Double Dragon Gaiden: Rise of the Dragon is out now for PC and consoles. If you love 2D beat-em-ups with a twist, you should go check this game out.

Double Dragon Gaiden can be really tough, especially when you get to the later Missions where enemies are powered up to kingdom come. Here are some tips to help you get ahead.

Double Dragon Gaiden Combat Guide

Know your main characters

Here’s a breakdown of all the starter characters in Double Dragon Gaiden.

Billy Lee: Fast and fights with fast kicks. His Super Moves are a flying vertical knee that deals big damage, a dive kick that knocks down (do this super after a double jump), and the trademark Lee Brothers spin kick. He’s best if you’re just starting out in DD Gaiden.

Jimmy Lee: Slower than Billy but faster than Uncle Matin. Fights with his fists and hands. Has slightly slower attacks, but hits harder than Billy. His double jump ground pound can clear the room, but doesn’t give Special KO bonuses. His Super Moves are a multi-hit punch attack that hits forward, an anti-air uppercut, and a grab move that works on airborne foes.

Marian: The zoner of the group. Has low hit points but makes it up with long-range gunfire that keeps her away from enemies while she deals damage from afar. Her Super Moves include a rocket launcher (delayed startup but big blast radius that doesn’t hurt allies), her mine trap that detonates and pulls enemies within range, and a single-target long-reaching command grab. You can abuse her rocket launcher provided you get powerups that help keep your Super Meter stocked up.

Uncle Matin: The heavy fighter of the group. He has few combos, but he deals big damage and any enemy he knocks down with his normal combo ender and run attack can knock other enemies within range. He’s slow, but the run cancel method just makes him more mobile. His Super Moves include a running riot shield charge, a command grab that slams and deals area-of-effect damage, and an air grab. His riot shield charge super can be abusaeble if you can gain Super Meter via power-ups at the end of each level.

Run cancel after attacking. Always.

In Double Dragon Gaiden, each of the four main characters (and bonus ones you can unlock with Tokens) have a run button (Right Bumper on Xbox controller) and a run attack. Not only does this give you momentum in movement and allows you to do a run attack that usually knocks down enemies, but you can cancel any ground attack you do from a run. In order to make it far in a Double Dragon Gaiden playthrough, you will need to master the art of canceling any action into a run.

Just keep in mind that once you stop running, there will be a “brake” recovery period that lasts a second or less. Just make sure you stop at somewhere safe without enemies, because you can get counterattacked easily.

Tokens > Cash

When possible in a single playthrough, do try to amass as many tokens as possible. Tokens not only unlock collectibles like sweet DD music and lovely concept artwork, but also unlock additional characters you can use for future playthroughs.

Sub-bosses cost 10 Tokens, while Main Bosses (Lady Okada, Willy, Duke, Anubis) cost 25 Tokens. The ??? character costs 50 Tokens and is the most powerful of the lot.

However, if you rather unlock a good character earlier after a few runs, you should unlock the following characters first: Chin (fast rushdown character), Linda (long-ranged whip Supers), and Abobo (heavy bruiser with best AoE super with armour). 

Double Dragon Gaiden Walkthrough