Double Dragon Revive Review: Breathing New Life Into a Beat-’Em-Up Classic
/By Justin D Williams
When Arc System Works announced Double Dragon Revive I won’t lie I was skeptical. I had mixed feelings about a classic franchise being touched yet again. However all that went away when I finally got my hands on Double Dragon Revive. Following the catastrophic nuclear war by 15 years, Double Dragon Revive is about the struggle of living through such times and is not very optimistic. The story tells how the world was torn apart, how the colonies seek to recover, and how the gangs took over. The coastal colony city is one of the places where the Shadow Warriors, a mob group, are the absolute rulers. Going against the law at will and using their henchmen, they maintain their power by terror, corruption, and hurt.
The Lee brothers Billy and Jimmy with their Sosetsu-ken trained martial arts are the ones standing against the Shadow Warriors. Together with their friend Marian, they operate a modest dojo a place where one can still find discipline and hope. When the Shadow Warriors threaten the dojo, the brothers find themselves caught up in a conflict much bigger than them. The Lee brothers search for missing people in the slums, see the rich getting richer while the poor become poorer, and are overwhelmed by the rule of gangs. They decide to risk their lives to protect not only their neighborhood, but also the spirit of the community that has supported them.
Gameplay: The gameplay of Double Dragon Revive is the perfect equilibrium of a classic game and a deep modern game. In essence, players still have to walk along the streets in a scrolling arcade and fight the thugs who come in hordes but with the addition of layers by Arc System Works, there are now mechanisms with which one can have real strategies in action. While players can execute the usual combos and throws, they can also make use of Dragon Orb Gauge which is a meter that increases as the fight goes and if it is used for the finishing move, it causes great damage. This device is giving the reward to the player who is aggressive but at the same time skillful and thus the fight acquires the sense of the change from the low to the high, of the continuation and escalation of the movement.
Weaponize the new skill, Critical Assault to the max to flip the fight in your favor. It involves synchronization of the player’s and game’s time as well as the correct spot and this is just the opposite of a button-masher game you might have thought it to be. The newly added interaction between the stage and the player provides even more options: a player may equip himself with a bat or a dagger, throw a foe at another, or even use stage objects as improvised tools of destruction, making sure that no encounter can be foretold. To sum up the changes in movement, the dodges are quicker than before, the parries can be performed almost instantly, and the player character can be more smoothly positioned for a follow-up move; thus, the player can escape the danger in a sort of dance or weaving manner.
Still, co-op play, which is both local and online, is the main attraction of the game; the two brothers working together for the delivery of the synchronized punishment is not only cool but also effective. Besides that, the game has an Extra Mode featuring more than fifty missions, challenges for different characters, and extra stuff apart from the main story.
The Double Dragon Revive game is structured in such a way as to have the player go from one enemy to the next, clear the stage, and then fight a boss enemy. Besides the refinements to mechanics, pace, and interactivity, the game has a satisfying rhythm that rewards mastering it and keeps the battles alive. So, you can say this game is a genre rewrite, albeit not of the rules, but it meaningfully evolves them, thus, the combat system that it has is one which speaks of the arcade roots of the series while still accepting the demands of modern players.
Graphics: The pixel sprites of the ’80s are no longer with us. Instead, there are 3D character models and environments that try to mix modern fidelity with nostalgic spirit. The lighting effects, detailed stages, and smoother animations provide the game with a refined look, which is still an arcade-style presentation.
However, the graphics could split the audience. A few of them embrace the crisp, high-def glossy, whereas others think the art style is too standard for a comparison of the series’ tough, pixelated roots.
Sound: The soundtrack reworks the familiar themes while adding new tracks to match the post-apocalyptic world. Each fist, foot, and weapon hit is very loud and clear, and background city sounds are there to make the world more real.
Though the trailers haven’t revealed much about the sound, the fans believe that the combination of nostalgic references and contemporary production will be a delight. For a beat-’em-up, sound is less about subtlety and more about energy, and Double Dragon Revive seems set to deliver.
Final Grade B+ - Double Dragon Revive feels like a heartfelt return to the glory days of the legendary series. Although it lacks a genre revitalization of beat-’em-up, it achieves its intended purpose, which is to acquaint the players with the characters of the first time namely Billy and Jimmy Lee. So far, it looks like a proper new installment of the classic series, thanks to its dark post-war environment, flowing gameplay, and good co-op experience.
