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Revenge of the Wounded Dragons (PSN Download) By: PoisonRamune, the Apathetic Lizardman I’ve recently asked myself this question; does a game need to redefine its genre to be considered good? However, after playing Revenge of the Wounded Dragons for donwload on the PS3 I can confidently answer my question with a solid “no.” While Revenge of the Wounded Dragons (Wounded Dragons from here on out) brings nothing new to the beat ‘em up genre, it doesn’t let that stop it from being a really good game. Though I often use cliché in a negative way, the cliché plotline of gangsters kidnapping generic kung-fu brothers’ sister and killing their father actually works for this game. The game has this 1970’s kung-fu movie vibe which is not only shown in through its story, but also through its soundtrack and (light) voice acting.
Wounded Dragons is a pretty standard beat ‘em up that lightly dabbles in other game genres and ideas as well. Combat is like a mix of Irem’s Kung Fu and Double Dragon; enemies come at you in a linear fashion (like in Kung-Fu), but you can take them out with combos and special techniques (like Double Dragon). One of the biggest problems with the combat is the lack of a block function, at best you have somersault and handspring moves to escape attacks; however, they’re sometimes outright ineffective against certain bosses and armed goons. There are weapons such as: clubs, guns, knives, and even heavy everyday objects like watermelons scattered throughout the levels (and on certain enemies); so you almost always have fun ways to slay some henchmen. You also have quite a bit of platforming action going on in this game, as most of the levels have a good amount of climbing going on (whether it be on buildings, rock formations, trees, etc). There are also slight hints of exploration aspects thrown in with several secrets to be found per level and the obligatory useless collectibles hidden in each area.
The controls are pretty responsive, especially when compared to other games in this genre like: Invincible Tiger - The Legend of Han Tao. The action is solid and not as mindless as you would think from a simple beat ‘em up, since the platforming aspect gives you a couple of different routes you can take to get to the baddies (sometimes giving you the tactical advantage or allowing you to outright avoid confrontations if need be).
I will mention that there’s not much variety in the moves and finishers if you’re playing a single player game; and with no online co-op, you better hope you have a: girlfriend, roommate, sibling or buddy that’s into these types of games. In fact, that’s my only real gripe with this game is the lack of an online co-op mode (since the game does seem very dependent on having 2 generic kung-fu brothers running around to yield maximum ass kicking enjoyment). The graphics are hit and miss in a way. While the character models are somewhat primitive and rather generic looking (all of which is very obvious while playing the game in 1080p), the backgrounds are pretty amazing and very well designed. I’d love to run through a real life stylized China if it looked as beautiful as the world of Wounded Dragons. The comic book style cutscenes are also breath taking. While I’m not a huge fan of the drawing style, I do think that the implementations of the cutscenes are very well done (especially since they manage to tell an entire story with 2 lines of dialogue and a few dozen pictures).
The game’s audio is good for a second. I really liked the mock 70’s police funk chase music in the game until I realized that this is pretty much the only track that’s played during the game (aside from the mock Chinese flute music they play between the levels). I’m very glad that the game offered custom soundtracks, since I came very close to losing my mind by world 2. The sounds also get pretty annoying; each of the “hi-yas” and “fwaahs” really starts to get to you by the time you down your 30th goon or so. I’m very glad that this was one of the first games I got on PSN. Not only is it good solid fun that’s well worth the $10, but it also has some decent replay value if you’re out to collect all the secrets or just kill a few minutes killing bad guys. If you’re a fan of the beat ‘em up genre I highly suggest you check Wounded Dragons out, I guarantee you won’t be disappointed.
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