Renegade (Nekketsu Kouha Kunio-Kun) Walkthrough for the NES
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Author: Scronan (
[email protected])
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Version: 2.1 (Final) (created 2-10-04)
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Table of Contents
1. Welcome
1a. Version History etc
1b. Differences between the US and Japanese Releases
1c. Double Dragon Ripoff?
2. Playing the Game
2a. Basic Attacks
2b. Grab Attacks
2c. Dashing Attacks
3. Enemies
3a. Regular Enemies
3b. Bosses
4. Finishing the Game on Higher Difficulty
4a. How to find the last Boss - Difficulty Level 2
4b. How to find the last Boss - Difficulty Level 3
5. Bugs, Etc
6. Closing Comments
7. Disclaimer
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1. Welcome
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Thank you for reading my Renegade walkthrough. My nickname is Scronan and
I have been playing video games since the days of PONG, and yes I was
alive when it originally came out. This is my first walkthrough so I
hope you enjoy.
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1a. Version History.
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1.0
The initial release, provided basic information and how to get to
the last boss on level 2 difficulty.
1.1
Fixed some spelling errors and incorrect information. Also added
point values and bugs etc section.
2.0
Fixed more spelling/grammar errors. Updated some incorrect information
Added guide on how to get to the boss on level 3 difficulty.
2.1
Fixed a few more spelling/grammar errors and updated more information.
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1b. Differences between the US and Japanese Releases
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Renegade was originally called "Nekketsu Kouha Kunio-Kun" in Japan. If
you can ever manage to play the original game, do so. There are a few
subtle differences you will notice between the two releases for the NES.
In the original, the game is about a young man named Kunio who is trying to
rescue his brother who has been kidnapped by the Yakuza. All of the
characters in the game look very Japanese, especially Kunio himself (called
Mr. K in the US release). There are also some other subtle level design
differences.
In the US game, the only Asian looking characters are the biker thugs on
stage 2, and the large woman named Kim, the boss of stage 3 (she looks like
a school teacher in the Japanese version). Also, the first two bosses are
made to look kind of Hispanic instead of Asian. I have no idea why the
designers did this, but I imagine they were worried the game would be
politically incorrect, although it doesn't make a lot of sense to me.
Either way, the original is more fun to play IMHO, as it has slightly more
plot, and an actually ending.
Throughout this walkthrough I will refer to the main character as Kunio,
which I think sounds better than "Mr. K."
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1c. Double Dragon RipOff?
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I've heard many people comment on this, but I think its mainly a
misunderstanding, since both games were made by Taito/Technos. And as far
as that goes, Renegade came out before the DD series, although you can
clearly see how the fighting engine for the NES version of DD2 was modeled
after the original Renegade game.
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2. Playing Renegade
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This guide is going to focus on how to really complete this game, by
finishing it on the higher two difficulty settings. With that said,
I'm not going to cover the first difficulty setting as that is way too
easy and is already covered by other walkthroughs. However, I will
also go over some basic strategies for fighting and killing enemies
that will help out on the higher difficulty settings.
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2a. Your life Meter
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For the purposes of this walkthrough, I will count each life bar as 4
units for both the player and the enemies in order to explain how the
damage is calculated in the game. Kunio by default has 10 life bars,
so 4 units per bar = 40 life units. On the stage where he rides a
motorcycle, he has 48 life units or 12 bars. The only other way to
increase your life meter past 40 is to get a hamburger, which also
gives you 48 life units of life. Incidentally, getting a heart gives
you an extra player, but no life units.
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2a. Basic attacks
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The basic techniques in Renegade work very similarly to the NES version
of Double Dragon 2. The B button is your left attack, and the A button
is your right attack. So if you are facing left, B will attack left
with a punch and A will attack right with a back kick. And if you are
facing right, A will attack left with a punch and B will attack right
with a back kick. It is a little confusing at first, but it will
become second nature once you get the hang of it.
Note: All attacks do the same damage if you have the "P" powerup,
despite the fact that it will knock your foes across the screen.
Punch: Press either the A or B button when any opponent is in
front of you
Damage: 1 life unit (1/4 bar)
Points: 50
This is a weak attack and it will take 4-6 shots to knock your foes
down. After a few hits your enemy will be stunned and you can grab
them, excepting the boss of level 3, whom I call Kim in this
walkthrough. I generally don't advise using punches as they are a
waste of time and you will usually get hit back in the process.
Back Kick: Press the A or B button when any opponent is behind you
Damage: 2 life units (1/2 bar)
Points: 100
This attack will cause Kunio to kick backwards to hit an enemy behind
him, and there needs to be someone behind you for this to work. Just
one hit will stun someone and leave them open to be grabbed (excepting
Kim again). It only takes two hits to knock someone down (three for
Kim), but again, its big time waster. Don't use this too much if you
can help it. If you are feeling bored, you can get so close to an
enemy and back kick them while they are barely in front of you, but
this is really hard to do and results are generally not worth the
effort.
Jump Kick: Press both A and B simultaneously.
Damage: 2 life units (1/2 bar)
Points: 100
This attack is your tried and true friend. Again, it takes two hits to
knock anyone down, save Kim who takes 3. After the first hit, the
enemy will be stunned for a grab attack (excepting Kim again).
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2b. Grab Attacks
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Grab attacks allow you to get up and personal with your opponents and
cause them some major damage. You can do these on any opponent in the
game, with the one exception Kim who is immune to this technique. You
can grab any regular enemy at anytime, but for the first, second and
final bosses, they need to have 12 life units (three bars) or less
before you can grab them. Grab attacks are the best for single
opponents, but in most cases on the highest difficulty, the running
punch will be much more effective. Of course, on the stages 1 and 2,
using a grab and throw will kill your opponents if you toss them off
the ledge or into the water! :)
Collar Grab: Just move towards the enemy to grab them when they
are stunned.
Damage: n/a
Points: 0
You have to be quick to apply this technique, and if there is another
foe behind you, they will either hit or grab you if you don't move
fast. Once you have grabbed them, you can apply either of the two
attacks below:
Knee Bash: Press the regular punch button in the direction the enemy
is facing you
Damage: 2 life units (1/2 bar)
Points: 100
You can only do four of these at a time, but I advise doing only three
and then applying the shoulder toss listed below. This attack works on
all enemies except Kim provided you can stun them first (ie the 12 life
points or less rule).
Shoulder Toss: Press the attack button opposite your foe during a
collar grab.
Damage: 4 life units (1 bar)
Points: 400
This causes major damage to your foe and will also knock over any poor
sucker they collide with. It also prevents you from getting sandwiched
between two opponents. You can shoulder throw any regular enemy at
anytime. This also has one more important feature - as you can toss
enemies off platforms and into the water for an instant kill. Do this
whenever you can to save time - but watch yourself carefully so you
don't end up going for a dive with them. This attack works on all
enemies except Kim provided you can stun them first (ie the 12 life
points or less rule).
Body Toss: Throw any opponent into another foe.
Damage: 0 life units*
Points: 0
*Any foe who is knocked down by a flying body toss will NOT take any
damage from the knockdown. It can kill them if they are already at
zero life, but otherwise it does no damage.
Sit Punch: Press down while above any fallen opponent, and then press
the attack button in their direction to punch them.
Damage: 2 life units (1/2 bar)
Points: 100
A cruel but effective attack, be wary as you are defenseless while
doing so and an easy target for another foe.
Note: For the bosses, they must have 8 life units (2 bars) or less
before you sit on them, and if they happen to have a bit more (such as
9 units which will still show 2 bars) it will not work. Also remember
that you can sit punch ALL of the bosses, even the Amazonian Kim. :)
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2c. Dashing Attacks
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Tapping the control pad twice quickly in either direction will cause
Kunio to run forward quickly. Be advised that he can easily run off a
ledge or into the water if you are not careful. While dashing, you can
use the following attacks listed below.
Running Smash: After running, just collide with any opponent to
knock them down.
Damage: 0 life units*
Points: 0
*This can only kill an opponent if they are already at zero life but
have yet to be knocked over. The same applies to Kunio if an enemy does
this attack to him, or if you or an opponent crash into a wall.
This is not the best attack, for it does NO damage and many times will
cause you to get knocked down with your foe. Also, many enemies will
punch or knee you when you try and run into them, leaving you
vulnerable for a grab attack if your foe happens to be a boss. At
times you will see an opening for this technique, but my advice is to
avoid doing this altogether unless you want to pay the consequences.
If you are careful, you can use this "attack" for a quick knockdown and
then use the sit punch, but its rarely worth it.
Running Jump Kick: After running, press both attack buttons
simultaneously to pull off this move.
Damage: 2 life units (1/2 bar)
Points: 400
This is not a very good attack, but it can be quite effective for
escaping dangerous situations. But the downside as it can also cause
you to jump right off of the edge of the screen and kill yourself, so
be careful! Also used to hit the walls and get items like the
hamburger, and you can do a rebound off the wall to strike an enemy,
however they usually see it coming a mile away. For attacking enemies,
I'd advise using the running punch instead.
Running Punch: After running, press the attack button in your
opponent's direction for an instant knockdown.
Damage: 4 life units (1 bar)
Points: 400
This is the best attack in the game, hands down. You can also hit
multiple opponents with this attack, and it also does a ton of damage.
And using this technique is the ONLY way that you can win the game on
the higher difficulty settings without running out of time. Use this
repeatedly to knock down your foes as soon as they are getting up, and
you will be able to take out 2 or 3 of the bosses at a time rather
quickly.
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3. Enemies
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I've listed some info on the enemies found in the game, and some of
this is merely from my own observations. Some people may disagree with
my strategies and the names I've used.
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3a. Regular Enemies
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All of the regular enemies in the game have a set amount of life
depending on the difficulty setting, however I have found that some regular
foes will occasionally have an extra life bar, and am not sure if this is
random or not. Each enemy is listed with their life, attacks and a brief
description below.
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Street Thug
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Attacks: Punch, running smash, stick, grab from behind
Life on Level 1: 8 units (2 bars)
Life on Level 2: 12 units (3 bars)
Life on Level 3: 16 units (4 bars)
Points Scored: 400-600*
*You typically get 400 points for killing this foe on difficulty setting 1
and 2, and 600 on level 3. But if they have one additional or one less
life bar, you will lose or gain 200 additional points.
Your basic thug that you will be meet on stages 1 and 4. They fight
either by punching, running and smashing into you (this will only kill
you if your life is zero) or hitting you with a stick. They will also
knee you if you attempt to crash into them while running. Not very
strong on their own, but can be quite a pain if they gang up on you.
They also can grab you from behind and cause you major damage unless
you shake them off by hitting an attack button. Although quite docile
on level 1 difficulty, at levels 2 and especially 3 they will much more
aggressive and require a lot more damage to kill.
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Motorcycle Thug
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Attacks: Punch, running smash, stick, grab from behind
Life on Level 1: 8 units (2 bars)
Life on Level 2: 12 units (3 bars)
Life on Level 3: 16 units (4 bars)
Points Scored: 500-600*
*You typically get 500 points for killing this foe on difficulty setting 1
and 2, and 600 on level 3. But if they have one additional or one less
life bar, you will lose or gain 100 additional points.
Only found on stage 2, and also on some rooms on stage 4. They are a
little tougher than your basic street thug and have the same exact
basic fighting techniques and also carry a stick on occasion. Don't
waste your time going head to head with them, toss them in the water
ASAP and laugh your fool head off!
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Motorcycle Rider
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Attacks: Run over, kick, crash
Life on all Levels: One kick or jump kick will kill them (air, ground
or off a wall)
Points Scored: 1000 for variety 1, 0 for variety 2 (the bike stage)
These annoying punks show up only on stages 2 and 4. There are two
varieties. The first will zoom around the level and try and run you
over. A quick jump kick will knock them off and kill them, and don't
worry about their motorcycle exploding, it will not harm you. They
also go faster the higher the difficulty level.
The second variety is only on the bike ride of stage 2, and they will
crash into you and try to run you off the road, as well as kick you for
damage. They are complete pushovers on difficulty 1, but on 2 they are
tougher, and on 3 a real nightmare. All you can do is kick them back
(one kick on any difficulty takes care of them), or get the Turbo Boost
and crash into them for an instant kill.
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Angry Japanese School Girls
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Attacks: Chain, purse, running strike, grab from behind
Life on Level 1: 12 units (3 bars)
Life on Level 2: 16 units (4 bars)
Life on Level 3: 16 units (5 bars)
Points Scored: 900*
*I'm not sure if this opponent will get additional life points, as you always
seem to get only 900 points for defeating them.
These young ladies certainly aren't going to give you their phone
number, for I don't think you're their type. Also, they are only found on
stages 3 and 4. Armed with heavy purses and chains, don't let their
charms fool you. They not only have more life than the street thugs,
but are much tougher and aggressive as well. Like the rest of the
regular enemies, they can also grab you from behind and while running
will belt you over the head with whatever weapon they are carrying.
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3b. Bosses
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There are four bosses in this game, listed below. Also, you also will
receive 5000 points each time you pass a level after killing a boss,
excepting the last stage. Also, whenever a boss has 4 life units (1 bar)
or less left, they will always get up a lot slower than usual. Be
careful with your timing as this can either help or hinder you.
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Jack: The boss of stage one
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Attacks: Punch, running punch, front kick, jump front kick, running
jump front kick, grab and pummel
Life on Level 1: 32 units (8 bars)
Life on Level 2: 36 units (9 bars)
Life on Level 3: 40 units (10 bars)
Points Scored: 2000
The boss of stage one. I don't know his name in the Japanese release,
and while he looks different in the two games, he fights exactly the
same. He has a nasty front kick as well as a jump kick, and if you get
too close he will grab you by the collar and pummel you several times.
Don't try and throw or sit punch him until his life is low enough, and
always make sure to toss him off the ledge on stage 1 for an instant
kill. Unfortunately, you will encounter him again on stage 4, and on
higher difficulties you will face up to 3 of them at a time! A
pushover on the easy difficulty, but quite hard on the higher setting.
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Joel: The boss of stage two.
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Attacks: Punch, spin kick, aerial spin kick, running aerial spin kick,
grab and pummel
Life on Level 1: 32 units (8 bars)
Life on Level 2: 36 units (9 bars)
Life on Level 3: 40 units (10 bars)
Points Scored: 3000
Again I'm not sure of his name in the Japanese release, and like Jack
he looks completely different in each game, but otherwise is the same.
He fights just like Jack except he has a nasty spin kick, but when he
does it in the air he is a total sucker for a running punch. Don't try
any running jump kicks on him or he will counter with his own aerial
kick every time. Again, don't get too close to him or you will get your
lights punched out by the grab and pummel attack. Quite a wimp by
himself, but when you face three of them at once on the higher
difficulty setting (not to mention they will be more aggressive), you
may think twice about calling him names.
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Kim: The boss of stage 3
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Attacks: Punch, body slam, "grab slap silly and toss attack"
Life on Level 1: 32 units (8 bars)
Life on Level 2: 36 units (9 bars)
Life on Level 3: 40 units (10 bars)
Points Scored: 4000
Like the others I do not know her name in the Japanese release, but I
suspect she is the descendent of a long line of Sumo wreslers. :)
Unlike the first two bosses, Kim looks nearly the same in the two releases,
excepting her outfit and facial expression. Although a bit slow, Kim is a
powerhouse, and only the foolish try to fight her hand to hand. If you
get too close, Kim will pick you up and slap you silly before she
tosses you to the ground like a sack of potatoes. This will cause a
ton of damage and certainly ruin your day. Also, Kim takes more hits to
be knocked down than the other bosses, and you CANNOT do any grab
attacks against her! You can however, use the sit punch on her. A
word of advice: use the running punch, use the running punch, use the
running punch! But be careful while doing so, because if your timing
is off, she will body slam you right out of your dash and then grab
you. Just connect with enough running punches to get her life to 2
bars or less, then sit on her and pummel her a few more times for an
easy kill. And as you guessed, on higher difficulties you will face up
to three Kims at once! It is an understatement to say that this is a
totally unfair fight, but not impossible.
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Sabu: The Yakuza Boss of stage 4
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Attacks: Front kick, jump front kick, running jump front kick,
pistol strike, pistol bullet
Life on Level 1: 32 units (8 bars)
Life on Level 2: 36 units (9 bars)
Life on Level 3: 40 units (10 bars)
Points Scored: 5000
The final boss found is only on stage 4. He looks exactly the same in
both releases. Sabu is hidden differently on each of the three difficulty
settings, but I will go more into that later on in his walkthrough. A
worthwhile final boss who can be a total pushover or a total nightmare
to fight. His basic hand to hand attack is a ground or air front kick
which he usually only does once to stun you (I'm not sure if he will
ever knock you down with just kicks, I've never seen him do it). The
kicks are not particularly damaging, but once you are stunned by a
kick he will simply pull out his pistol and shoot you.
Although you will rarely see Sabu run, he is capable of doing so and he
can unleash a nasty running jump kick that will leave you vulnerable to
being shot like his regular kicks. Typically if Sabu is far away he will
just open fire instead of running.
And unfortunately, getting shot will mean instant death for you, no
matter where the bullet hits you or how much life you have.
On the plus side, Sabu cannot grab you so do not worry about getting too
close to him. And on that note, staying close to him is one method of
avoiding his bullets and there is a secret trick to avoid being shot.
If you are standing toe to toe with Sabu when he fires, for some reason
he will simply knock you over with the gun (I guess he belts you over
the head with it?), but the bullets will miss you! You also will not
take any damage if this happens for some odd reason.
A word of caution, you may get shot as soon as you get up, but this is a
way to dodge Sabu's bullets and it can save your bacon if your timing is
good. It also can get you killed really quickly, so be careful!
You can also avoid his bullets with carefully timed jump kicks, as the
bullets will miss while you are in the air. My advice is to avoid trying
this though, as you will most likely get shot before or after you land.
Once you get serious about fighting Sabu, you can defeat him easily
with carefully timed dash punches, and when his life gets low you can
use the stun/grab/pummel technique to finish him off. He pretty easy
on the lowest difficulty setting, but on the higher ones, well let's
just say he has a surprise (or two) waiting for you!
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4. Beating the Game on the higher difficulty settings
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For the sake of space, I'll leave out the first few stages and skip
right to stage four.
Getting to the final encounter is not that hard if you know where to
go. Unlike level one, it is not advisable to just wander around trying
to find your favorite gun toting crime boss. You can easily end up
going in circles and many of the rooms are full of very tough enemies,
while others will take you back to the start of the level, or even back
to stage 3 which really sucks. One step through the wrong door can
make or break you on any difficulty setting, but its gets much worse on
levels 2 and 3. All things considered, this is one hell of a challenge
and the frustration level can get quite high. If you get into a
controller throwing or keyboard smashing mood (and trust me, you
probably will) just take a breather for a while. Go for a walk, get
some fresh air, call your mother, go dancing, whatever. Remember this
is just a game and if you think level 2 is hard, just wait until the
highest difficulty setting...it gets much worse!
As far as I know there is no walkthrough for the higher difficulty
levels, and I was never able to pass the game on anything past level 1
back when I was a kid. Most people I knew preferred to ignore the
difficulty setting, so unless you're game for a hair-pulling experience,
I'd advise you to do so as well. This isn't for the faint of heart!
But if you're crazy like myself, then keep on reading. :)
Unlike the first difficulty level, the way to the boss of level 2 and 3
is NOT guarded by motorcycle ridres. Follow the information below to get
to the boss of levels 2 and 3, but be warned you're going to have a
fight on your hands. One of the biggest challenges is to kill all of
the enemies without running out of time. Use your running punch
strategy and take the enemies out as quickly as possible, and DO NOT
get too close to the bosses as they will grab and pummel the living
hell out of you, especially if you get sandwiched between two of them.
This gets very tricky to avoid when you face three Jacks, Joels or Kims
simultaneously. Even so, it can be done without save states if you are
persistent and unrelenting.
Good luck! (you're going to need it).
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4a. How to find the last boss - Difficulty Setting 2
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After killing the punks on the main level of stage 4, proceed in the
following order to get to the last boss:
1. Take the Right Door - Enemies: Three Jacks (two at a time)
2. Take the Right Door - Enemies: Three Kims (one at a time)
3. Take the Right Most Door - Enemies: Four Kims (two at a time)*
*note after killing the second Kim you should get a heart for a 1up.
4. Take the Left Most Door - Enemies: Three Jacks (three at a time)
5. Take the Left Most Door - Enemies: Four Street Thugs w/sticks
(two at a time)
6. Take the Right Most Door - Enemies: SABU!*
*note - as this is level two, you have to fight him twice! And yes, on
level three, you have to fight him three times. I guess the
programmers just loved to torture gamers back in the 80's. :)
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4b. How to find the last boss - Difficulty Setting 3
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After killing the punks on the main level of stage 4, proceed in the
following order to get to the last boss:
1. Take the Right Door - Enemies: Four Street Thugs w/sticks
(two at a time)
2. Take the Left Door - Enemies: Three Kims (two at a time)
3. Take the Right Door - Enemies: 6 Motorcycle riders (one at a time)
4. Take the 2nd Left Door - Enemies: Six Joels (three at a time)
5. Take the Left Door - Enemies: Nine Angry Japanese School Girls
(three at a time)
6. Take the Right Door - Enemies: Three Jacks (three at a time)
7. Take the Right Door - Enemies: Seven Motorcycle Riders (one at a time)
8. Take the Left Door - Enemies: Six Jacks (three at a time)
9. Take the Middle Door - Enemies: SABU!*
*This is the final battle in the game where you will face Sabu and his two
twin brothers, one after the other. Fight hard and avoid being shot,
and you'll have beaten this game for good. I'd say as far challenge goes,
beating this game on the final level ranks itself up there as one of the
hardest NES games to conquer.
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5. Bugs, Etc
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One bug I have seen is where Kunio will be in the middle of a sit punch,
and his opponent will suddenly get up and he will still be sitting down
punching at nothing! I don't know what causes this, because once you
sit on a weakened opponent, they cannot throw you off.
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6. Closing comments
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While I feel I've made a very clear and concise guide, I welcome any
comments or suggestions. I have spent a lot of time doing my research,
so I hope it benefits anyone who wishes to enjoy this fun beat em' up
that I enjoyed as a teenager, and still do today.
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7. Disclaimer
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This walkthrough is copyrighted by Scronan, in the year of 2004. No
part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval
system, or transmitted in any form or by any means other than to be
viewed on www.gamefaqs.com without the prior written consent of the
author.
