The gameplay has returned to a methodical, slow-paced combat system with no running. Instead of supernatural world traveling adventures, it’s back to simply beating up hoodlums in the hoods of Not New York. Developed exclusively for the SNES, it is basically a reboot reinterpreting the plot of the first game, except Marian is now a cop who was training martial arts at the Lee brothers’ dojo before vanishing during an investigation of the Shadow Warriors. If you’re craving a new beat-’em-up badly, this engine will suffice.After the far-out and mediocre Double Dragon 3, Super Double Dragon marks a return to form for the series. Being able to pick up comically oversized objects does feel like progress (there should have been more of that), as does the now smooth framerate, free of dips and glitches. Billy and Jimmy’s classic knee and flying kick can be remapped, as well as the jump button (no more pressing A+B!), and that’s about the only change. You’ll have access to single punch and kick buttons yet again, along with several other special attacks that can be performed with elaborate button combinations.
The rest is is similarly functional and, at times, uninspired. Instead, it feels more like a by-the-numbers entry that doesn’t particularly stand out. In an era before YouTube, forcing players to beat the game on hard to see the “true ending” and the conclusion of that arc was revolutionary, and an attempt to replicate that in any format would have given IV that extra spark.
As ’90s as this is, Arc really missed an opportunity to flip some conventions on their head here, with a possible playable Marian, or even some some sort of twist - like Double Dragon II, which opened with Marian’s shocking death.
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