I truly adore the series, and working on Neon was unbelievably awesome. The music is meant to bring you back, not just to Double Dragon but also to radio hits, MTV, and that Bon Jovi or Prince tape in your Walkman. Of course, it's just my opinion, but I believe that over-seriousness would be missing the point. I respectfully disagree with all the folks who think the original Double Dragon was a somber, gritty game - it might have seemed so when you were 8, but really it was a gratuitous mashup of gang fiction and over-the-top kung fu flicks, with the ridiculousness amped up whip-wielding afroed women, grotesque strongmen, deadly conveyor belts. Double Dragon, along with other beat-em-ups from Konami and Capcom and SNK, have been a part of my musical identity since I was a kid, so it wasn't much of a stretch. Honestly, I mostly just let go and did what the muse told me to do (my muse carries nunchaku and says 'dude' a lot). What kind of approach did you want to take with Neon? Was it a 'I gotta stay true to the game but be totally 80's' sort of vibe? Usually I wear out my welcome a lot sooner than that. I made music and sound effects for WayForward's original GBC version of Shantae in 2001, so I've been working with them almost since the beginning of my career! It's pretty crazy that they still liked me enough, ten years later, to offer me a full-time salaried job.

I've been working on game audio professionally (in various stages of 'making a living with music' and 'having to work day jobs like some kind of grown-up or something') since I was 18, and I'm 31 now. So have you been doing game music long? How long have you been doing it? And did any of that work involve previous collaborations with Double Dragon's developer, WayForward? We managed to catch up with Jake for an interview, where he discusses working with the Dragon themes, as well as keytars, bad karaoke nights and Rick Astley. If you haven't listened yet, really, you should. He's produced a number of soundtracks over the years, including Bloodrayne Betrayal, and with Dragon, he was really able to stretch his wings and fly with his musical choices. But the classic beat-em-up gameplay we've come to know and love is intact, and what's more, it's got a terrific soundtrack, featuring familiar Dragon themes along with some hilariously good 80's riffs. When Double Dragon Neon came out last week for Xbox Live and PlayStation Network, it brought back an 80's vibe long missing from most games these days, including bad fashionable choices and even worse hairstyles.

Double dragon cartoon opening