/RPG elements reminiscent of the Kunio-kun and River City Girls series, as well as sprite-based graphics akin to 4th and 5th generation 2D console games, the game is essentially an Ultimate Universe version of the Double Dragon Origin Story, with the Lee brothers, Marian, and newcomer Uncle Matin teaming up to reclaim post-nuclear war New York in the year 199X from the four gangs that control it, led by Machine Gun Willy, Duke, Lady Okada, and Anubis. In April 2024, the free content pack Sacred Reunion added three characters who variously debuted in the arcade and NES versions of Double Dragon 3—Sonny Lee (a distant cousin of Billy and Jimmy, short on self-discipline but long on innovation), Chin Seimei (Taimei's brother, scandalized by his attempt to steal their art's scrolls), and Yagyu Ranzou (a member of the Secret Society of Ninja, assisting in the restoration of New York being his first official operation).
Tropes in Double Dragon Gaiden: Rise of the Dragons
- Action Girl: Marian and Linda, in different ways. Marian has an Hyperspace Arsenal of ranged weapons and mines, while Linda can mow down foes with her knife and whip. Among the bad guys, Lady Okada is a blonde Western Samurai.
- Adaptational Heroism:
- Abobo's and Linda's bios state that they're Punch Clock Villains doing mercenary work to provide for loved ones, Abobo's family in his case and a group of orphans in Linda's case.
- Gaiden's version of the Mysterious Warrior is a Well-Intentioned Extremist who wants to bring peace to New York by ruling with an iron fist. At the end he doesn't even resort to You Have Outlived Your Usefulness; if you refuse to join him, he says you can't be allowed to stay in the city and undermine his authority, but he's willing to let you leave the city alive. Unfortunately for him, the Lees and co would rather beat him up in the name of freedom.
- Amazonian Beauty: Linda is tall and muscular in this continuity. She's no longer a mere mook, either, so she's just as tough as she looks.
- Angry Guard Dog:
- Saving Duke as the last opponent will have him be accompanied by two large robotic hounds (which are unique to him).
- Regular attack dogs show up as mooks in some stages as well, and smaller versions of the robotic hounds can still show up when fighting the Royals even if you didn't save Duke for last.
- The Anti-Nihilist: Linda works as a mercenary to secretly provide for orphans, despite that she believes the world can't be saved.
- Artificial Stupidity: In a tradition dating all the way back to the first Double Dragon, bad guys with explosives pay absolutely no attention to where they have thrown them, leading to many instances of Hoist by Their Own Petard.
- Beware the Nice Ones: In this continuity, Billy Lee is described as a laidback, easygoing guy who dislikes violence and would rather be playing video games than curb-stomping punks. Of course, he remains a Sosetsuken master with his usual repertoire of moves, as New York's various gangs will learn the hard way.
- Canon Character All Along: The Mayor turns out to be the Mysterious Warrior, the final boss of Double Dragon II, in disguise. He's a Treacherous Quest Giver and the game's Final Boss.
- Canon Foreigner:
- Uncle Matin is a newcomer to the series, an ex-military friend of Master Lee, Billy and Jimmy's father. His name comes from the Matin garage that many of the original Double Dragon games start at.
- Unlike the other bosses (Willy and Duke are returning Final Boss villains from previous games, and Lady Okada is stated to be the mother of the Okada sisters from Double Dragon IV), Anubis is a new character original to this game, though he has a strong Egyptian aesthetic, a call-back to the final level and boss of Double Dragon 3.
- Chromatic Arrangement: Billy and Jimmy retain their classic blue and red outfits, while Uncle Matin wears a green military uniform. Marian's outfit has changed color from her classic red to yellow, likely to fit in with this color theming.
- Crapsack World: A past nuclear war is occasionally mentioned, and while it didn't quite bring Earth to After the End, humanity is struggling and desperate. New York City, where the game takes place, is a violence-ridden cesspool dominated by psychopathic gangs and a corrupt Mayor.
- Cult: The Triangle gang worship their leader Anubis as a god, believing that he will restore the world to how it was before the nuclear war.
- Demoted to Dragon: This happens to Machine Gun Willy, just like in some previous games. Here, he's just one of the four gang leaders ruling over New York rather than the sole Big Bad, and after being defeated gets recruited as Co-Dragons with the other gang leaders for the Mysterious Warrior.
- Difficulty Levels: You get to fine-tune the difficulty of the game in various ways before you start the game. Want it Easier Than Easy or Harder Than Hard? Have it your way! This said, the harder you set the game overall, the better the rate of return you get in regards to cashing in whatever money you had at the end of the game for tokens, win or lose, so keep that in mind if you want to unlock things faster.
- Divergent Character Evolution: While Billy Lee uses the classic Double Dragon moveset from the original games (primarily Double Dragon II), Jimmy Lee uses a new unique moveset that combines an emphasis on punches instead of kicks in addition to a few Shotoclone moves as well.
- Down in the Dumps: The Triangle gang inhabit a junkyard that (if it's not your first level) gradually becomes more Egypt-like, ending with an Anubis fight atop a junk pyramid.
- Dynamic Difficulty: The order in which you take on each gang has an effect on your fights with them. The first gang you fight will have weak enemies, an easy boss, and their hideout will only consist of one sector. Each time you defeat a gang leader, however, the other gangs get stronger in turn. In practice, this means the next level will have an extra sector and mid-boss (to a limit of three), there will be more enemies to contend with, and the boss battles become more challenging. This applies particularly to the fourth gang leader that you fight, where the boss' appearance and/or fighting style is completely unique to them (except for Duke, who just has unique backup enemies).
- Elite Mooks: Many of the mid-boss fights are just three regular enemies who are buffed, or two of them accompanying Abobo, Linda, Burnov, or Chin. Later level bosses will always have two Elite Mooks as wingmen, as well. In all cases, these mooks will have a boss-style life gauge visible.
- Even Evil Has Loved Ones: Punch-Clock Villains though they be, Abobo fights to provide for his family, while Linda fights to provide for orphans. Lady Okada (despite facing endless challenges from both within and outside her gang) clings to leadership for the sake of her two daughters.
- Expy: This version of Duke dresses similar and acts like Dio Brando/DIO with the heavy narcissisms and penchant for A Glass of Chianti.
- Each boss refers to a Double Dragon game, either being a direct reference or an Expy.
- Machine Gun Willy is usual boss of Double Dragon 1. (The Shadow Warriors instead of the Killers)
- The Mysterious Warrior aka the Mayor represents Double Dragon 2.
- Anubis represents the "Egypt" gang from Double Dragon 3; they're more known via Hiruko. You do see her in the Continue Screen for Gaiden.
- Lady Okada shares a last name with the Okada Sisters from Double Dragon 4; Casey and Shannon.
- Duke is the boss from Super Double Dragon.
- Each boss refers to a Double Dragon game, either being a direct reference or an Expy.
- Extremity Extremist:
- Other than being able to grab and use weapons, Billy and Jimmy have completely different fighting styles. Billy primarily uses kicks, jump kicks, flying kicks, and dive kicks. Jimmy primarily uses punches, palm strikes, elbow strikes, uppercuts and Rapidfire Fisticuffs.
- Other than one jump kick, all of Lady Okada's attack are sword or ranged based.
- From Camouflage to Criminal: Machine Gun Willy, the leader of the Killers, was a soldier before the nuclear war, and his gang follows suit, being composed of ex-military servicemen rather than the bikers they are in other versions of Double Dragon. Many of their mooks sport military caps, while their Elite Mooks, wielding dual SMGs, wear beret caps instead.
- Gang of Hats: Each of the four main gangs:
- The Killers are composed of ex-military soldiers decked out in military gear.
- The Royals all wear muscle/A-shirts with their hair dyed pink or purple, while wearing orange pants.
- The Triangle Gang are either decked in ancient Egyptian clothing or have their faces wrapped like a mummy.
- The Okada clan are basically Yakuza sporting polo shirts, suits, and the men wearing pompadours.
- The Mysterious Warrior's (The Mayor's) elite guards are dressed in black armor and riot gear.
- Glass Cannon: Marian has all the firepower of a small army, but has the lowest health of the main four heroes.
- Ground Punch: A double ground punch is one of Abobo's special attacks. It has the power of a Shockwave Stomp (as do all of Abobo's other special attacks).
- Guys Smash, Girls Shoot:
- Among the core four heroes, the Lee brothers fight with martial arts and Uncle Matin uses military CQB techniques, while Marian primarily fights with firearms.
- Inverted with characters like Linda, Lady Okada, and Machine Gun Willy. Linda uses a whip attached with a knife, Okada uses a sword, while Willy, true to his name, uses a machine gun.
- Hired Guns: Linda, Chin, Abobo, and Burnov aren't affiliated with any of the gangs, but rather are mercenaries hired by the active gang leaders. They start to show up as random mid-bosses after taking down the first gang.
- Hollywood Healing: In the intro, the Mayor barges into the Sosetsuken dojo carrying Marian, who has been injured in the line of duty. After the Lee brothers accept his plea for help in taking down the gangs, Marian is already on her feet prepared to join them.
- Honorary Uncle: Uncle Matin is not a biological uncle of the Lee twins, but stepped in to take care of the brothers (and Marian) when Master Lee vanished.
- Hyperspace Arsenal: Marian carries a pistol, a bazooka, gravity mines, a lasso, and a police baton all on her person for fighting.
- Hurricane Kick: Billy Lee's first special super is the classic "Cyclone Spin Kick".
- Improbable Weapon User: Linda's weapon is a whip with a knife in its handle.
- Large and in Charge:
- The four gang bosses are taller than the player characters and almost all their mooks, with The Mysterious Warrior being even taller.
- Though he can be a playable hero as well as a mid-boss, Abobo is also a behemoth of a man (as usual).
- Long-Range Fighter: Marian mainly uses a pistol, bazooka, and lasso. With that said, she does use a police baton and tazer when getting in close. Machine Gun Willy counts, the Okada female mooks who mainly uses pistol, and the Dual Wielding uzi Elite Mooks/Mini Bosses. Despite using a sword, Lady Okada often attacks you with long range tornados, not as long as a gun but longer than a whip. Finally, while Linda is mostly a close fighter, some of her special attacks (which involve her whip) have a very long reach.
- Luckily, My Shield Will Protect Me: Uncle Matin fights with a riot shield, and using his charge special reduces damage by giving him super armor.
- Mighty Glacier:
- Uncle Matin, Abobo, and Burnov are the slow grappler types, though Matin is the fastest of the three.
- While not as slow as the three above, Lady Okada's attacks have a deliberate and slower wind up to balance with her long range sword attacks.
- Mythology Gag: After defeating M.G. Willy as the final of the four kingpins, the players (or the player and their tag partner, for one-player games) will appear to face off with one another, like in the finale of the original Double Dragon. Instead of fighting, though, they instead celebrate their victory.
- Pink Means Feminine: Downplayed with Linda. Most of her outfit is pink (including her hair), but by far it is Marian, not Linda, who is the most "girly" of the playable fighters.
- Power Glows: When you use an attack that you've upgraded, your fighter will glow or leave brief Speed Echoes, reminding you of your improved badassness.
- Promoted to Playable:
- This isn't the first non-fighting game Double Dragon in which Marian has been a playable character, but it is the first in which she's one of the default player characters and not a secret or prologue-only character.
- Linda, Chin Taimei, Abobo, and Burnov are unlockable player characters, as are the four bosses and the Final Boss.
- Recruiting the Criminal: The Mayor seems to have recruited the four gang leaders as his right-hand enforcers after Billy, Jimmy, Marian, and Matin turn him down.
- Shoryuken: Jimmy's first special super is this.
- Surprise Vehicle: If Willy is chosen as final target after defeating the other gangs, he will show up inside a helicopter and perform a fly-by there. He needs to be knocked off from the helicopter first, and throwing him off the roof will cause the helicopter to save him and repeat the same process.
- Tag Team: Each player chooses two characters at the start of the game, and can swap between them at any time, even in the middle of a fight. As swapping fighters is one way to break an enemy's combo attack, and the swapped-out fighter will then recover a portion of the HP they lost, this is actually a useful tool for survival.
- Tokens For Nothing: Once you unlock everything the game has to offer and collect 100 tokens for an achievement, there is not much use for them, aside using the tokens as continues.
- Turns Red: In an unusual fashion. Whichever gang you choose to take on last, its boss gets some sort of notable buff to their moveset and/or has the circumstances of their fight turn to their advantage. Willy shows up in a transport helicopter, Duke gets two beefed up cyberhounds as backup, Lady Okada gets a suit of samurai armor and a few ninjas to back her up, and Anubis straight up goes One-Winged Angel into the actual god Anubis, turning into a giant spectral torso with lightning, poison breath, and telekinesis powers.
- Unusually Uninteresting Sight: Except for Machine Gun Willy, the gang leaders all have abilities that can only be described as supernatural, but the heroes never react as if teleportation or summoned lightning or Moon Blade beams are anything out of the ordinary.
- We Can Rule Together: After defeating the four gangs, the Mayor offers the heroes $10,000 to be his personal enforcers. If they accept, the Mayor uses them to start a new reign of tyranny, with the heroes crushing all protest. As the curtain closes, however, it is revealed that a new underground resistance is building, and the heroes will someday be forced to fight the rebels, becoming analogous to the four gang leaders they previously defeated. You still get to cash out the $10,000 for tokens, though!
- Western Samurai: Lady Okada is a Westerner who was married to the previous Okada Oyabun and became one herself after his death. She fights with a katana and wears a very Yakuza-inspired outfit. If you fight her as the last opponent after defeating the remaining gang leaders, she'll wear a full suit of samurai armor instead.
- Whip of Dominance: Linda's special attacks use her whip to flog or ensnare/slam her targets. What seals the trope is her Queen's Punishment move, which has her quip "On your knees!" as she repeatedly lashes whatever hapless enemies are in front of her.
- With Us or Against Us: The Mayor wasn't lying at all when he recruited the Lee brothers and friends to bring peace to New York City. However, once they do the deed for him, he decides that if they won't join him as his enforcers, this will undermine his authority, and thus they can't be allowed to remain in the city (he does simply demand they leave instead of trying to pull You Have Outlived Your Usefulness on them). The Lees, being straightforward heroes, aren't about to serve him or leave New York in his hands.
- Wrestler in All of Us: Uncle Matin, Abobo, and Burnov all have several wrestling and grapple moves, with Burnov being an actual wrestler to boot. Jimmy also has a jumping power bomb as his third super move.
- Wolf Pack Boss:
- At the end of the game you fight all four gang leaders at once just before confronting the Final Boss. The one concession you get is that they all have roughly the health and powers as their first level forms, because between this battle and the Final Boss, there is a REASON it's immediately preceded by waves of enemies tailor-made for Crowd Control food drops.
- In a lesser fashion, nearly every boss fight involves either the gang leader plus two buffed flunkies, or three buffed flunkies on their own. Depending on how far into the game you meet them, mid-bosses such as Abobo or Linda may or may not have similar backup, too.
- Year X: In the fine tradition of early NES games, the story takes place in the year 199X.
