Double Dragon is one of those classic games that gamers either love or hate. I am in the hate category myself. I can easily recognize the standing the game has in the history of gaming, but it was just never in my Top 50 arcade games to play any time I saw them. I respect what Double Dragon did for brawlers, but it is just too stiff for me. I feel the same for other classics such as Pitfall and Space Invaders. I know, I know, please put down the pitchforks and torches. Solo Dragon looks to bring the action of Double Dragon to the Atari 5200, allegedly being launched in time for Christmas 2026.
Leave Your Friends in Watch Mode
I am sure you know by the name Solo Dragon is single player. No need to bring a buddy along unless they are your brawling cuckold friend. They will only be watching, not participating here. I guess you could take turns passing the controller between you.
It seems the “solo” goes for the enemies as well since, in the preview video released so far, only one enemy attacks at a time. If that is the case, I am going to be hard pressed to figure out anything challenging here, other than simply having to pound enemies for FAR longer than ever needed.
In the demo scene where Marion is kidnapped, the animation on the additional enemies onscreen is non-existent. This might be alluding to it indeed being one enemy at a time.
If that is the case, why not just rework this into a one-on-one fighting game using familiar backgrounds or something?
Not Much Else Is Known
Going to the website linked in the description of the video we find… not much else useful.
There is one gameplay screenshot and a screenshot of the title screen for Solo Dragon posted. There is a bit of information as well, the game is apparently coming to Atari 8-Bit computers (which were basically 5200’s with a keyboard so no brainer there) and there will be 14 scenes in the game.
The proposed release date is also stated to be Christmas 2026.
Let’s go back to that gameplay screenshot. It shows three characters on screen. Two are clearly the same enemy sprite with the player character as well. Hopefully this is a sign that the final game will have more than one enemy onscreen at a time.
I could be reading too much into the preview reel they posted but it is a concern to keep in mind till more information is available.
Are you a fan of Double Dragon? What do you think of Solo Dragon so far? Let me know in the comments below.
Before anyone attacks me, please know, I am a fan of classic brawlers, I was a HUGE Renegade fan – just something about how the original Double Dragon plays turned me off.
