![]() At that point you are an unstoppable force, killing most baddies in a single hit. ![]() Of course, you'll have to buy upgrades to allow you to hold more audio cassettes, but in theory you will be able to get each power up to level 50. Instead of picking up only one copy of each cassette, players will have the opportunity to level-up their powers by collecting multiple tapes. You're able to select one Sosetsitsu and one stance at a time, swapping whenever you want. Not all of these attacks are useful in all situations, so learning when to use what is key to surviving the game's ten grueling stages. These powers include everything from a simple fireball and spin kick to a move that partially refills your depleted health bar. Over on the Sosetsitsu side, you are able to equip special attacks to wield against your enemies. The stances are fairly self-explanatory, giving your character added armor, strength, speed and other helpful attributes. There are two types of mix tapes, Sosetsitsu (attacks) and Stances (character buffs). Finally there's a way to bring special moves, a leveling system and stat buffs to this style of brawler. It's the use of mix tape power-ups that turns Neon into something bigger than Double Dragon. Couple these moves with a run button that adds even more variations to your standard punches and kicks, and you have a fight mechanic with surprising depth. There are a few combos to memorize, which alone makes this a deeper experience than those 1980s arcade games. You get the usual punches, kicks and throws, as well as different moves for when you're jumping and ducking. Thankfully the gameplay doesn't feel like it was ripped out of the 1980s. This is a game that embraces the 1980s kitsch at every turn, to the point of becoming a self-parody at certain points. Even the power-ups come in the way of audio cassettes. ![]() The music is also in on the joke, playing songs inspired by the Street Fighter soundtrack and Stan Bush's "The Touch". The character designs seem to be based on the over-the-top cover art slapped on Nintendo Entertainment System cartridges. Like the title implies, Double Dragon: Neon is overflowing with 1980s nostalgia. As strange as these bosses sound, they make perfect sense in the context of the adventure. ![]() The most perplexing is a genetically enhanced plant creature with arms in the shapes of dinosaurs and sharks. Another has you battling an Ultraman rip-off with a fancy (and easily destroyed) space motorcycle. One level sees you fighting a multi-sectional tank. These different stages also come with a few creative boss fights, something the Double Dragon franchise has always had trouble with. It's an adventure full of surprises and a great sense of humor. Later they fight zombies in a haunted forest, killer helicopters in the assault zone and genetically engineered soldiers in the research lab. Suddenly Billy and Jimmy go from battling street thugs to smacking down space robots. It all starts in the second stage, when the brothers unwittingly enter a building-shaped rocket and blast off into space. All this will be instantly familiar to anybody who has spent even a few seconds with a Double Dragon game.īut don't get too cozy, because Double Dragon: Neon takes a few unexpected turns on the way to saving Marian. This includes Abobo, a giant steroid-fueled monster that will rip you limb from limb if you give him the chance. They do this by walking from left to right punching and kicking any street thug that gets in their way. You see a motley crew of thugs kidnap Marian, prompting Billy and Jimmy Lee to leap into action and save the day. Am I that out of touch with what the average gamer is looking for or am I one of the only people who truly understands where this company is coming from?Īt first, Double Dragon: Neon looks like a colorful retelling of the all-too-familiar story from the 1987 arcade game. And yet here I am scratching my head in disbelief. Friends and critics I normally trust have a venomous hatred for the game. WayForward's newest game is a fresh reboot of Double Dragon, and like clockwork, it's being hit with decidedly mixed reviews. Now it's 2012 and apparently nothing has changed. The same thing happened with Contra 4 I felt like it was the perfect revival of a classic game series, while others seemed to think it was a complete waste of time. I loved it, but was shocked to discover that many of my fellow critics hated every second of it. Last year around this time I was raving about WayForward's brilliant BloodRayne: Betrayal, a fresh take on an otherwise middling action franchise.
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