As an old-school twitch gamer, one of my better memories was consistently beating the original Double Dragon in arcades on a single quarter. It was one of the first arcade beat-em-ups and arguably one of the best of its time. Now WayForward has finally brought their reimagining of the franchise to PC after a console release in late 2012.

Pros:
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- Neon introduces a few new concepts to the genre such as Gleam, which doubles your attack power for a short time after successfully dodging an attack and an upgrade system for magic attacks and passive bonuses in the form of mixtapes. The more of a mixtape you have, the more powerful that attack or bonus is. Enemies drop them, but you can also buy them from shops. Tapesmiths allow you to pick up more tapes in exchange for mythril, which you get from defeating bosses.
- (Note: I played with an XBox 360 controller) While there are more button commands to get used to than the original, the controls feel very solid. Nothing seems janky or off. I suggest a quick glance at the Help screen to see all your available standard moves.
- There is a good variety of enemies, some requiring a specific way to finish them off quicker than just mashing your punch button. Abobos are freakin' huge now!
- Effects and voice acting are passable, but what really stands out is the soundtrack. Virt has done an amazing job making original songs for the game that have that definite 80's vibe and the remixing of the original game's tracks are very well done.
- ONLINE CO-OP. It took the PC port of this game to get what console owners were promised over a year ago and never received, online co-op. Beat-em-ups are always 10x more fun with a friend, and with team powerups like sharing health that you can activate almost anytime by high-fiving your partner, it makes traversing the game easier as well.
- Unlike the dark, gritty visuals of the original, this game goes for a brighter, cartoony aesthetic. This game knows its audience and opted for a campy, offbeat feel, almost making fun of the era it wants to copy, and it mostly works.

Cons:
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- All these attacks at my command and NO BACK ELBOW? Anyone who played the original Double Dragon knows that move is your bread and butter for making progress in the game.
- Graphics are alright and the game has a cartoony vibe, but nothing really stands out. Also, apart from resolutions and windowed/full screen mode, there's no graphical tweaking. I'm not saying a game like this really needs those options, but when you see them in nearly every PC game, it's noticeable when they're missing.

I feel this is one of WayForwards best games to date. Much like with DuckTales Remastered, they have honoured the source material while adding a modern flair. Join up with a friend and go save Marion!

BIMMY

Ahh, the 80's. The golden era of pop culture. It brought us many wonderful things such as the NES, Ray-Bans, Transformers, and bigass hair. It also brought us an arcade classic, a 2-player beat-em-up known as Double Dragon. It got everything right, from smashing gameplay to perfectly executed co-op mayhem. And now WayForward has stepped out of the DeLorean to hand us their throwback to the past: Double Dragon Neon. This magnificent tour-de-force blows the 80's head off with a rocket launcher, builds a cyborg out of it's corpse, and then puts said cyborg on a surfboard to the future to kick modern gaming convention in the cojones. All while listening to hair metal on a boombox. It has been a long time since I have seen a game that has this level of insanity taking itself with a gospel level of seriousness.

And what would Double Dragon be without the twin heroes, Billy and Jimmy Lee? WayForward has brought the original dudebros to life with amazingly detailed cel-shaded models. All the classic enemies are here, from the lowly street thug cannon fodder, leather-clad whip-cracking bondage babes, and the infamous Abobo. Add to that the main villian, Skullmageddon, who could easily be described as a skeletal version of The Shredder from TMNT. That is if The Shredder was batsh*t insane and on LSD. This guy is pure evil though, and he makes no bones about trying to pun you to death. On the music front, Jake Kaufman (AKA Virt) has brought the sound of the 80's back to life with a massively awesome mixture of vocal pop and hard rockin hits. The complete soundtrack is downloadable at his Bandcamp page for the low low price of NADA, so check it out!

The gameplay in Double Dragon Neon is largely unchanged from the original game, however there are a few new addons that change things up considerably. As you make your way through the game, defeated enemies will drop mixtapes. These audio treats come in two flavors, upgrade tapes that add to your stats, and Sōsetsuken tapes that add to your special attacks. Be sure to grab as many as you can, because you can stack each tape to further upgrade your stats and moves! The special attacks are quite varied, ranging from a classic cyclone kick to a hadouken-inspired fireball. Be sure to listen to each mixtape as well, the lyrics are quite funny.

I started out playing Double Dragon Neon expecting to play a decent remake of a beloved game. And what I got was an experience that far exceeded my expectations as WayForward has ripped the 80's a new one, and yanked this glorious beast out of the void. I honestly cannot find a single thing to complain about with this game. So if you are pining for the days of big music, bad puns, and beating the ever-loving crap out of big dudes named Abobo, Double Dragon Neon will NOT disappoint. And it's only gonna take up $10 of your hairspray budget!

Classic Beat Em Up fun. Extremely hard if you're alone, Bro-Op makes it a lot easier obviously. This is a great game that rewards skill and creativity with a somewhat lenient engine. If you're a Double Dragon fan, give it a try, it should be worth your time.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vl9Nz-X4M68

Couldn't be any clearer