Double Dragon: Neon

This game doesn't run right now in July 4th, 2026. A lot of games are probably gonna keep having this problem all the sudden.

will not start.

Crap(unholy).

[h2]Very cheap but VERY fun beat-em-up![/h2] Okay so, Double Dragon. That's one [i]hell[/i] of a storied franchise, given the rough history it had since its beginning, and its refusal to innovate combined with just handing out the IP to literally anyone who paid the license making it an absolute mess to look back on now with no proper continuity. Then Technos died a horrible death and had its IPs bought up by ArcSys who now hogs the rights to it alongside River City/Kunio-Kun. Not long BEFORE that buyout though, there was this attempt to revive the franchise in 2012. Handed out to WayForward (banger studio by the way, they have a super consistent track record for stuff like this), and given what seems to be a budget of three venezuelan bolivars and half a box of gummy worms. ...Yeah okay I'm gonna address the ugly 3D elephant in the room before anything else. This game is very CHEAP-feeling. You can just look at it and it almost looks like one of those weird Simple Series games from back on PS2. The 2D drawn backgrounds are relatively decent-looking, but then all the characters are these weird 3D models overlaid on top with kinda-janky animation. It doesn't look very pretty, you can tell they didn't have much budget to work with. Don't let that deter you though, the graphics might be not great but EVERYTHING ELSE is [i]great[/i]. The [b]gameplay[/b] is (surprisingly) a pretty solid evolution on the base formula! I'll sum it up real quick so you get a general idea. So you have the standard beat-em-up bases. You have a sort-of-3D play area where you can move horizontally and vertically, then you can attack and jump. You have two types of attacks: Punches (which just keep going infinitely like in the oldest beat-em-up franchises like Golden Axe) and kicks (which are an actual regular 3-hit combo that ends in a spinkick with very useful i-frames). Hitting enemies enough (depends on the type of enemy) or with specific types of attacks (the spinkick is great for this) will stun enemies with a very visible freeze effect and audio cue to let you know. And once an enemy is stunned, you can either punch them, which will turn into an uppercut launcher that lets you juggle them, or grab them (you can only grab stunned enemies and certain small flying enemies) to fling them behind you, hitting every other enemy that's in the way. There's a sprint button, which has a small animation startup, but makes you move a LOT faster horizontally (and also has two attacks you can do out of it, a slide kick and a shoulder tackle which is good for staggering and stunning). You also have a "crouch" button that essentially acts as your dodge/parry. You're invincible for a brief moment when you crouch, and you can chain that into one of two attacks (a sweep kick or a rising knee launcher), or you can roll out of it. Timing a crouch/dodge right as an attack is about to hit you gives you [b]"gleam"[/b], which is a temporary buff that doubles your attack for a short duration. So you're REALLY encouraged to learn enemy attacks and engage with them by way of dodging so you can destroy them even harder when it's your turn to combo them. All of this combines REALLY well, especially since once you've launched an enemy you can keep hitting them in the air, juggle them, and even wall-bounce them if the screen is locked to a specific arena to keep your combo going. For instance, you could dodge an enemy's attack, roll behind them, now buffed with gleam, then do a couple punches from the back and chain that into a spinkick (you can combine punches and kicks) that stuns the enemy, then launch them with an uppercut, cancel that into a crouch, launch them again in the air with your rising knee, bounce them against the wall, then do a full kick combo on them as they fall back towards you. Add on top of all of this the [i]mixtape[/i] system. Being the 80s love letter that it is, the main characters basically power themselves up by equipping and listening to mixtapes. There's two types: Passive mixtapes and "Sosetsitsu" (special attack) mixtapes, and there's ten of each type. The passive ones affect your stats, and depending on which one you equip can have additional effects (like extending your gleam buffs or having health steal on your attacks). The Sosetsitsu tapes let you use the special button (yeah, another mechanic) to burn up some of your recharging energy meter and use whatever move you've equipped. They range from projectiles, to risky-but-strong melee attacks, to invincible [i]"get off me"[/i]-type moves, to healing utility for co-op. There's a lot of options! That said, you do have to level up mixtapes by grabbing duplicates dropped by defeated enemies, or buying those duplicates from the in-game shops with the money you collect. There's also a tapesmith that uses a second currency dropped by bosses to raise the max level of whatever tapes you pick, you can level them up even more. It's a bit of a weird system and you'll probably need to level those things for replays on higher difficulties, but if you don't mind a tiny little bit of grinding (or only plan on playing normal mode) it's fine. It adds a neat layer of customization to the already pretty good gameplay, and many of the Sosetsitsu moves are pretty good for comboing on top of the rest of your arsenal. Also one thing I CAN't not mention. The [b]music[/b]. It's INSANELY good dude, I really can't put into words how good this game's music is. The whole thing's composed by WayForward audio god Jake Kaufman, following a bunch of 80s styles, and pretty much all of it is super catchy. Both the vocal and non-vocal tracks (cause yes, there's vocals). The second stage's pop track and the final stage's kung-fu-movie-ass brassy tune are probably my favorites in the whole game. ALL OF IT is worth a listen though. And the other thing I should mention. The game's [b]humor/writing/tone[/b]. So, I've mentioned a couple times that the game's one gigantic 80s homage. Down to its Neon title. And the, uh, [i]questionably ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥-y[/i] trailer you probably already saw in this same store page. It's dumb, stupid, cheesy, and voice acted awkwardly in the BEST possible way. The whole thing is written like some 80s cartoon and is full of [i]insane and stupid[/i] setpieces like [spoiler]the two dumbass protagonists just "holding their breath" during the space level and being fine that way, the bad guys flying a helicopter upside down to hit you with the blades, the girlfriend you rescue sending you after the bad guy with [i]literally the power of love[/i], or THE ENTIRE ENDING SEQUENCE BEING THIS REALLY STUPID BUT REALLY CATCHY MUSICAL WHERE THE BAD GUY GIVES YOU THE BEAT-THE-GAME ACHIEVEMENT AND SINGS ABOUT IT WITH PERFECT TIMING AS HE'S EXPLODING, ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥[/spoiler]. It's humorous, but not in, like, a Marvel/millenial/self-deprecating unbearable modern style if you're worried about that. It's just wholeheartedly, unabashedly, earnestly stupid the whole way through. And I loved every second of it, almost my entire time with this game I spent rocking the stupidest grin on my face. Your mileage may vary if you wanted something more serious, though. [b]In summary?[/b] I ADORE this game. It's absolutely worth a shot, especially if you do it co-op which makes it even more fun (and changes some of the dialogue to match the two characters in fun ways). It's dirt-cheap (matching its low budget) and it's super duper fun, with surprisingly deep and solid gameplay and EXTREMELY good music. Hell, I'd say it's worth a shot even just for the music alone, but the game itself is a really fun time too.

Not really fun, just grind and lame. Get the other Double Dragon games, they are much more fun.

This game sucks so much. Nothing is good. Sorry.

Jogabilidade truncada, personagem lento, varias combinações de golpes desnecessários, personagem que aguenta poucos danos (5 socos é caixão e vela)

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This game is insane. It's the type of game you'd want a sequel for but have no idea where they'd go cause it's just that nuts. Also good to see them adapt the block/catch mechanic from Super Double Dragon into a dodge/counter attack. Works better than I expected.

Brothers fight as one Neon riffs fuel flying fists Justice rocks the night