Double Dragon IV Reviews

Double Dragon IV is ranked in the 7th percentile of games scored on OpenCritic.
4 / 5.0
Feb 3, 2017

Double Dragon IV continues the franchise’s legacy with possibly its best home game to date.

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8 / 10.0
Feb 10, 2017

Double Dragon IV is a pure nostalgia trip, but it comes with enough interesting combat tweaks and bonus modes to be worth a few playthroughs for anyone with an appreciation of the NES originals.

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75 / 100
Feb 3, 2017

But like Capcom did with Mega Man 9 and 10, Double Dragon IV looks and plays like an NES Double Dragon.

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7.5 / 10.0
Sep 12, 2017

I enjoyed my time with Double Dragon 4, it looks, sounds and plays exactly how I remember it back when I was a kid. The addition of new modes, being able to customize the controls and fun local multiplayer will make this one I most certainly will break out when friends are over. I mean how often do you get the chance to show somebody a purple version of Abobo getting tornado kicked.

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8 / 10
Feb 17, 2017

You’re either going to love or hate Double Dragon IV and its old-school vibe. If you’re a fan of the NES releases in the series and have always wanted more, then you’re going to love this new one. If, on the other hand, you didn’t grow up playing 8-Bit games and favor flashy 3D graphics and games that are 12+ hours long, then you better stay far away from this one. As someone who enjoyed the Double Dragon games back I the day, I had a lot of fun with this new one and I look forward to seeing what Ark System Works does with the series.

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7 / 10.0
Feb 15, 2017

Complaints and level design grumbles aside, Double Dragon IV is a proud throwback to gaming’s yesteryear and if you’re a fan of the series you can do a lot worse than picking this up. Just watch out for the disappearing bits near the end, the timing on those things are murder.

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70%
Mar 3, 2017

If you are a fan and still play retro: worth your time, it's very faithful to the series, almost too much If you are not: probably pass on this one, you'll just be angry.

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6 / 10.0
Jan 29, 2017

If you’re looking for a true-to-form Double Dragon title, this is it. However, with decades passing since the original and nothing to propel it forward outside of the ancient IP, you may have difficulty finding the fun

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USgamer
Top Critic
Feb 3, 2017

Double Dragon IV feels like the developer Arc System Works discovered an unreleased old NES game and emulated it on PS4. Its graphics, sound, and gameplay are utterly authentic to the period. Unfortunately, so are its cheap shots and frustrating design elements. It's certainly a lot of fun to play for a while, but once its nostalgic novelty wears off, only hardcore retro fans will likely want to come back for more.

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6 / 10.0
Jan 31, 2017

Arc System Work's staunch dedication to the retro aesthetic for Double Dragon IV is admirable, but still falls short of the mark even when juxtaposed to several of the series' own entries. Punch and kicking dudes as Billy and Jimmy still works, but many elements of IV just feel a little too off-brand for my liking.

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Ray Carsillo
Top Critic
6 / 10.0
Feb 7, 2017

Double Dragon IV is a sequel that came about three decades too late. While it’s a great follow-up to the games from the 8-bit era, it also unintentionally shines a light on the shortcomings of the time—which only the most diehard of fans will be able to overlook.

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6 / 10
Feb 13, 2017

At the end of the day, Double Dragon IV feeds off the nostalgia of those that spent their youth playing the NES classic titles. While some may argue that the Arcade version of the game was a better version of Double Dragon, there is a certain charm to the 8-bit NES visuals and sound effects. If online multiplayer had been added to Double Dragon IV, it might have helped alleviate the lack of replay value the game suffers from.

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Cubed3
Top Critic
6 / 10
Jan 31, 2017

Double Dragon IV is, for better or worse, a direct sequel to Double Dragon II. In terms of mechanics, it's practically a carbon copy, but it goes the extra mile by including a number of new moves and enemies. The tower mode and massive selection of unlockable characters are also really nice. However, this game is trapped in an odd limbo. It doesn't do enough to compete with more modern beat 'em ups, and it isn't as iconic as its predecessor. Its appeals to nostalgia don't quite hit the mark. Perhaps the second game gets a little too much credit; some fans probably haven't played it in decades. Comparing a newer entry to fond memories is a little unfair, but maybe more could have been done to make this one really stand out.

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5.3 / 10.0
Feb 2, 2017

Double Dragon IV is a return to the good old days of beat 'em ups that fans may enjoy but it's also a flawed experience that modern gamers will likely be baffled by.

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5 / 10
Feb 9, 2017

Double Dragon IV isn't a good game in a modern sense, but it certainly is an honest trip back in time that will, if nothing else, offer a heavy dose of nostalgia for anyone with a fondness for the Lee Brothers' 8-bit adventures.

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Feb 15, 2017

Retro to a fault, the throwback Double Dragon 4 brings the best and worst of the NES era to contemporary PC gamers.

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Feb 1, 2017

That said, for nostalgia fans, you're right at home. Sadly, this game doesn't even match up to Double Dragon II, which is 28 years older and still holds up. Still, nostalgia will only get you so far. Double Dragon IV definitely had some potential as a throwback to the late 1980's of gaming. Sadly, there's no enough substance to give Jimmy and Billy the return they deserved. I wanted greatness, I got mildly ok. Stick with Double Dragon II, III or even Double Dragon Neon.

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Feb 17, 2017

It does seem as though Arc System Works were relying entirely on the nostalgia to sell Double Dragon IV. And while it captures the essence of those original games it falls short of being a good game today simply because the original hasn't aged well. It would have been pretty rockin' back in the 80s though.

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5 / 10.0
Feb 7, 2017

Double Dragon IV clings to its retro inspirations just a little too tightly. Fans of the old 8-bit titles will likely enjoy their romp here for what it is, but Arc System Works could have taken some more chances and delivered a brawler that had more to offer. Instead we get a fighting game that is simply average, despite my deep nostalgia for the series.

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4.7 / 10.0
Feb 2, 2017

"If the developers were looking to take Double Dragon IV back to the series' roots, great. It's just that the formula does not translate well after nearly thirty years. What was the standard then isn't the standard now. Having enemies who can move faster than you while your stuck with middling delays was not enjoyable in the slightest. The graphics and enemy design choices were nice but a side scrolling beat'em up is hardly judged on those alone. Absolute die-hard fans of the genre or the Double Dragon name may find something to like here, but anyone else should steer clear."

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