Rage
of the Dragons
ABOUT:
Evoga originally envisioned Rage of the
Dragons as a sequel to the NeoGeo fighting game incarnation of Double
Dragon released back in 1995. However, Evoga were unable to use the intellectual
rights for the characters, and thus, Rage of the Dragons was turned into
a "homage" to the Double Dragon series instead of an official sequel.
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Rage
of the Dragons character select screen.
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REVIEW:
Rage
of the Dragons is an interesting and unorthodox homage to the classic
and influential arcade beat-em-up series, Double
Dragon. Rage of the Dragons (ROTD for short) reintroduces several
veteran characters from the Double Dragon series, including: Jimmy, Billy, and Abobo... but the
majority of the roster filled with entirely new character designs to the franchise.
Rage of the Dragons features standard 2D fighting game mechanics, Tag-Team gameplay,
16 playable fighters in total, and nice-looking hand-drawn stages. The game shares a similar
artistic visual style to SNK's Garou: Mark of the
Wolves, boasting smooth character animations and
screen-filling, hard-hitting super moves. In my opinion, something about ROTD's visuals seem "unfinished" or
perhaps slightly rushed. In particular, some of the projectile sprites & effects look generic (and lack animations) compared to some of the top 2D sprite-based fighting games of the era.
This isn't the case with all characters, however, as special move effects for
protagonists Billy and Jimmy look impressive. It just seems like certain
characters were given more polish than others.
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I feel
like I've seen this background before.
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The Tag-Team gameplay mechanics are intuitive and
straight-forward, with some easy combo possibilities for pretty much any team combination. Players can switch out characters at will, and the character
who is not being controlled will recover life while their partner is fighting.
Characters have a decent amount of priority attacks, special moves, and super moves. Some
of the "Team Duplex" combos can be pretty flashy, and are easily the
best-looking moves in the game. On the downside, there are some very cheap exploits and infinite combos that definitely "break the game" in high-level
(or even mid-level) play.
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Pupa and Pepe with the Tag-Team combo.
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While the 2D fighting game fundamentals
are accounted for in Rage of the Dragons and do offer some enjoyable "traditional" 2D gameplay... the incredibly cheap juggles and infinites kind of ruin the game (especially since they're so easy to perform). While similar cheap combos can
be overlooked in other 2D fighters (due to a higher execution required), the same can't really be said about ROTD's broken combos. In theory, if you "ban" these infinite combos... the game can be more fun and might add to
its replayability. At the end of the day, Rage of the Dragons features an interesting
cast
based on a beloved retro beat-em-up series, and it's one of the more compelling SNK fighting games
of the era.
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| Page Updated: |
July
16th, 2024 |
| Developer(s): |
BrezzaSoft, Noise Factory,
Evoga Entertainment |
| Publisher(s): |
SNK Playmore
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| Designer(s): |
Evoga
Entertainment
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| Platform(s): |
Arcade,
NeoGeo
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| Release Date(s): |
September
20th, 2002
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| Characters: |
Billy,
Jimmy, Abubo,
Lynn,
Alice, Annie,
Cassandra, Radel,
Oni,
Pepe,
Pupa,
Elias,
Mr.
Jones, Kang,
Sonia, Johan
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Featured Video:
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| Related Games: |
Double
Dragon, Garou:
Mark of the Wolves, Power Instinct:
Matrimelee, Power Instinct, Guilty Gear XX, Soul
Calibur 2, Street Fighter Alpha 3 Upper, Capcom
Vs. SNK 2, Breakers Revenge, The
King of Fighters 2002
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Gameplay
Engine
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6.5 / 10
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Story
/ Theme
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6.5 / 10
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Overall
Graphics
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7.5 / 10
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Animation
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7.0 / 10
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Music
/ Sound Effects
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5.0 / 10
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Innovation
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5.5 / 10
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Art Direction
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8.5 / 10
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Customization
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6.0 / 10
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Options / Extras
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5.0 / 10
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Intro / Presentation
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7.0 / 10
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Replayability / Fun
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5.5 / 10
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"Ouch" Factor
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6.0 / 10
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Characters
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6.5 / 10
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BOTTOM LINE
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6.8
/
10
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Review based on Arcade
version
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| Final
Words: |
As a huge fan of Garou: Mark of The Wolves... I had high hopes for Rage
of The Dragons when it was first announced, especially since the
graphics style and animation is fairly similar. In my opinion, ROTD
didn't quite live up to the hype and does suffer from some major gameplay flaws
such as infinite combos. Unfortunately, there was never a patched version or
sequel released to remedy these gameplay flaws.
In casual play, the straight-forward 2D mechanics and Tag-Team system is fairly
enjoyable and fun. However, ROTD
has some very broken infinite combos (which aren't difficult to perform at
all). In comparable 2D fighting games, infinite combos in those games actually
require very precise inputs and are fairly difficult to pull off for most
players. In ROTD's case, the game can become completely unfair and broken
once a player learns the exploits.
Even so, many of ROTD's character designs are compelling and charming. I
had the most fun with the game simply exploring the moveset designs and Tag-Team
combo possibilities. While many characters have cool animations and special
moves, others seem a bit uninspired and slightly underdeveloped. In any case, ROTD is a
unique and innovative SNK fighting game for its time, both visually and
technically. For that reason, Rage of the Dragons is worth a
look for any 2D fighting game fan.
~TFG
Webmaster |
@Fighters_Gen
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