Ludography
68/100
Players10 ratings
50/100
Critics9 reviews
More scores
Metacritic9 critic reviews
50/100
Metacritic usersuser score
65/100
GameFAQsJust Right-Tough
3.03/5
Player reviews
61% positive709 reviews
Runs on
Windows
Price
US$3.49

Where to get it

Double Dragon 4 cover

2017 · Arc System Works · Beat 'em up · Fighting

Double Dragon 4

Timed PlayStation exclusive

"The next entry in the side-scrolling action game series Double Dragon is finally here!

Released
30 January 2017
Platforms
AndroidNintendo SwitchPlayStation 4WindowsXbox OneiOS
Genres
Beat 'em upFighting
Developers
Arc System Works
Publishers
Arc System Works
Modes
MultiplayerSingle-player
Perspective
Side view
Themes
Action
Country
Japan
Age ratings
GRAC 12+PEGI 12ESRB E10+CERO BACB PG
Languages
Chinese (Simplified), Chinese (Traditional), English, French, Japanese, Korean
Time to beat
1.5hmain story5hcompletionist

About

Double Dragon IV (Japanese: ダブルドラゴン IV, Hepburn: Daburu Doragon IV) is a beat 'em up video game developed and published by Arc System Works for PlayStation 4, Windows, Nintendo Switch, and Xbox One. It is part of the Double Dragon series.

Players say

Media

The articlegameplay, story, development, reception

Gameplay

In addition to a story mode, the game includes a two-player duel mode and a tower battle mode. Enemies and bosses as well as hidden characters can be unlocked for Story and Duel modes through Tower Mode.

Story

After the defeat of the Black Warriors in Double Dragon II, Billy and Jimmy Lee look to spread their Sōsetsuken martial art by establishing dojos around the country. However, they soon face a new threat in a gang called the Renegades, who have teamed up with the Black Warriors to put an end to Billy and Jimmy once and for all.

Development

Unlike earlier games in the series, this sequel is developed by Arc System Works, which was the developer of the Master System version of the first Double Dragon game and acquired the series rights in 2015 from defunct original publisher Technōs Japan. Several series developers continued to the project, including the original director, character designer, and composer with production led by Arc System Works designer Takaomi Kaneko. The game was announced in late December 2016 via a gameplay trailer. GameSpot had expected a graphical update, similar to Double Dragon Neon, but the new sequel's gameplay and graphics are more akin to the ports made for the Nintendo Entertainment System, with several character sprites taken directly from those titles, rather than the arcade original.

Producer Takaomi Kaneko said the team made the decision use Double Dragon II for the NES as a template because the game sported the same visuals in Japan and the rest of the world. Composer Kazunaka Yamane based the soundtrack on the original NES Double Dragon games he had worked on in the past, although at first he could not find his original compositions for the past games. His new music was subsequently converted to a retro 8-bit style soundtrack that is available as an option in the game. Similarly, character designer Koji Ogata, who had also worked on Double Dragon II: The Revenge also tried to preserve the classic graphics from the older game, while adding new animations and backgrounds. The game's development team had only five members, a smaller team than the ones that worked on the NES titles.

Reception

According to video game review aggregator Metacritic, the PS4 has a score of 49, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews", while the PC version has a score of 50, indicating "mixed or average reviews". Destructoid gave it a 6/10, praising the retro aesthetic. IGN awarded it a score of 3.5/10.

Releases by platformdates and regions as published

PlatformReleasedRegions
Windows30 January 2017Worldwide
PlayStation 430 January 2017Japan · North America 31 January 2017 · Europe 31 January 2017
Nintendo Switch7 September 2017Japan
Android27 December 2017Worldwide
iOS28 December 2017Worldwide
Xbox One11 June 2020North America · Worldwide 6 November 2020

Editions and related releases

Included in
Double Dragon Collection

Games like this

Collections1 collection

Platform libraries

Description adapted from its source, CC BY-SA 4.0.