Nekketsu Renegade Kunio-kun

Nekketsu Renegade Kunio-kun
Developer	Technōs, Arc System Works
Publisher	Technōs Tec Toy (Master System in Brazil) Arc System Works Hamster (Arcade Archives) Retro-Bit (Generations) Blaze Entertainment (Evercade)
Platforms	Arcade, Amstrad CPC, Evercade, Spectrum, Famicom, NES, C64, DOS, Thomson MO5, Amiga, Apple II, Atari ST, SMS, GBA, PS2, Wii, 3DS, Wii U, PS4, Super Retro Cade, Switch, Windows, Xbox One
Released	Nekketsu Renegade Kunio-kun Arcade JP: May 1986 Famicom JP: April 17, 1987 GBA JP: 2005 PS2 JP: January 26, 2006 Wii (Virtual Console) JP: March 18, 2008 3DS (Virtual Console) JP: April 3, 2013 Wii U (Virtual Console) JP: January 15, 2014 PS4 (Arcade Archives) WW: July 24, 2014 3DS (Bundle) JP: December 8, 2016 Retro-Bit Generations III JP: December 23, 2017 Switch (Arcade Archives) WW: June 28, 2018 PS4, Switch (Bundle) JP: December 20, 2018 Windows (Bundle) JP: November 11, 2019 PS4, Switch, One (Bundle) WW: February 20, 2020 Renegade Arcade NA: December 1986 Amstrad CPC EU: 1987 ZX Spectrum EU: 1987 NES EU/NA: January 1988 C64 EU/NA: 1988 DOS EU/NA: 1988 Thomson MO5 EU: 1988 Amiga EU/NA: 1989 Apple II EU/NA: 1989 Atari ST EU/NA: 1989 SMS EU: 1993 SMS AU/Brazil: 19xx Wii (Virtual Console) NA: March 18, 2008 3DS (Virtual Console) AU/EU: February 20, 2014 3DS/Wii U (Virtual Console) NA: February 27, 2014 Wii U (Virtual Console) AU/EU: March 6, 2014 PS4 (Arcade Archives) WW: July 24, 2014 Super Retro Cade NA: December 15, 2017 Switch (Arcade Archives) WW: June 28, 2018 PS4, Switch (Bundle) JP: December 20, 2018 Windows (Bundle) JP: November 11, 2019 PS4, Switch, One (Bundle) WW: February 20, 2020 Evercade (Technōs Collection 1): May 22, 2020
Added to Museum	Super Retro Cade: June 19, 2019 Switch (Arcade Archives): August 16, 2018 PS4 (Bundle): September 20, 2020 Evercade (Technōs Collection 1): May 12, 2021

Nekketsu Renegade Kunio-kun (熱血硬派くにおくん, Nekketsu Kōha Kunio-kun) was originally released outside of Japan as Renegade. It was originally released for the arcade market in Japan in 1986. It was published in North America later that year by Taito as Renegade, using the film The Warriors as inspiration for the revised art and storyline. Most sprites and backgrounds were modified to better appeal to the North American market. The voice samples were also changed to English, however, the music was left unaltered. It is the first game in the Kunio-kun series.

Story

In the Japanese version, Nekketsu Renegade Kunio-kun, Kunio is a high school student at Nekketsu, which literally translated into English means hot-blooded. His best friend, Hiroshi, is attacked by several street gangs, and Kunio fights to avenge him.

The fights are each against different stereotypical gangs in Japan. The first fight is at a train station against a rival high school, Hanazono, which literally translated into English means flower garden. The second fight is at a seaport against a bōsōzoku gang, a youth culture in Japan that is into customized motorcycles, named Yokohama Funky. The third fight is against girls from Taiyō Academy and their sukeban, or boss girl. The final fight is at a car dealership that is a front for the Yakuza crime organization known as the Sanwakai. After defeating Sanwakai's leader, Sabu, the students of Nekketsu cheer for Kunio's victory. In the Famicom version, after his defeat, Sabu kidnaps Hiroshi and Kunio has to traverse a building full of mazes of doors to reach Sabu and save his friend.

In the original North American version, Renegade, Mr. K is a renegade vigilante that fights numerous street gangs in order to save his girlfriend.

The street gangs that Mr. K defeats are comprised of different stereotypical gangs in North America. The first fight is at a subway station, and the fight is against stereotypical urban gangs, rather than the high school students of Nekketsu Renegade Kunio. The second fight takes place at a seaport against stereotypical biker gang members, thugs, and masked wrestlers, rather than against juvenile bikers. The third fight is against women fighters, although they too appear to be older, as they wear slacks and tank tops rather than high school uniforms. The final fight is largely unchanged, as it still takes place in a car dealership that is actually a front for gangsters, and the boss is still Sabu. The only difference is that some gangsters have darker skin tones. The Nintendo Entertainment System version also has the extra stage with the building full of mazes of doors, however Sabu kidnaps Mr. K's girlfriend rather than Hiroshi.

Releases

After its Arcade debut by Technōs in Japan and by Taito in the North America in 1986, the North American version was ported to the Amstrad CPC and ZX Spectrum and the Japanese version was ported to the Famicom in 1987. The North American version was then ported to the Nintendo Entertainment System, Commodore 64, Thomson MO5, and DOS in 1988, to the Amiga, Apple II, and Atari ST in 1989, and to the Sega Master System in 1993.

The Famicom version was emulated on the Game Boy Advance as part of Kunio-kun Nekketsu Collection 2 in 2005, and on the PlayStation 2 in 2006. The NES and Famicom versions were emulated on the Wii Virtual Console in 2008, and on the 3DS and Wii U Virtual Consoles in 2014.

An emulated version of the Japanese arcade version was released by Hamster on the PlayStation 4 in 2014, and an emulated version of the North American arcade version was released on the PlayStation 4 in 2015.

The Famicom version was also included in the Nintendo 3DS compilation Nekketsu's Kunio Complete: Famicom, released in 2016.

An emulated version of the North American arcade version was included in the Retro-Bit Super Retro Cade, and an emulated version of the Japanese arcade version was included in the Retro-Bit Generations III, both in 2017.

Hamster released an emulated version of the arcade version for Nintendo Switch, as part of their Arcade Archives line, in 2018. This release included both the North American and the untranslated Japanese version.

The Famicom version of Nekketsu Renegade Kunio-kun and the NES version of Renegade was included in the Kunio-kun World Classics Collection in Japan for PlayStation 4, Switch, and Xbox One in 2018. The collection was released as Double Dragon & Kunio-kun Retro Brawler Bundle worldwide in 2020. This also included the NES and Famicom versions. The latter was fully translated, which marked the first time this version was released outside of Japan.