Play Nekketsu Kouha Kunio-kun Online

Summary

Nekketsu Kōha Kunio‑kun, known in the West as Renegade, was a turning point for arcade beat ’em ups. Its isometric, three‑quarter view let players roam both horizontally and vertically across a scrolling arena, a stark shift from the rigid side‑scrolls of earlier titles. The game’s three‑button layout—punch, kick, jump—paired with combo attacks, grabs, throws and even stomps, gave the combat a depth that felt almost cinematic. Each stage unfolded as a single, wide‑screen battleground where a gang of seven thugs and a boss waited, culminating in a knife‑wielding hit‑man showdown and a final gun‑toting mobster. Designer Yoshihisa Kishimoto poured his own high‑school memories and a love of Bruce Lee’s Enter the Dragon into the experience, cementing the title as the first fully‑realized beat ’em up and setting the template for every game that followed.

Storyline

Nekketsu Kouha Kunio‑kun (known in the West as Renegade) puts you in the shoes of Kunio, a hot‑headed student at Nekketsu High School. Each level opens with a rival gang assaulting his classmate Hiroshi right in front of the school, prompting Kunio to chase the thugs and restore order. The action repeats across several gangs until the final showdown at Sabu’s hideout, where Hiroshi and other students greet a victorious Kunio with a firm handshake.

In the Western adaptation the protagonist is a street brawler rather than a high‑schooler, and the goal shifts to rescuing his kidnapped girlfriend from a mob boss. After battling four distinct gangs and defeating the final boss, the hero walks out of the building to find his girlfriend waiting, who rewards him with a grateful kiss.