Double Dragon artist says Arc System Works’ revival ‘shows no respect’ to the original

One of the artists who worked on the original Double Dragon has criticised Arc System Works‘ upcoming revival.

Double Dragon Revive is an upcoming beat ’em up published by the Arc System Works (Guilty Gear) and developed by Yuke’s (AEW: Fight Forever). The game aims to breathe new life into the classic Technos beat ’em up series.

However, Koji Ogata, who was an animator on the 1987 arcade original and went on to work on most other games in the series, posted on X (as spotted by Automaton) that he and other members of the original development team refuse to acknowledge Double Dragon Revival as part of the series.

“I’ll be honest with you,” Ogata wrote. “The fact is that not a single person in the Technos team recognises this as a Double Dragon game.”

Ogata continued criticising the game in replies to followers, also citing Super Double Dragon designer Muneki Ebinuma, who he said agrees with him.

“According to Ebinuma, this game was made by a current generation of game designers who have never played or thoroughly played the arcade version of Double Dragon,” he claimed.

“That’s exactly what happened, and the result is a cheap, modern game that shows no respect for Double Dragon.”

Ogata then shared screenshots of a private conversation in which Ebinuma criticises the game, calling the screen “too dark” and saying “the characters and techniques don’t look good”.

Ebinuma also says the game is “like a test game for vocational school students, adding: “Double Dragon is a game with a strong punch and a unique, distinctive feel, but this game has none of that.

“I almost wish they hadn’t named such a crappy game Double Dragon,” he concludes.

In response to another follower on X, Ogata joked: “If I get a chance to try it out at Tokyo Game Show, I want to throw the controller at it.”

Double Dragon Revive is planned for release for PS4, PS5, Xbox Series, Xbox One, and PC in 2025.