Faisal Ghaffar 
You will learn an important lesson from Double Dragon Gaiden: Rise of the Dragons; you should not believe it when a strange man comes into your office with one of your friends to tell you he is the new mayor and requires your help for restoring peace in your fallen city. It also shows that combining tag-team combat and roguelike elements can be a good foundation, but may not be remarkable in any other way.
The combat and tag system
As compared to games like River City Girls 2 and Streets of Rage 4, you will find that Double Dragon Gaiden has a very simple combat methodology and it is very easy to execute. You do not have to have knowledge of platform fighters to find the combos and special moves. It feels great to turn normal attacks into special moves and the game also gives you windows for juggling enemies.
While this is good, it is the tag system that adds the real depth. This gives you the opportunity to choose a pair of characters for clobbering the streets instead of going solo. There is a remarkable variety of fighters for you to choose from once they are unlocked. You have a total of 14 of options, with each one distinct from the other.
You can also unlock boss characters and also retain the unique actions they used against you. But, bear in mind that there are only a few characters that have the ability of wielding weapons dropped by the enemy.
Mechanical exploration
Double Dragon Gaiden’s mechanical exploration is deciding how to form tag teams with the characters to ensure they are able to complement one another. The most effective combination would be one where pairs can provide you the maximum options of attack in any scenario and are able to cover one another’s weaknesses.
It should be noted that there is no dedicated dodge or block and characters have specific defensive tools. But, it is the mission structure that is the best part of the game. You are given the option of choosing from one of the four missions in the beginning. These are themed and color-coded after the signature gang boss of every zone.
The levels
There are some very creative backdrops that you will come across in the four locations, but the maps are otherwise not very impressive. Sure, fighting on a casino floor is fun when you are between rows of slot machines, but it can be disappointing when you move back to lifeless offices. Likewise, some levels also add gimmicks that make you wish they had not.
Other than the looks, these levels also come with obstacles designed to slow you down. Most of these are very trivial that you can overcome quite easily. Enemies on the regular difficulty are pretty relentless and even though their quantity does rise, the same does not apply to variety.
The Verdict
You will have a good time playing Double Dragon Gaiden: Rise of the Dragons, as the characters are unique and the punchy combat makes it fun, but it can also become repetitive very fast.
