The Neo Geo may have been an obscure device, depending on which hemisphere you lived on, but if there was one reputation it bared was its depth of unique fighting games. One of its early 2000's arcade tournament brawlers, Rage of the Dragons, is getting a re-release on modern consoles. Hearkening back to the age of sprite-based fighting games, Rage of the Dragons Neo is an enhanced version, offering refined gameplay for the tag-based throwdown.

After a lengthy development cycle, its planned for a November 14 release date.

Rage of the Dragons was originally developed by Noise Factory (Metal Slug 5, King of Fighters: Maximum Impact) and Evoga, sporting elaborate and advanced animations for the time period, very akin to Art of Fighting 3: The Path of the Warrior and Fatal Fury: Mark of the Wolves. It was planned to be a sequel to the first Double Dragon, but Evoga was unable to acquire the rights for then-Double Dragon developers Technos Japan. The final product ended up becoming an homage to the side-scrolling brawler, as protagonists Billy and Jimmy Lewis share the same first names of the Lee twins.

In 2020, developer Piko Interactive acquired the IP rights for Rage of the Dragons with the ports handled by QUByte Interactive. The original game was praised for its complex and deep fighting system that charged stronger similarities to 3D fighting games. Fighters can swap out and recover health, while also jumping into provide extended combos, counter attacks, and super moves.    

Rage of the Dragons Neo drops November 14th 2024 for the Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and PlayStation 5 and PS4.