Rage of the Dragons - A fighting game inspired by Double Dragon.

Rage of the Dragons has some rather unusual origins. This game was released on the NeoGeo in 2002 (yes, they were still making games for a system that made it's debut in 1990!) and it was a collaborative effort between a Mexican game company named "Evoga" and the Japanese company "Noise Factory". Yes, you read that right:  Mexico teamed up with Japan to make this game.  When was the last time the Mexicans and the Japanese ever teamed up for ANYTHING?! This must be the first of it's kind! Not only that, but it's a great game too! I bet nobody saw this game coming for sure. I certainly didn't.

Originally, this game was intended to be a sequel to the "Double Dragon" fighting game that was released on NeoGeo in 1995. Of course, with Technos going bankrupt, Evoga couldn't acquire the intellectual property rights before Million did. So this game became a homage to the franchise with a few of it's characters. Just like there was a Billy and Jimmy Lee in Double Dragon, you get a Billy and Jimmy LEWIS in Rage of the Dragons, same goes for popular boss character Abobo, he is referenced with Rage of the Dragon's own sub-boss Abubo! Aside from similar names and designs, this is still a game that stands on it's own.

Rage of the Dragons is a 2 vs 2 tag-team fighting game with a few tweaks. You can tag in and out with your partner at anytime, and combo like you would in a game like Marvel vs Capcom. What makes this a bit different is that you can surrender one of your characters to forfeit the match transferring his/her health to their partner. This is great if you are good with one character but suck with the other! There is also a combo system that sends your opponent into the air and you have to enter in a specific button command to unleash a string of attacks to capitalize on the situation. All-in-all, it's a very fun and fast paced fighting system.

Graphics are well animated and nicely detailed for a game made in 2002. NeoGeo truly was a 2D powerhouse to still have games made for it a decade since it's launch! All characters in-game dialogue is a mixture of Japanese or very funny sounding Engrish. Billy and Jimmy try their best English language impersonations but you can still hear the accent!

Funny voices not-withstanding, this game is a solid piece of work that is well worth a look. I honestly find it's quality to be quite surprising given that there aren't many Mexican video game companies out there. And, sadly, things didn't turn out well for Evoga either as they went bankrupt in 2004. Still, they helped make one hell of a game, and I applaud them for that.  Be sure to think about checking this one out.

Sengoku 3 - A beat-em-up that rewards skillful play...

It's no secret that I enjoy arcade titles, specifically anything in the "beat-em-up" genre. As a person who manages to find some enjoyment in every title I play, the constant complaint of "repetition" and "button mashing" always seem to be lost on a guy like me. I do know one thing for sure though, those who don't enjoy "beat-em-up" style games surely have NEVER played Sengoku 3. It's quite possibly one of the best examples of what the genre has to offer.

Still in a punchy mood after playing Ninja Baseball Bat Man yesterday, I decided to fire up this game for the Neo Geo. Sengoku 3 is, obviously, the 3rd title in the "Sengoku" series but it's entirely unrelated to the first 2 games including the fighting system. The plot involves a recent resurrection of Japanese demons and it's up to a clan of Ninjas to stop the chaos. You originally start out with 4 playable characters, but as you play you'll unlock two of the bosses as playable characters before the final level. 6 playable characters is quite a healthy number for a 2 player beat-em-up.  Even better is that they all control differently with their own set of combos. 

What sets this apart from other beat-em-ups though is that it rewards you for playing the game WELL. You have two different attack buttons, one for your sword and one for punches. The special thing is that you can chain these attacks together and create combos. Simply button mashing your way won't get you very far as enemies will be quick to capitalize on your mistakes. Just learn to combo and you'll have way more fun and you'll soon be slaying demons left and right!

Also, this game is simply gorgeous. All the sprites are well animated and the attack animations are simply awesome. Neo Geo hardware was way ahead of it's time and this game shows off exactly why as this game was made in 2001! I love the character designs, they did a good job of making each character attractive to play and still give them their own unique combos!

If you're afraid of a challenge, then I guess you can go ahead and forget about playing this game you stupid baby. It simply demands that you must learn the game in order to be successful. But if you want a rewarding experience in a beat-em-up, then look no further. It's one of the best games out there, and the fact that it's not that well known outside certain gamer circles is simply criminal. Try it out, you won't be sorry.