Man, three years into writing game reviews, and I've only scratched the surface of the Kunioverse. Back when I talked about how much of an impact Double Dragon had on the brawler genre in terms of commercial success, the influence of the Kunio-kun series from creator Yoshihisa Kishimoto is practically responsible for the attitude and streetwise outlaw atmosphere. 

Conceived in 1987 as Nekketsu Kōha Kunio-kun, ("translated to Hot-blooded Tough Guy Kunio"), the game was labeled "Renegade" when ported to the U.S., and the story and characters were changed from Kunio fighting to rescue his best friend Hiroshi to the protagonist being renamed "Mr. K", who battles four gangs in order to rescue his girlfriend. The game series serves as an autobiography of Kishimoto's youth, being a delinquent and getting into daily fights. 

The American port doesn't recapture that same spirit, and it's woven into Japanese culture, so there's a strong chance this nuance would be lost on western audiences. Happens quite often with localizations, so it makes sense. Even without the true story, the similarities one can see between other later games in the Kunioverse, like Super Dodgeball and River City Ransom, become apparent. From the music and the controls, they all share a good deal of traits.

I remember playing this AFTER experiencing Double Dragon, and felt that it was a little bit behind in terms of visuals. The characters never felt like they had any weight behind their attacks, and anytime some hit the ground, they looked flatter than particle board. Renegade does have an over-the-top cartoony charm. Mr. K talking shit after completing a stage is also a universally shared trait that would be later seen in fighting games.

The music and sound effects for Renegade are pretty memorable, Some of the tunes would be later used and mildly arranged for Super Dodgeball. And whereas the animation and graphics don't really imply a lot of weight with some of the blows landed, but the sound of the punches, kicks, and leaping karate kicks have a pretty satifying ring to them, it's pretty arcadey. 

Renegade is only four stages, and despite its short length, it's pretty tough. Instead of scrolling like a conventional stage, each portion is about three screens across, save for the motorcycle portion. I had never really questioned this format, and in hindsight, this stands out to me for a brawler game. The last stage is pretty savage, it's a series of random rooms with doors that lead to multiple mid-bosses. Guess the wrong door, you'll have to fight two Kims or a pair of Jacks.  

The controls are fine, they feel like a primordial take on the scheme in Double Dragon II, where the kick button attacks behind you and the punch strikes ahead. Renegade can be a little finicky with the hit detection, and since most of the baddies have weapons, it feels like taking a great risk going toe-to-toe. The jump kick feels like your best friend, it's the most consistent and safest stationary attack. This movelist is quite varied for its time, each enemy has different properties and attack strategies, there's a lot of very prominent features introduced in this Kunio game that could be felt throughout the medium for decades. It's also worth saying, unlike Double Dragon, which IS trying to squeeze as much as it can out of the NES, there's no lag and very little clipping here, relatively speaking, mind you.

Renegade earns its place in gaming history. Most games that I review that bears a huge impact on the medium, I'll generally state that an aspect of the game in question might've been rendered obsolete, this first venture into the Kunioverse holds up pretty well for an 80's beat'em up. I didn't get to play the arcade version at the time, so the NES port is the one I grew up with. Renegade has more staying power than River City Ransom.