If you’re a fan of Double Dragon, you might notice something different on the start screen for the next title. Arc System Works, the developers of BlazBlue, and Guilty Gear, have purchased the rights to all properties previously owned by Technos Japan Corps.
This is huge. Technos Japan is a company whose history spans back to the revitalization of the games industry. If you gamed in the 80s you probably enjoyed a handful of their titles. Not just Double Dragon. They’re the developers behind the 1989 hit River City Ransom, 1987’s Super Dodge Ball, and a ton of classic WWF wrestling games for the Nintendo Entertainment System.
I doubt Arc System Works has the rights to the wrestling games under the WWF banner- 2K Games currently develops the WWE games now but that’s a pretty big line up of games just itching for sequels. And they’re in good hands. The Japanese developer is known for making quality 2D fighters, so this purchase might be a big win for gamers.
The last time we saw a Double Dragon game was in 2012, when WayForward developed Double Dragon Neon for Xbox Live and PlayStation Network, so it’s been a while. Meanwhile, River City Ransom has never gotten a sequel, just a variety of re-releases.
So far, there’s no way to know exactly what Arc System Works plans to do with these properties. But with so many titles that haven’t seen sequels in years, the possibilities are pretty exciting.
