Released in late summer 2002, Rage of the Dragons is one of the least remembered games in SNK’s vast legacy. It is not that it is an unknown rarity, but that it came at a very delicate moment both for the Neo Geo brand and for the company itself. Which didn’t stop the Shin Nihon Kikaku Corporation from showing off at creating interesting characters and, in the process, reusing those two-button mechanics that all arcade regulars internalized for years.
In many aspects, Rage of the Dragons aims to continue the arcade fight produced from Osaka through two ways: on the one hand, being an attempted sequel to that Double Dragon produced for Neo Geo systems in 1995, behind the film. produced in Hollywood. On the other, retaining the playable and visual identity of the SNK sagas prior to the turn of the millennium. Huge sprites, explosive techniques, detailed settings, and those final bosses with absurdly unfair moves.
It is not that it is a generic title, far from it. Its fourteen selectable characters and the almost 80 possible team combinations derived from them make Rage of the Dragons a very unique fighting proposition within Neo Geo’s generous catalog of fighting games.
Characters who, in a correct way, have one foot between what has already been seen in other SNK games and the other in an experience that seeks to bring a certain novelty and variety to the player. And yet, in fairness, as a game it pales in the face of the greatest Osaka sagas.
That said, from the very first game it is clear that Rage of the Dragons does not rank among the best and most remarkable of SNK’s brutal legacy. Technically and playable it goes several steps behind what was seen in King of Fighters ´99 , Garou Mark of the Wolves or The Last Blade 2 , which had even been released several years before. And yet, the tag team fighting game developed by Evoga Entertainment is a key piece in understanding the classic, current and future legacy of the Neo Geo label.
Rage of the Dragons: the collision of brother dragons in Sunshine City
For years, young brothers Jimmy and Billy Lewis were authority figures on the streets. Two opposing personalities and, at the same time, two talented fighters who, based on brute force, maintained the balance of power between the urban gangs. A delicate balance that turned into chaos when they both moved with their uncle to Sunshine City.
The new city was a total reset in the lives of the Lewis brothers. And while they did not stray too far from the street troubles, they found a new motivation: Master Lee Song , a friend of their uncle, instructed them in the martial art Ryu Zui Ken . A) Yes:
- Jimmy, the older brother, would learn the Red Dragon style. A variant that fits perfectly with his impulsive and irascible character, which is manifested in the flames that erupt from his techniques.
- Billy, the calmer temperament brother, will inherit the style of the Blue Dragon. In this way, their blows not only gain speed at the cost of a small reduction in force, but they also deploy discharges of electricity.
As time passed, the differences between siblings became more and more evident. Eventually, Billy decided to step away from the busy world of street fighting, while Jimmy’s status continues to rise, not just because of the money or respect at stake, but because of the thrill of combat. However, it will be a tragedy that will finally separate the dragon brothers.
An attack by a rival gang will end the lives of Marian , Jimmy’s girlfriend and Billy’s love interest. Instead of coming together, the siblings will end up blaming each other and irreconcilably going their separate ways. Chance or not, it will be another loss that will unite their destinies again.
Some endings can only be viewed by completing the game with certain pairs
Lynn Baker, the granddaughter of Master Lee Song and heir to the White Dragon style, makes contact with the brothers: their grandfather has been killed in his own dojo by a powerful enemy who claims the status of the Black Dragon. And that’s just the beginning: a threat begins to spread throughout Sunshine City and all indications lead to a martial arts tournament taking place in the city.
Thus, the dragon brothers decide to take part in the matter and participate in the tournament, although they will not do it together: Billy will join forces with Lynn while Jimmy will fight side by side with Sonia Romanenko , a sambo expert who shares the cause and the methods. of the most temperamental of dragons.
And despite the fact that all four are formidable fighters, only the strongest pair will be able to face the Black Dragon and exact his revenge.
Tag team matches with the unmistakable SNK touch
The character of the protagonists – and antagonists – and their respective names are not chosen arbitrarily: from the beginning, Rage of the Dragons was designed as an extension of the Double Dragon saga. More specifically, from the Double Dragon published by Technos Japan in 1995. A very free adaptation of the film that, on the other hand, worked wonderfully as a fighting game.
The reality is that, already involved in the development of Rage of the Dragons , at Evoga Entertainment – responsible for the project – they came across that the rights to the well-known saga of Beat’em ups were acquired by Million. Yet that was the least of SNK’s worries. Or rather, from Playmore.
In 2001 the situation of the Shin Nihon Kikaku Corporation was critical: a year earlier, SNK had closed its branches in the New Continent. The arcade business was experiencing its decline internationally, while its home consoles and conversions were failing to achieve the successful status they increasingly needed. And even though its games and characters were globally recognizable, its business model was no longer profitable.
Capcom embraced many of the talents, while others undertook their own initiatives (hence Dimps was born, among others). And while the King of Fighters saga continued its annual rhythm, the adversities and complications that occurred behind the scenes were palpable in the final finishes of each game. And although bankruptcy was inevitable, the entry on the scene of Playmore, a Kawasaki subsidiary, avoided the worst-case scenario.
Activate supers between a thousand sparks, a classic
Thus, in 2002 the return of SNK began to take shape. And despite the fact that those acronyms were no longer present in the three games published internally or delegating in other studies ( The King of Fighters 2002: Challenge to Ultimate Battle , Metal Slug 4 and Rage of the Dragons ) the playable identity of the company Osaka was palpable in all of them.
As we discussed, Rage of the Dragons couldn’t take advantage of Double Dragon’s brand of extra pull, but as a game it was a 100% SNK fighting experience. With its four hit buttons and those archetypes of fighters that reveal the talent of those responsible for sagas such as King of Fighters or Art of Fighting .
That said, Rage of the Dragons also incorporates the areas in common with SNK games – from the sensations of mobility to the ability to dodge blows – interesting contributions.
- From the start, the fights were in relay and during a single round. In a way, on paper the rules were similar to X-Men vs. Street Fighter . In practice, the gameplay of Rage of the Dragons was much more aligned with the Fatal Fury series.
- Additionally, by holding down all four hit buttons it is possible to restore the health of an ally in reserve at the expense of the character in combat. A mechanic very similar to what we will see a decade later in Street Fighter X Tekken .
- In addition to Counter Attacks, Super Moves, dodges and other techniques, Rage of the Dragons introduces a particularly curious mechanic: the First Impact. In essence, a blow that immobilizes the enemy in midair long enough for the player to initiate their own sequence of attacks.
- Finally, the edges of the stages had two peculiarities: in addition to giving room for juggling when projecting enemies; many of them could be broken by blows, doubling the size of the available area.
The downside to the game is that, unfortunately, Rage of the Dragons fails to shine bright enough on essentials. Some animations and attacks are too modest or poorly polished. The settings did not match the level of detail and ambition of contemporary games, and worse, there is a notable imbalance between characters.
With the rest of the couples defeated, the last two meetings of Rage of the Dragons take a turn and face us in two-on-one combats against Abubo Rao, the classic strongman with devastating blows based on Abobo from Double Dragon, and finally Johann, the Dragon Black. The classic boss with the air of a despot with that very recognizable pose of a great villain.
When activating the First Impact we will see the sequence of combos on the loading bar
It is more than clear that Rage of the Dragons was developed at a very specific stage of the company and that, in many respects, SNK and Evoga Entertainment readily embraced the cliches and platitudes of Neo Geo’s legacy to offer a safe bet. And, logically, it is not easy to launch a new saga in an improvised way at such a delicate moment.
However, despite its obvious flaws, and its intended parallels with other SNK hits, Rage of the Dragons achieves two essential goals with flying colors: entertaining the player with mechanics that inspire them to be creative when experimenting with combos. and, in the process, offer a new batch of especially interesting fighters . That work on the playable and refuse to go unnoticed. The latter being an achievement for fighting games.
The rebirth of Neo Geo style fighting
Although the crisis of the SNK gig was still present, the panorama of Playmore in 2003 was something different: before betting on Atomiswave, the now renamed SNK Playmore released new installments of The King of Fighters, Metal Slug and Samurai Shodown.
Perhaps there was no sequel to Rage of the Dragons, but – in its own way – Noise Factory’s Power Instinct Matrimelee (distributed by Atlus and Playmore) served to give a well-deserved new opportunity to several of its fighters.
In many respects, Rage of the Dragons is the playable manifestation of a transitional stage for SNK. An experience in the form of a video game in which what has been learned up to its publication date, the talent of the house staff and that ability to improvise and fall on their feet of the Japanese who are really passionate about what they do converge.
We agree that Rage of the Dragons is full of topics, but in favor of this Double Dragon reimagined in the SNK style, it must be said that he knew how to channel through his characters and his plot a way of living the fighting games that were being developed. facing his own decline. Giving those who grew up in arcades that coffee for the most coffee growers.
Jones, the Bruce Lee afro from Rage of the Dragons. Genius and figure!
For nearly two decades, SNK alternated between producing new games based on its key series and reissuing its legacy on new systems. In a way, the nostalgia of the players will end up being one of the central pillars of the company. And it must be admitted that the Osaka people knew how to channel it very well.
Because, although we saw sonorous stumbles like The King of Fighters XII, SNK herself made us take our hats off with a spectacular KOF XIII that was and continues to be pure art in motion. Unfortunately, this had a side effect: tackling new sagas, such as Rage of the Dragons , would be something that will happen on very rare occasions.
And so we come to today. Almost 20 years after the irruption of Rage of the Dragons in arcades and Neo Geo systems, SNK continues to bet heavily on fighting and giving its original fans and a new generation of players what its acronym made known worldwide.
As in Rage of the Dragons , the impending The King of Fighters XV is not a visual or technical prodigy. And, given what has been seen, it will not seek to reinvent 2D fighting from the playable. However, those brand-new techniques and projectiles that drove us crazy in arcade are still very much present.
And who knows? It is not ruled out that the dragon brothers or Lynn Baker make their return as exceptional guests in some King of Fighters. After all, the slogan of this new installment promises to “break all expectations.”
