I’ve seen many a NEO GEO arcade cabinet in my time, but I don’t ever remember seeing this game in any one of them.  Supposedly, Rage of the Dragons was going to be a sequel to another NEO GEO Double Dragon one-on-one fighter that I reviewed about ten years ago.  But they didn’t have the rights to Double Dragon but they made it anyway.  I mean, it does have two red and blue characters that look the same named Billy and Jimmy.  And another character is a big fat guy who looks similar to Abobo and his name is almost the same too.  Not sure how they got away with that, but now you can play this one-on-one fighter on all current consoles and PC (reviewed on Switch here).

Anyway, the game plays like any other fighter.  Pick your character and use joystick movements and button combinations to pull off moves to whittle down your opponent’s energy and whoever is left standing, wins.  You can switch out to another character as you fight, but you have to wait for a meter to charge up before you can do it again.  The game has several different modes.  Arcade mode lets you pick characters and battle the others in a row until you beat the boss.  Dragon’s Challenges sets special rules for you to follow and you unlock more as you complete them.  Battle another player in a single match in Versus, and practice moves in Training.  And of course, you can fight online, too.  You can also view options and credits, listen to music in a jukebox, and see your achievements.  My problem with this game is that it’s too darn hard.  I had it set on the easiest difficulty and still got my butt beat.  Plus I think I like the earlier Double Dragon fighter better.

Kid Factor:

Rage of the Dragons NEO is rated T for Teen with ESRB descriptors of Fantasy Violence, Mild Blood, and Suggestive Themes.  It’s a fighting game, so of course there’s violence.  But all the characters look cartoony and anime-like.  I didn’t notice any blood, but some of the lady fighters wear somewhat skimpy outfits.  Younger gamers may find it too difficult, too.

Tags: Game Reviews