Billy and Jimmy Lee are back, and this time they’re going on another wasteland-cleaning rampage!

Publisher Modus Games and Singapore-based developer Secret Base have announced a new entry in the Double Dragon franchise: Double Dragen Gaiden: Rise of the Dragons. The game is a 2D beat-em-up with pixel graphics that hearken back to the 80s and 90s style of gaming at the time, featuring original blue and red main stars Billy and Jimmy Lee.

Apart from the usual stages you have to go through in roguelite fashion (you can select stages in any order, and that shapes the whole playthrough), you can earn tokens to help shape the experience further, be it turning on permadeath or even turning on infinite mode, along with other modifiers that can spice up the game.

Joining them are Marian and Uncle Matin. Marian is now a ranged fighter, an upgrade from her past damsel-in-distress role and a little different from her River City Girls 2 appearance. Uncle Matin is brand-new; he’s a riot shield-bearing powerhouse.

Tag in and out as the classic Lee duo or switch it up with different characters. With two-player local co-op, the action quadruples as you and a friend clean up the mean streets.

The devs also add in four factions for the Double Dragons to take down. As you can see below, these groups are related to past Double Dragon titles: machine gunner Willy, Duke from Return of Double Dragon, the Egyptians in Double Dragon 3, and the Okada sister(s) in Double Dragon IV.

Speaking of retro and old games, the last Double Dragon game that came out was Double Dragon IV back in 2017; it wasn’t the best entry in the series. However, the Lee brothers and Marian have made appearances in the River City Girls games as shopkeepers and playable characters. At least for the latter, as Marian is a pretty hard-hitting badass in part 2.

Double Dragon Gaiden will be out for PC, Xbox Series, Xbox One, PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, and Nintendo Switch in Summer 2023. You can wishlist the game too on Steam. Check out the action & features list below.

Features

• TAG TEAM ACTION – Choose two fighters and seamlessly switch between them, giving you a multitude of strategies for devastating combos, defensive and offensive moves.
• BEAT ‘EM UP WITH ROGUELITE ELEMENTS– Experience endless playthrough possibilities with a dynamic mission select function; the order in which you choose your mission will affect mission length, number of enemies, and overall difficulty. Choose where you improve with randomized purchasable upgrades for your characters at the end of each mission, or save your cash to revive your players in-mission.
• 13 UNIQUE PLAYABLE CHARACTERS – Start the fight with Billy, Jimmy, Marian, and Uncle Matin. Earn tokens along the way to unlock a diverse roster of 9 more characters, each with their own playstyle and strengths. Strategically choose your fighting duo by taking into account each characters’ strengths and weaknesses.
• SHAPE YOUR EXPERIENCE AND REWARDS – Adjust game difficulty to affect the amount of tokens earned per session and use those tokens to unlock content from the Token Shop including characters, tips, and more. Modifier can be used to enter permadeath or even infinite mode.
• LOCAL CO-OP – Grab a friend and clean up the city streets together in local co-op mode that supports up to two players.