Double Dragon IV kicking it old-school on PC, PlayStation 4 next January

“30” is the magic number these days as plenty of our oldest video game franchises are starting to hit that age. Metal Gear, Final Fantasy, Mega Man: one that I’ve overlooked is Double Dragon, which has just been confirmed by Arc Systems Works to be getting a proper sequel to its 8-bit titles on Jan. 30.

Double Dragon IV is taking the Mega Man 9 route in that it will ignore decades of graphical advancements and return the series to an 8-bit NES style. Arc System Works has done a fabulous job keeping the old Technos library loyal to its roots, and this is clearly the best way to go for a wayward franchise like Double Dragon.

We’ve already taken a stab at the series with higher resolution character art, and it didn’t turn out that great. And don’t look now, but Double Dragon II: The Revenge is on the NES Classic Edition!

Double Dragon has a long, complicated history

Double Dragon infamously never had a “4” entry with the fourth game dropping the number in exchange for a “Super” at the beginning of its title, as was customary on the Super Nintendo. Double Dragon V: The Shadow Fallscame out in 1995, but we don’t talk about that one very much for very good reasons.

Since then, it’s mostly been nostalgia grabs, mobile ports, and remakes.

This new game will plant itself right in the missing piece of Double Dragon history that’s been missing all these years. However, it will also ignore the events of Double Dragon III and pick up where the second game left off.

Double Dragon IV will be released on the PlayStation 4 and PC on Jan. 30, 2017.