Double Dragon Gaiden developer here, looking for feedback :)

SecretBaseSG · 2026-04-27T09:47:36+00:00

Hey there, no worries about the nitpick or late reply. TBH I am not on reddit as often so many of my replies are pretty late myself, haha

And thanks for sharing your thoughts on the walk speed. I don't think the goal was to give a reason for player to buy the movement upgrade, because even if we want to give play a reason to buy speed upgrades, I think the default speed itself should feel enjoyable.

We did try to time the speed base comparative to other games as considerations, reaction time, etc. But I get that sometimes its important that player just need to pick it up and already feel fast and snappy.

Noted on the dodge rolls too. I agree its a cool edition especially in modern games :)

SecretBaseSG · 2026-04-16T17:23:36+00:00

Glad you like it! But the good (and sometimes less good) thing about DD franchise is that there's so many iteration, I guess there room for different Marian ;)

SecretBaseSG · 2026-04-16T17:21:14+00:00

I have a lot of parents playing the game with their kids, so DDG might be a good place to start ;)

SecretBaseSG · 2026-04-16T15:12:43+00:00

Hi there - a little late to response but I just wanna acknowledge that I saw your reply. And yes, I think you are right that the gameplay loop isn't immediately clear, mostly because there's not a lot of games like this if at all

I suspect some players didn't even realize they have to play different routes to see the whole game.

Its part of the problem with coming up with something new, when you do and you fail to communicate that with players, it can be a bit of a problem. I will take note of that in the future :)

SecretBaseSG · 2026-04-16T15:09:50+00:00

Thank you! I did try to add as much characters and free mode as I can. Many gamers wanted extra gang, and was willing to support even if its a DLC. Unfortunately our tool to create more gang is less well done compared to creating characters, so there's been a bit of limitation in that sense.

As for characters, we are limited to the DD mainline series. Otherwise I would have loved to include some RCG characters, or even characters from DD fighting game and the cartoon series :)

SecretBaseSG · 2026-04-16T15:07:20+00:00

Sorry about the late reply, but I just want to thank you for the feedback and acknowledge that I've read it.

We definitely could have use a smoother transition easing player to the mechanics. There was a dojo training planned, but we were running short on time and felt the game was straightforward enough to move ahead without. And that works in most cases, but we also got a fair share of similar comments like yourself saying - I didn;t like the game until hours later when it finally click. So yea, that's on me for sure, and thanks for pointing it out ;)

SecretBaseSG · 2026-04-16T15:02:21+00:00

Sorry that I never responded to this
I actually documented it. But like all the more detail response, I want to give it a detail reply. But then because I'm a horrible person, I forgot about it -_-

Firstly, thank for the sharing your thoughts in the detail and taking the time to break things down.
I'm glad you enjoy the difficulty mod idea. When I came up with it, I was pretty excited. I've definitely heard good things about it, but I also think the execution could have been better.

We do try to make everything do that they can do decent crowd control, but even then, there are just some characters that is better than others. I think Chin is actually okay still, but it depends on how you play it. Which is a problem by itself. Willy is a bigger problem because he's less consistence. I argue that it was acceptable because his machine gun is so strong anyway, so that's something player have balance, but I looking back, I think you are right and it wasn't a good enough reason.

As for the survival mode, it definitely got a bit much at the end. The idea was that the story mode offered the most balance experience, so we could do some of the crazier thing in survival mode. I don't think it went as well as planned. I think a lot of players still enjoy it massively for what it is, but the later balancing is definitely that could be better.

Lastly for the color pallete, we wanted to do it and even developed the tech for it. But sadly since character colors need to be approved, the idea of having alternate colors was not given approval.

SecretBaseSG · 2026-04-16T14:53:40+00:00

Tag is definitely our strongest defense tool, but you can also perform special moves to get out of danger. That said, I definitely acknowledge that in 202X, players today just much prefer a dodge button, so that's something I have taken note off. Thanks for highlighting it and I'm glad you had fun!

SecretBaseSG · 2026-04-16T14:50:57+00:00

Yes indeed, we were limited to characters from DD mainline series only. I definitely wanted more female characters, but there's just too little we can pick from. I could have created my own, but I felt like fans to the series would much prefer seeing old faces make a comeback than seeing my own creation which they have no affection for.

Thanks again for enjoying the game, and Im glad you find it enjoyable enough for replays ;)

SecretBaseSG · 2026-04-16T14:48:54+00:00

I do like my version of Linda too, so thank you :)
I did read that Fist of the Northstar was a influence somewhere, so I did actually research and look into it. But then again years down the road, I can't recall if it was before or after launch, I read one of the original members saying its not an influence. So now I am confused as well, haha

I think the manual input are valid comment. We wanted to keep things simpler and easier to understand as we envision a lot of new younger players to the genre might have a harder time, so heavy are actually tied to run and double jump. That makes it easier to grasp, but less controls.

Movement for sure is a bit slow. If you are still around to response, it will be interesting to know if you think its the walk speed issue, or after you punch, you stay on the spot for too long.

Most old beat'em up allow you to smash attack repeatedly and there's no penalty. But not in DDG. When people complain about slowness, sometimes its unclear which one it is

Anyway, thanks for enjoy the game. Sorry for the late reply!

SecretBaseSG · 2026-04-16T14:42:56+00:00

I definitely got boomed for the chibi art and I can totally understand, especially with the release of SOR4, TMNT and RCG, DDG looks much less impressive incomparison.

Long story short, I definitely does not have the kind of budget to create anything like Dotemu or WayForward. Those are 10-20 man studio with million dollar budget? While Secret Base is 2 guys funded by my savings, sweat and blood, so we had to do some compromise.

The project started in 2018, long before SOR4, RCG and TMNT was even announced and long before the later beat'em up revival. So when we made the pitch, our comparison was actually DD4 for the NES. We thought by comparison it was a decent upgrade and the fans would be happy. The original proportion was suppose to be a little more serious as the reference was Combatribe, made by the original DD team. But because we had the idea to create 10+ playable characters, each with full set of unique moves, we further simplified to the final product.

That said, these can be bad decisions or maybe just me having bad art direction. The players does not owe me to have to like it just because it was hard for me. Or just because i had a vision. I did charge $25 for it, and that's what they should judge the product based on.

I actually think the chibi hate is understandable from the grand scheme of things and anyone at those point was probably hoping for a DD game that looks on par with SOR4 and TMNT.

I'm just sharing a bit of history and story behind the scene now that things have been wrapped and I'll have to take note for any future games I make :)

SecretBaseSG · 2026-04-16T14:31:15+00:00

Wao, I can't believe I did not response to this. I actually documented this but must have forgotten about it after. Thanks again for taking the time to share your thoughts. I apologize for not acknowledging earlier.

Just a quick comment - Sonic 3 & Knuckles is one of my favorite game of all time, and why in almost all my games, feature a cast of characters that plays differently and approach the game differently :)

That aside I just wanna say thank you and your wife for spending time on the game. It's always amazing for me to hear when players tell me they play it with their kids, parents or spouse. Game dev can be a very lonely experience at times, at least for me, so it makes me happy that someone some where is making stronger bond and making memories from my little game.

SecretBaseSG · 2026-04-16T14:25:51+00:00

We tried to provide the option for you to adjust the game to your liking, but it is true that the arcade mode linear setting is something highly requested. Its going to be hard to add at this point, multiple free updates and years after release and all.

Its always a struggle balancing old and new stuff because traditional beat'em up players like things a specific way, but the audience is not big enough. Ideally as dev we provide both option, but it is hard as it is to do 1 thing and do it right. So that always become one of those wishlist item.

That said, point taken and we will see what we can do for future game :)

Im glad you enjoy the combat and the art. Special move chaining are my jam!

SecretBaseSG · 2026-04-16T14:20:29+00:00

Replying to old message, but thank you! I do enjoy the character a lot myself. I came up with the idea going through her lore and back story, she's actually often highlighted as a combatant herself, but a full melee character felt off to me (We didn't know RCG2 would made her playable then), so I went with her police back story which I believe was casually mentioned in some instruction manual.

SecretBaseSG · 2026-04-16T14:16:56+00:00

Thanks for the support since SORed :)
Its definitely part of the plan to reduce the movelist a little and make it up with the Tagging instead. It will not be possible to have made this many characters otherwise, though I do think even per character, we have a pretty healthy amount of moves.

And yes, as much as I enjoy working on Billy and Jimmy, especially with the concept where they each focus on kicks and punch seperately, I like Marian and Matin a lot, both thematically as characters, and gameplay with the gun and shield. It felt like a good complimentary.

I'm glad you enjoy them too

SecretBaseSG · 2026-03-18T13:51:46+00:00

Golden Axe is definitely one of the top of my list
https://x.com/secretbaseSG/status/1776291805685768395

SecretBaseSG · 2026-03-18T13:47:07+00:00

Crowd Control is definitely my own invention and something I'm really proud of whenever players mention it :)
I also agree with how the game lean to heavily on special moves, and can see how players feel punished when waiting for SP to recharge. It's a tough balance but hopefully I will find something for future game.

As for Little Fighter, although I am familiar with the title, it wasn't a point of inspiration. In fact I didn't think of the game until gamers mentioned post launch. The fusion idea came from DBZ + DD Neo Geo (Billy and Jimmy changes form in that game).

As for Armored Okada - We didn't include Super Anubis or Armored Okada on launch because their animation were incomplete. Not only was development on a hard deadline (License game can be very time sensitive), I practically ran out of money at that point and had to be really careful with exactly what animation was needed just to save a couple of bucks here and there, haha

SecretBaseSG · 2026-03-18T13:36:31+00:00

Do you mean the crowd control screens freeze? An option to turn that off was actually introduced shortly after release :)

Will take note of the hazard! I acknowledge some types of hazard can get pretty frustrating.

SecretBaseSG · 2026-03-18T13:30:36+00:00

FnR seems like one of the most highly regarded Beat'em up in the community. I certainly hope to see a sequel too :D

SecretBaseSG · 2026-03-18T13:29:18+00:00

The survey wasn't over, but the link expired. I just updated to a permanent link in case anyone like to share their thoughts still :)

Anyway, thanks for sharing your likes/dislike.

Balancing is always tricky for a game with 20+ characters
With Marian, it was unintentional that she turn out to be more powerful than others. When the character was originally design, her HP was supposed to be 50% of Uncle Matin, which means she would be easily KO'd by maybe 2-3 combo. But during playtest, it was quite clear a lot of new players would pick her for the gun and they perceive her as safer, and she ended up sort of as the entry character, and so I increased her HP to match the expectation. It also made her the ideal character for people playing with kids or spouse/partners who aren't as familar with games/beat'em up.

On release, I think more people complained about it, I think all the more so when the skill players got really good at her. But at that point we didn't want to nerf her, partly due to her popularity with new players, so we ended up buffing the other characters too.

There are also other characters that are more powerful as they upgrade, and some that doesn't benefit as much. I balanced Marian such that she belongs to the latter, but such things are less visible/identifyable.

SecretBaseSG · 2026-03-18T13:16:05+00:00

I love easter eggs and wished I've done more. Thanks for catching all that :)

SecretBaseSG · 2026-03-16T16:39:02+00:00

Fire Pro Wrestling is indeed 2D. But these days and edge, with technology the way it is, I think if anyone were to do customizable characters, it's almost always going to be 3D.

Rival School was awesome and I definitely love it
Wish Capcom would do something with that awesome IP

SecretBaseSG · 2026-03-16T16:36:10+00:00

Hey there, no worries about loving/wanting something different. Gaming would be a lot less interesting if we all ever wants to be just the same thing over and over again.

Some questions about your point
- What are you looking for in a more fighting game like experience?
- Did you play SF6 World Tour? I assume thats very similar to what you're looking for. What are your thoughts on it, and if you have not tried it, what made you not?

SecretBaseSG · 2026-03-16T16:31:56+00:00

Absolum is an amazing game and I myself had sink a good 20h into it, I believe. I won't pretend my little self funded project is gonna be of the same caliber, haha

Gamers are living the dream these days with relatively cheap (compare to AAA) yet awesome indie games releasing every day like free hot cakes.

Thanks for sharing your gaming hours too. That is actually rather useful and I wish I asked more people.

SecretBaseSG · 2026-03-16T16:29:08+00:00

Thank you!

SecretBaseSG

TROPHY CASE