Rage of the Dragons NEO

If anyone on staff loves a fighting game, it's me. I love the character designs for the genre, which tend to have muscle-bound guys and hot girls swapping blows in a variety of themes, be it street, historical or fantasy, there's nothing more appealing than getting to know a characters quirks and testing your mettle against the CPU or, better yet, against a human opponent. It's immediate, visceral and hugely enjoyable. 

Rage of the Dragons was first released in 2002 for the NEO GEO, a console pretty much nobody in the UK owned and subsequently this will be a game few on our side of the pond will have heard of. Much like the Marvel vs Capcom titles, Rage is a tag-team affair that allows the player to switch between two characters at will, with the retired partner recovering slowly while their partner dukes it out. 

Rage of the Dragons NEO revives the title on PC and works wonderfully on Steam Deck, so that's lucky for me. It features an online lobby, classic arcade, training and versus modes, with an exclusive new Dragon Challenge mode thrown in for good measure. At its core, this is a straight re-release of the NEO GEO version of the game (bar a logo removal and some enhancements to Johann so he doesn't float when taunting). So in the highly unlikely event that you own the original, there's going to be little new here aside from a change to a more convenient platform.

The character roster is decent at 15 characters, allowing for up to 80 paired combinations. The move-set for each character is differentiated enough that you'll find the game a challenge to master, and the training mode is very much advised because the difficulty in this game is very high. 

The pixel-art and presentation are of their time, but very appealing

Graphics are very much of their time, so lots of lovely pixel art if that's your thing, just don't expect an upscaled experience or Granblue Fantasy Vs level graphical fidelity here, this is a retro fighting experience fist and foremost. The music is fine, nothing you'll be whistling, and the presentation is clear and concise. There are lots of options for you to fiddle with, even so far as allowing you to customise the menu music, so it's very accommodating when it comes to personalising your experience and giving you a feeling of ownership. 

The fighting is going to be an acquired taste, as this is a technical brawler that won't tolerate your button mashing antics. The difficulty is punishing even on the easy settings so it may be a more frustrating experience than you might be used to with other brawlers. I found Lynn to be a good starting character as she has a decent range of moves, a projectile and good reach, though it still took me a while to get to grips with it. 

You will want to train. A lot.

Unfortunately in the time since the game's release in November, the lobbies have died, so regardless of the quality of the netcode, you're unlikely to find anyone to fight against. This is largely due to the lack of cross compatibility with other platforms which is always a mistake on fighting games and unfortunate to see here. So if you want an online multiplayer experience, this isn't going to be for you.

And that's a real shame, because actually the game is largely excellent. Yes, it's frustrating at first given the unforgiving nature of the game, but for seasoned fighters that's a massive plus. Fighting games are tactical and there are those that will analyse every hit box, reach and counter for each character and relish those details as they work their way through mastering the roster. A relatively mid-sized selection of fighters seems a lot more attractive when you think of them as levels to be conquered, and while that style of game isn't for everyone, it'll be nirvana for the hardcore audience.

Me, I sit somewhere in the middle for fighters. I'm a decent player with a fairly good grasp of mechanics and I do enjoy mastering a character, but if you're a more general player that wants a fighter that makes you feel Godly without necessarily earning it, you're going to find this a chore. You just have to know the sort of fighter you want to play before making a decision, and this one demands your time and dedication.

Rage of the Dragons NEO is a quality title at a surprisingly cheap price. Anything under £20 for a fighting these days is certainly worth a look and in this case, an investment.