Double Dragon IV is heading to PlayStation 4 and PC on 30th January in Japan, and seemingly around the same time in the West, and that would normally exclude it from an article here on Nintendo Life. Yet we can't ignore it, because Arc System Works has produced a visual style and gameplay that is basically the same as the NES originals, albeit with more colours and no distracting flicker.
That's not hyperbole, either, check it out below - it's how NES games look with rose-tinted spectacles.
The official website is also well worth a look, as it goes into exhaustive detail on the modes and even the movesets of the characters. The new Tower Mode, in particular, sounds like a fun way to unlock more characters.
Having recently played a bit of Double Dragon II: The Revenge on the NES Mini we can't help but mourn the lack of an eShop release at present. We'd love to see it on Wii U or 3DS, though they're perhaps longshots. Beyond that, hopefully a Switch version is in the works, as this would surely go down well with the Nintendo audience.
Let us know what you think of Double Dragon IV, and its throwback style, in the comments.
Comments 52
Come on! They gotta give us a switch version!
Plus, where is Super Double Dragon at on VC?!
It just wouldn't be Double Dragon without jumps that are impossible to clear, eh?
Anyway, this looks decent enough. Not a huge DD fan, but always up for playing them with friends.
Well, I had a look online & the developer has worked on the Nintendo platforms both historically and in recent years... so I can't see it being a deliberate snub. Might just be the game was in development before the Switch announcement so haven't finished making their mind up yet.
The game looks good & I remember having a lot of fun with Double Dragon in the past. I wonder if it really could hold my attention nowadays? I certainly remember the odd stage being a chore.
Is Switch news really that barren?
I could list one or two other games that are not confirmed for Switch yet
Much prefer this over River City.
And c'mon Sega, Streets of Rage 4 please!
The good old days.
How about an updated version of NES turtles?
Am I the only one who found the art style simply horrible?
I know that it is supposed to be like the older NES games, but come on, games like this are not pretty, just sell because of nostalgia glasses. No one younger that didn't force fed itself with NES games can find this attractive. This coming from a 25 year old who force fed itself the older zeldas, marios and megaman (my life started on SNES) for the sake of defeating the franchises.
Don't get me wrong, I don't hate 8-bit style retro by definition, Shovel Knight in my personal opinion looks quite good, I just think that while the retro style might be good reminder of how things were, it should not be an excuse to make a game that looks horrible with cheap graphics (and lower budget) just for the sake of nostalgia. Mega Man 9 and 10 in my opinion were on the same boat.
Looks amazing, but this could EASILY be ported to the 3DS you know! ;_;
@DonkeyKongBigBoy Ohhh yes please!!
@Jessica286 classic game!
Hope this and "Berserk Musou" end up on the Switch. Else I will be forced to buy them on PC... and half the fun for me is being able to play them on a console.
@DeathUriel Games aiming for realism may not have looked great until the 16 bit era, but other games could look amazing.

This would be a day one purchase for me on the switch!
Looks great, but does it play like DDII?
Yuck.
I'd still buy it, but good God, is that lazy. I'd rather have a belated port of Double Dragon Neon instead (which was never released on Nintendo consoles).
You know what would be even better for playing on the go?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h9G94zqpXZY
Oh wow, when I think about it, I just remembered how un-PC this game is, especially in Stage 3...
@NinChocolate Both River City and Double Dragon are owned by Arc System Works.
I'll get it eventually, but I still wish the graphics were from the original arcade games, not the NES games that were based on the arcade originals.
I want this on 3ds.
I'll just have to sate myself with river city ransom tokyo rumble
This would be a perfect fit for Switch especially since DD2 is the godfather of the beat'em up genre. I'm sure an announcement will happen soon.
It would be ideal release to me.
@PlywoodStick
Lol, WOW this was a great mash up back in the day! Probably the easiest of the Battletoads game, which says a lot since the game was still challenging. Rare should really bring this IP back.
Just another reason I'll be getting a PS4 soon.
@Siskan As I said I don't actually hate all 8-Bits. I know that some actual 8-bits games can be good-looking too. That's is just not the majority. My problem is when they use the style to make something that looks bad today as an excuse and selling point. Retro is quite in and everyone knows games can look awesome in 8-bits or 16-bits styles but they don't actually have the original limitations when imitating the styles nowadays.
Neato. I hope it comes to the Switch.
@DeathUriel It's all about nostalgia, most people will have played the game at home on their NES... and it would have looked like this. Nostalgia sells just as hard as graphics sometimes. Hence all those movies based on 80s licenses making money, even if they're terrible adaptions (TMNT/Transformers).
Some people would only buy this game because it has the retro look. They did an updated version of this type of game a few times for the PS2 & they failed. Keep it cheap, keep it retro.
I'll get this for PC( I finally built a new one) for $7.50 tops during a steam sale... definitely not worth $15 or $20 though.
Looks like the dev tried to self impose color palette combination limits as well...most devs just allow themselves full access to millions of colors when making an intentional 'retro' title. When I play a new 'retro' game....I prefer for it to have some level of resource limit and constraint just like the old consoles.
@DanteSolablood About the adaptation I didn't even know. I am not very fond of beat-them-ups. But yeah, they are just selling nostalgia for the older folks.
Double Dragon... "IV"? Well, I guess that means Super Double Dragon wasn't part IV then lol. Ookay. And well, Double Dragon "V" was just based on the American cartoon so that wasn't even canon. But I thought DDIII was canon so... I'm surprised the story takes place right after DDII. Wow, it's a good thing that I love Double Dragon enough to not care in the end and just play it
@Mbrogz3000 Wait, you built a PC for $7.50 tops?
@MeloMan Game titles are similar villain deaths in superhero movies, it doesn't happen unless you see it with your own eyes. Just think Final Fantasy.. that's a pretty messed up numbering system (different between UK/US/JAP).
..yea, this would have been great on 3ds or Wii U ...but hopefully on Switch, since it's easy to port to.. Also crowdfunded River City Underground is finishing up and looks awesome! Just check out these moves...
..it would make another Switch knockout...
I understand that people are more nostalgic about the NES style (because it's what they had), but really, the arcade style was far, far better.
This game could easily be ported on any system available. Just another classic example of Sony buying console exclusivity to not let it being released elsewhere and not caring the japanese industry is reaching less and less people with worse and worse sales every year since almost 10 years. I was a big fan of Sony but now I boycott them since I realized they only want to destroy the japanese industry because it's the only way they found to kill Nintendo.
It's too bad it ain't coming to Switch, would have made a nice portable action game to play on the go or with families and friends as the PC and PS4 lack that privilege.
Double Dragon IV?
I know there was never a Double Dragon titled as 'IV', but the SNES had Super Double Dragon and then there was Double Dragon V.
I always assumed that 'Super' was 'IV'.
I wanted a more arcade look to this game. But I'll still pick this up for PS4.
Yuck and yuck.
Its the gameplay that matters. But NES version sucks compared to original arcade version. Gameboy version sucked even more ofc.
Know what would be nice on VC? Double Dragon Advance. I really liked that game. Its hard to be excited for this after playing the excellence that was Neon. I think Double Dragon 4 is a lazy title, because to me the SNES game was 4, and the NES style is okay... I get that they're going the Mega Man 9 & 10 route... I still love and need to replay Neon on harder modes. So I'm good. I'd like to try this. But its not gonna kill me if I don't play it anytime soon.
Feels wrong without Acclaim on it
@Retron
yup lol
Oh, Linda. I thought you were turning your life around.
I'll buy that for (considerably more than) a dollar! But only if it comes to a Ninty system. For the record, I prefer the NES games to the arcade. The original looks gorgeous with upscaled RGB!
If Capcom releases Sengoku Basara on the Switch Japan only, consider me buying it day 1!
Pretty sweet—as long as it doesn’t pointlessly suffer from any of the issues you might find in an original NES version of such a game, like slowdown or flickering if there’s too many sprites on-screen (if it actually bothers to show more than a couple of enemies at any time).
Looks like some major fan hack of Double Dragon II.
This looks absolutely incredible; I really hope they bring it to the Switch. The last decent console game we got from this series was "Double Dragon Advance"...but that was 14 years ago. "Double Dragon Neon" looked and sounded amazing, but it was download-only with XBox Live Arcade. We need these classic staples back, pronto!
I need this in my life. How sweet would a physical release on the Switch be. The artwork on Double Dragon 2 is still one of my top all time.
Cool Double dragon 2 on nes back when it came out in co op was so much fun hopefully takes off from where 3 left off.
@DeathUriel There are many 3d rendered games for you to choose from in this age ..even double dragon neon. There are many people that like this style that dont get much choice .. its ok to get thrown an old bone left over from the pile of scrap once in a while right
That's actually a fair point. But that doesn't change that on the dev side it is just a cheap cash grab sold on pure nostalgia, that's what pisses me.
I would have preferred a follow up to Super Double Dragon or Neon but hey what can you do? If it comes to Switch (which I am sure it will eventually because this is a cash grab) then I will look at getting it.
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