Summary
Japanese studio Arc System Works, the creator of theGuilty GearandBlazBluefranchises, could be working on a new entry in theDouble Dragonseries of beat ‘em ups, trademark filings indicated.Arc System Worksacquired Technos Japan,Double Dragon’s now defunct developer, in 2015.
Technos Japan’s originalDouble Dragonreceived critical acclaim following its 1987 release, and it ended up becoming the highest-grossing dedicated arcade game in the US for the two years that followed. The franchise has expanded since then, with its newest offering being thehighly ratedDouble Dragon Gaiden: Rise of the Dragonsthat was released last July. A new entry could just be on the horizon, as currentDouble DragonIP owner Arc System Works seemingly has a project based on the series.
A pending application submitted this June to the United States Patent and Trademark Office, or USPTO, showed that Arc System Works has attempted to trademark the name “Double Dragon Revive.” Based on the title, this could be a full-on reboot of the firstDouble Dragon, which has already received several remakes in the past. The first remake, 2003’sDouble Dragon Advance, was produced by Atlus, the creator of thepopularPersonaseries of RPGs, while the second and third were by Zeebo and Brizo Interactive, respectively.
Arc System Works neither developed nor publishedDouble Dragon Gaiden: Rise of the Dragons, considered by some to be one of thebestDouble Dragongames of all time. This spin-off project was instead developed by independent Singaporean studio Secret Base, while publishing was handled by Modus Games. The former previously worked onBitejacker,Streets of Red: Devil’s Dare Deluxe, andTobe’s Vertical Adventure, among other things.
Possible New Double Dragon Game
Double Dragon’s last numbered game,Double Dragon 4from 2017, was developed and published by Arc System Works. The company was also responsible for porting the original game to what is oftentimes recognized as one ofSega’s best video game consoles, the Master System, back in 1988.
Former Technos Japan staff members were involved in the creation ofDouble Dragon 4, including game producer Takaomi Kaneko, director Yoshihisa Kishimoto, character designer Koji Ogata, composer Kazunaka Yamane, and programmer Kei Oyama. Following the closure of Technos Japan, Kaneko joined Arc System Works as Manager of Sales and Marketing, where he also worked on theRiver Cityseries in addition to being the producer ofDouble Dragon’s last numbered entry.
