Rage of The Dragons Neo Review (PS5) – A Forgotten Classic

The exploits of Billy Lee and Jimmy Lee are well known in the coin-op community as Double Dragon. With several games within the franchise that featured these two martial arts masters, a fighting game would probably be something to expect. No, we’re not talking about the 1995 Neo Geo game that included the short-lived movie’s clips. Who wants to see Mark Dacascos of John Wick and Iron Chef fame kick a dude who resembles Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure mentor, Rufus, in 24-bit? Both the game and movie were not in sync as the company attempted to make them and this is yet another game that attempts to spin the aftermath of the Lee brothers on the Neo Geo, and it was immensely better in 2002. This is Rage of the Dragons.

Game Name: Rage of The Dragons Neo
Platform(s): PS5 (reviewed), PS4, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, Nintendo Switch and PC
Publisher(s): QUByte Interactive
Developer(s): Noise Factory, Evoga
Release Date: November 14th 2024

What is Rage of The Dragons Neo

Rage of the Dragons Neo attempts to give the Lee brothers a new lease on life through tragedy. The catalyst of their original adventure dies, leaving the brothers to their own devices and parting ways following the death of Marion Kelly. The brothers (renamed with the surname Lewis instead of Lee due to legal reasons) return to Sunshine City to stop the main villain, Johann, from releasing the powers of the Dark Dragon. Several other characters, who wield inherited dragon spirits, are tasked with putting an end to Johann’s chaos and cult through a tournament.

Fourteen fighters take the action to the streets in Rage of the Dragons, alongside two boss characters. Billy, Jimmy, and the titular Abobo make their return. Each fighter feels unique in their archetype. Pepe and Elias became my go-to team, combining a keep-away game with a touch of multi-hit attacks. Elias, though slower, excelled with better projectiles for range, while Pepe had options for closing the gap, lightning attacks, and synergized well with Rage of the Dragons’ mechanics. The game’s classic 2D aesthetic from the Neo Geo era makes a return, unfiltered and as dynamic as ever.

Stages start with an invisible enclosure that breaks if a character gets knocked into it. The moment it breaks, an opportunity to continue the onslaught in the air opens up. The structure treats character defeats like bouts. If there is a KO, the fight continues after a count-in and a character leaves.

It Takes Two

The tag system is the heart of Rage of the Dragons. The tag mechanic enables another character to join the fight with a bit of invincibility to start before they hit the opponent. Unlike other tag-team fighters, such as any Marvel vs. Capcom game, they actually run up to the opponent instead of jump-kicking in. If the tag super is activated, the current character charges in with some hits before tagging in the other character. If the super is activated again, the second character will either do the tag super or a bunch of hits with the original character before crossing each other.

The First Impact seems to take a few cues from Street Fighter Alpha, The Matrix (well, it feels like it does), and any rhythm-based dance game. After a First Impact hits, the opponent is thrown into the air, and your character has a limited time window to hit the opponent using specific buttons displayed after the move begins. There are two variants of this mechanic, which can lead to a potential juggle at the end of the move.

Different Ways To Settle The Score

There are a few modes in Rage of the Dragons. The Arcade mode is standard fare for the story. Along with Arcade mode, there is a Challenge mode that features three levels of tasks to complete. The mode itself feels like Survival, as you’re limited to one team. The first stage, for instance, pits you against four fighters back-to-back. Once one partner is defeated, the other will jump in, with one more on standby.

Replay Mode has been baked in. Capturing replays is a snap. Controlling either character is a breeze and is available at launch. Save an online replay and take control of either side of the battle. Movesets can be displayed on the layout if needed. Training Mode is here, too, and it even shows hitboxes.

What Hinders Rage of the Dragons

While there are highlights with this port, there are some aspects of Rage of the Dragons Neo that don’t have me bragging. Finding matches within the game at certain times was definitely a challenge. I was unable to find even one to test out the rollback netcode. The stage starts were a bit baffling to me with the whole boundaries mechanic. This can be turned off during online matches and versus mode.

Ironically, due to the game’s emphasis on teamwork, each character is limited to one true partner for their super. This, in turn, might leave players scratching their heads, especially since the source material revolves around two brothers saving a city from a crime lord while being connected by dragon spirits. While Jimmy L… err, Lewis and Billy Lewis do share a few endings together, they don’t have a tag super together. It’s quite odd, to be honest, for a Double Dragon game.

As any Neo Geo / SNK veteran will warn you, the difficulty level is no joke. Even on the lowest difficulty, and with the mechanics being easy to grasp, the game can still be an insane challenge. Johann is a menace, even when he’s on his own at the end, and he remains tough even on the lowest difficulty, as expected from a Neo Geo boss. The challenge is present, but it only offers three levels of runs. It quickly ramps up to “beat everyone.”

As with many fighting games these days, cross-play is unavailable at the moment. A nitpick would be the translations within the game’s story, or the lack of story altogether. Arcade mode doesn’t provide much insight into the lore, making it hard to invest in. Of course, one could argue that it’s a fighting game first, but for a game that continues a beloved franchise, a refresher on the world-building could have been helpful. Who are all these other characters who seem to know the Lewis brothers? Why is Abobo nerfed? Several plot holes are present in Rage of the Dragons. The wiki helped with this review, but it would have been cool to see more of this fleshed out in the game itself.

The Revival of Rage of the Dragons

Rage of the Dragons is likely a far cry from the iconic Tradewest title in name alone, but it stands on its own as a niche entry in the tag-team fighting game genre. As an SNK tag fighter, Rage of the Dragons delivers what it promises when it comes to the fight. While it captures the essence of fighting games from yesteryear, some modern expectations, such as cross-play and more competition, leave room for improvement. Outside of this, Rage of the Dragons feels like a solid port that could not have chosen a better time to be re-released, especially in the year of the genre’s resurgence.

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