Nekketsu Kouha Kunio-kun: Bangai Rantou-hen (1990). Play online

Summary

Double Dragon II on the Game Boy is actually a Western re‑skin of Technōs Japan’s 1990 Japanese title Nekketsu Kōha Kunio‑kun: Bangai Rantō Hen – the first Kunio‑kun game for the handheld. It carries the bright, Downtown Nekketsu Monogatari art style that fans recognize from River City Ransom, but swaps the protagonists for Billy and Jimmy. The combat is stripped down: a punch‑kick combo followed by a straight punch or high kick sends foes crashing, a simultaneous A + B lets you kneel, and a button press while kneeling launches an aerial uppercut. Instead of hair‑grabs you get a collar grab, letting you hammer faces or shove enemies, and a jumping knee drop finishes standing foes. There’s no weapon‑pickup despite armed attackers. The adventure is split into three missions across ten stages, with the Easy mode restricting play to the first mission only. The Japanese version features different graphics, music and characters, and even the stage‑8 boss was re‑drawn from a wrestler into a ninja with a claw and smoke bombs.