The Confusing History of Renegade - The Game That Changed Everything

[@TopHatGamingManChannel]

This video was guest-edited by the fantastic RayareReviewing, check out his own Gaming Channel - kzbin.info/door/J5BIBlx2qwdkZbLh8ibU9Q

[@Pupppeteer]

🎩 thank you for the opportunity again good sir yeaaaahhhhhh!!!

[@Invidente7]

Don't forget about Alien Storm!

[@jacobbaranowski]

Yyeeeaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.....hhh

[@AcornElectron]

Subbed to Ray a while ago, he’s ace!

[@Pupppeteer]

@@AcornElectron thank you!

[@LowellLucasJr.]

Kunio-Kun/ Renegades: A Damn good game series that showed life was a struggle unless you bore your fists to take it back! Without it, there'd be no Double Dragon, beat-em up games and even Yusuke Urameshi!

[@reiriot2156]

I appreciate that you took the effort compiling the history of this franchise, and explaining how important it is! I needed to see this, and alot of people should see it!

[@Invidente7]

The first ever kunio-kun game. This was a big hit when it made it's debut back in the day.

[@slimblitz56]

When I was a kid, I loved Renegade on NES. I had no idea of it’s past. Didn’t even know it was an arcade game. I thought that it was based on the Lorenzo Llamas tv show Renegade bc that character rode an motorcycle and there were motorcycles in the game 😂

[@khyronbradford]

A Lorenzo Lamas beat em up game would be a gift from the gods.

[@VIRGOLEGACY]

Yooo I thought I was the only one who thought it was based on the Lorenzo llamas tv show lol

[@mccloaker]

Ooh Renegade. Been waiting for this one! Always wondered who first made a game about Japanese delinquents. Thanks mate!

[@bedwablackburn]

Kunio-kun, the predecessor of Double Dragon and the game that brought us River City Random. I love it.

[@pnvgordinho]

Renagade and Target Renagade for the ZX, were some of my favorite games. The gameplay was top notch.

[@krebyrocks77]

I remember wanting to rent Double Dragon 2 as a kid and every weekend it was rented without fail. Eventually I got lucky and was able to snag it and I was so excited to take it home and play it. I should have checked the case it was in because what was actually inside was not Double Dragon 2 but Renegade. I made the trip back to the store to ask them what the heck happened. They checked their copy of "Renegade" which was not rented and inside it was wait for it..another copy of Renegade. Nobody knew where Double Dragon 2 was. The assumption was that someone who rented it previously decided to keep it and put Renegade in its place when returned to the store. A+ job to the people running that place. I had previously played it before and I don't mind the game considering its limitations and flaws. Still, spending my allowance money didn't make for the most positive weekend with a game I didn't really want. I'm sure we've all been there before.

[@BB-te8tc]

This was similar to my experience with T&C: Surf Designs. I saw it at a used game store and mistakenly thought it was T&C: Thrilla's Surfari, which I rented a few months earlier and had a lot of fun with. I bought it, saw an unfamiliar title screen, and my heart sank.

[@veg411]

Great video! I'd known about the Kunio Kun series for a long time, but never knew they were forerunners for the entire beat-em-up or 'belt scroller' genre!

[@TheTurnipKing]

Target Renegade on home computers was considered a better Double Dragon than Double Dragon. Largely because the home computer ports of that landmark game missed the mark in quite a few ways.

[@fdeschapell]

A history of Kunio games would be awesome! Kunio Kun games are a guilty pleasure of mine

[@nroc6206]

Don't be guilty, be proud

[@dieinfire920]

Why guilty? Kunio kun games are amazing!

[@triplebshow1258]

Finally, the Kunio-kun/River City series! I always wanted to see you cover the series, but I need to ask, will you also also cover the reboot series which starts with Nekketsu Kōha Kunio-Kun Special which, of course, is the remake/reboot of Renegade/Nekketsu Koha Kunio-kun being made in the style of River CIty Ransom and later games.

[@etrotm12thebluewolf15]

Kunio, the man himself, the older brother of Double Dragon gets love! I honestly LOVE the Kunio series ranging from this to his sports titles, and the many spin offs Kunio has. I dont know which i like better between Nekketsu Kouha Kunio-kun or Renegade, but in all honesty i think i like Nekketsu Kouha Kunio-kun on the famicom a little more than the arcade version. I dont know why but i do. The only issue i have with this game, is that the controls change depending on where you are facing and it just sets you up to press the wrong button at times, but i do enjoy the style of the game a lot. I kind wish River City Girls had that Elvis Presley or Greasers style still cuz to me, its timeless. And i will say i like the Iconic Chibi Kunio but i think i miss the not so chibi version. Would be nice to see another Kunio game that uses that again (Not counting River City Girls cuz they are very VERY skinny in that game lol)

[@one7decimal2eight]

I had no idea at the time that you could rent video games from the local movie store. One night my dad came home from work and the game that he brought home was Renegade.

[@timkaczmarowski8151]

u could rent the whole system, which i did

[@Pupppeteer]

The history of this game is unbelievably interesting especially with the localisation differences. It's good to see other cultures and interpretations.

[@marcgoesblindgaming2076]

I can remember playing Renegade on my ZX spectrum, OMG I'm old

[@joncollins7730]

I distinctly remember that target renegade screen on the the spectrum. Had no idea it had such a big history.

[@st1ka]

I loved playing the Master System version, but yeah it's so weird how it spawned so many franchises. Renegade, Kunyo kun, Double Dragon, River City girls xD

[@peacefulscrimp5183]

This is a great video 👍 Very entertaining and educational. The amount of investigating you must have done, and the amount of editing to put together such a great video is greatly appreciated 👍

[@AmyraCarter]

♫The jig is up, the news is out; they finally found me...♫ ♫The Renegade, who had it made, retrieved for a bounty...♫

[@kyleking284]

Absolutely LOVED this video took me back in time when I first saw Renegade in the arcades and the many incarnations that followed. Beat'em ups were so much fun to play (especially with 2 players) that you just can't get enough!! And you keep playing over and over again from start to finish! Thank You soo much for doing this video it was very educational👍🤓❤👾👊💪

[@arpodyssey1913]

Thanks for this! It's been a trip to my first experience with the famicom! Target Renegade and Kunio Kun were one of the first games I ever played. The clone I had was named Double Dragon but later I found out it was a clone of Target Renegade. Later it took me 15 years to found out about the Kunio Kun franchise. I had the soccer, ice hockey, and school sports one. They were all in Japanese with few words in English that weren't in my native language, that's one of the reasons I started to learn English because of these games with weird words.

[@joshuamelton9148]

I remember watching the game Renegade as at kid on the NES in the early 90s.

[@steezybeatz]

Random fact: The lady in the thumbnail graphic is artwork from a Neo Geo MVS game called ‘Super Dodgeball’. Even her earrings are dodgeballs. It wasn’t mentioned in the video but some of the characters from Renegade are in that game. Also Rage of the dragons on the Neo Geo MVS started as a double dragon sequel but they renamed the characters because they didn’t secure the license for double dragon. It’s interesting to see a few spiritual successors of better known games made their way onto that arcade cab.

[@mikeyfn-a6684]

The other day my lady reminded me why I love her so. She saw a thumbnail for a 'RENEGADE' video and says:"Hey, RENEGADE.. I had that game! You remember RENEGADE?" 😍😍😍😁

[@dieinfire920]

Big fan of Kunio-kun/double dragon here. The master system version of renegade was far superior than the nes version, with all those colors is hard to believe it’s just an 8bit game. I prefer the Japanese version regarding the first game, as the gangs are pretty cool: stage 1 the school delinquents (不良), stage 2 the motorcycle gang bosouzoku , stage 3 the sukeban/ female school delinquent, and stage 4 the yakuza. The direct sequel of the game is the super famicom exclusive shin nekketsu kouha Kunio Tachi no banka, which pretty much everyone knows now because I’d the game where the main girls from river city girls appeared previously as playable.

[@DaBeatsmithBennyBlaze]

Great video! I love beat 'em up games. It's my favorite video game genre next to fighting games. I recently bought the Kunio Kun & Double Dragon bundle for the PS4. I totally forgot how difficult Renegade is. Cheers.

[@holden6104]

This game set the framework for what would later be Double Dragon, but looking on it now, it actually had quite a few innovations compared to that game. You could toss an enemy into other enemies and cause damage. You could tap the stick forwards to run, and there was a running attack in the form of a dashing punch. A lot of these innovations wouldn't be incorporated into beat 'em ups until years later.

[@yannisbskt]

Ive had renegade on sega master system...looked much different That time i was collecting sms games like mad!i enjoyed playing them in my game gear via master gear adaptor. That time i bought used sms games from 3$!(1000 greek drachmas).thats what we paid to rent a game gear game for 1 week. Offcourse i had a sms also.

[@tursilion]

Bad sides notwithstanding, that Renegade III protagonist looks enough like Bruce Campbell in Army of Darkness, especially the medieval stage... ;)

[@alimohammedabd]

The loading screen music for renegade on C64 was absolutely brilliant. I have the arcade version on ps4

[@nicktaylor8032]

Sweet upload my brother. Excellent job as always mate.

[@Blackwolfninja89]

The Cool thing about Renegade is it's another reason why we have "Armies of the night" in the Warriors Rockstar game :)

[@MrSandMan961]

Weird that you had a whole segment for Misako but failed to mention that Riki is the first boss of Renegade/Hot Blooded Kunio-Kun and that's how they meet.

[@exile6308]

Seems that one game from this genre was left out the "renegade" game for the PC-Engine..... VIGILANTE

[@ryanschrafel9576]

The people who made Target; 2006 also made the indie beat-em-up Eight Dragons, which is basically Target; Renegade with 8-player co-op!

[@AsamiyaMouchou]

Great vidéo as usual, thx for such a good quality content, and this image you'v put on representating Euro Trash XD Dear lord it made me laugh, i wasn't expecting to see this and it reminds me of many things, me beeing french and the guy on the left impersonating Prince Charles being Antoine De Caune an awesome French TV crazy guy... TYVM for the laugh and keep that shit up Big Daddy Top Hat! =)

[@michaeldemers2716]

I bought 2 of the Japanese Versions of Double Dragon 2 so I can play two player. The characters are like River City. I think it's called Nekketsu Koha Kunio Kun : Bangai Ranto Hen. Way better than Double Dragon 2 in my opinion for Gameboy.

[@bedwablackburn]

I also would not mind a Kunio-kun deep dive. I know he was in Super Dodge Ball as Sam, among other games as well

[@charliemurphy6457]

I still have a Renegade NES cart....somewhere around the house lol

[@Faraway.G]

Kunio kun games are always fun

[@Bman4hire]

I've been playing Renegade nes for years. Just a couple years ago I finally got to play the master system version and was blown away. These games are more like the Warriors movie than the Warriors ps2 game, lol. Also despite the critcs I really enjoy Target Renegade nes

[@snakeenjoyingacanofbeans5219]

RCR was one of my favorite games but Renegade was one of my most hated.

[@toddwilson7895]

One of the baddest arcade games! Many quarters in the late 80's that I spent playin' this classic!

[@michaelelsy2209]

It's been so long since one of your videos popped up I wasn't sure you where still going.

[@donaldjohnson1148]

I could be very, very wrong about this but I could swear I remember some of the later sequels/ports being pitched or advertised as a game of the television series in America called Renegade staring Lorenzo Lamas. The show had an identical looking hero with martial arts abilities fighting off the bad guys in very, very similar stories. I'm probably just mistaken but it jut seems so clear in my head. Anyone else remember that?

[@trence5]

Had NOOO idea this ever came to the Sega Master System.

[@EstebanGallardo]

Target Renegade was my first true love for the Amstrad CPC. Maybe the first game that I ever completed.

[@AsterioPolipos]

The Japanese version portrays urban subculture gangs that are less known in the West. Despite the similarity of the character's kung fu clothing, Kunio is a banchō. The second stage gang are the bosozukus and in the third stage are the sukebans (female banchōs).

[@InsaneWayne355]

I was always on the lookout for this game in the arcades back in the day. And it was guaranteed to suck lots of quarters from me.

[@timkaczmarowski8151]

remember seeing this outside a local grocery store as a kid, thought it was as dirty as the dirty older boys who were playing it and i knew it was cutting edge conceptually, then double dragon came along and it was like everyone forgot about ol renegade

[@christophermoody6840]

Wow, he did Road Avenger too? That's what it was called on the Sega CD here in the U.D.

[@zacharyking9127]

I remember playing this on the NES, and thinking it was a rip-off of Double Dragon. No idea that this came first, and was made by the same guy. It all makes so much sense now.

[@charlesbennett7484]

These games always remind me of Yu-Yu-Hakusho.

[@gjergjaurelius9798]

I always said the same thing! That goes for berserk with final fantasy 7!

[@osakatales9228]

I'd say Yu Yu Hakusho reminds anyone of Kunio Kun.

[@__dINe__]

I never knew why Target: Renegade never went to arcade, now i know..

[@BATCHARRO]

Kishimoto really is the Dark Souls of Inventing The Whole Beat Em Up Genre.

[@sterling7]

A fine video, but I feel obligated to note a couple of small corrections. (Yeah, I'm "that" guy. Sorry.) 6:30 Players could not "stomp on" enemies in either Renegade or Kunio-Kun. They could straddle downed opponents and punch them in the face until they were knocked out, but that's only "stomp on" in a metaphorical sense; notably, this was a dangerous tactic because other enemies would happily attack you while you were thus engaged, and bosses would straight throw you off unless they were on the last point of their health. The first beat-em-up game I remember seeing with an actual "stomp" mechanic was Konami's "Crime Fighters" in 1989, three years later. 6:49 Players did not actually need to "take out every single enemy on the stage." If the player defeats the boss before all of their subordinates are K.O.'d, the remaining henchpeople would attempt to flee off the bottom of the screen, and if allowed to do so before the time ran out, the stage would end successfully and move on to the next stage. You actually see this mechanic beginning to occur in this video, very briefly, at 7:44. It's also interesting (to me, at least), that in addition to the costume and scenery changes, "Renegade" exchanges the white burst effects when a "fatal" blow lands on the hero from a gun or knife in the final stage with a red "blood splatter".

[@10tonhamster]

“Cee Plus Vee Gee”?? Computer & Video Games was the first games magazine, and biggest for quite a long time.

[@hotblooded2129]

Being a huge fan of the Kunio Kun and Double Dragon series, I am very thankful for your content good sir! 👊

[@hotblooded2129]

There's a growing Facebook group for Kunio-Kun and Double Dragon fans, join us!

[@osakatales9228]

@@hotblooded2129 What's it called?

[@hotblooded2129]

@@osakatales9228 Kunio-Kun / Double Dragon fans - くにおくん

[@osakatales9228]

@@hotblooded2129 Thank you

[@AsamiyaMouchou]

Oooh btw i watch all your videos but i wasn't subscribing to your channel yet, i'll do it right now seeing that you'll reach 100K subs soon, congratz on this! =)

[@victornoagbodji]

To be frank, the delinquent high schooler, with the familiar protruding hairdo, has been in anime & manga for a while. I remember buying a couple of those on VHS 😅 😅 Kill La Kill is a modern homage to that genre and I loved learning the history behind that show.

[@adam1984pl]

Fighting the bd guys on motorcycles is from Jackie Chan -Meals on wheeels.

[@devingiles6597]

Hey, Top Hat Gaming Man. In a future video, you should definitely do a video on Battle Circuit! It was Capcom's last beat 'em up game released for the Arcade. This game is only release in Japan and Europe in 1997. It did not get a home console release in North America up until the release of Capcom Beat 'Em Up Bundle for modern home consoles from the likes of the Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Xbox One and Microsoft Windows (PC) in 2018. Pretty please, Top Hat Gaming Man?

[@tekkensentai]

Ah. So that’s where the boss in the first level of River City Girls comes from.

[@krissymarklewis1793]

Renegade 3 was balls. Target Renegade on the speccy was the best.

[@steveb9713]

I wish we could get a new kind of beat em up game with modern graphics and newer gameplay, maybe incorporating ufc style combat but with weapons and gang fighting

[@AcornElectron]

Keep up the good work fella and stay safe. Loving these but I’ll be honest, LD is doing superior content over the last few months with her ‘unknown’ series of videos. Super interesting stuff that sometimes even makes ME go “oh!”. 😂🕹 🎩

[@nefariousmex2352]

Who's LD?

[@AcornElectron]

@@nefariousmex2352 really? Lady Decade. His wife.

[@nefariousmex2352]

@@AcornElectron Naw I had no idea I just found out by scrollin the comments and am literally watchin her video on the 3DO right now when you replied 😆

[@AcornElectron]

@@nefariousmex2352 she’s done some great stuff in the past too. Had to take a break to be a mum but this latest series on unreleased/3rd party and prototype consoles has been the only original thing on KZbin in what seems like years. Check out the NES variants video and her video playlist for older stuff. If you like Top Hat you’ll Love Lady Decade 🎩🕹😉

[@nefariousmex2352]

@@AcornElectron will do

[@theodorehsu5023]

The “Target: Renegade” didn’t do that well in the US, so I think the “Renegade III” was only a C-64 release. The other computers were UK/EU, so no surprise there it was mostly UK/EU.

[@SolitaireZeta]

The first Kunio-Kun/Renegade arcade game was certainly pioneering and innovative and influential. Nevertheless, as a game unto itself void of its historical context, it has not aged well at all. It's the classic example of a game that is super short, so they make the difficulty obscene in order to stretch out the playtime as much as possible (as well as be a quarter muncher.) Just getting past the first stage is an absolute chore.

[@Muryohken]

Awesome.

[@Sam-Lawry]

Dark seal 1..2.. King of dragons... Road to sword (pgm). Dyna gear.. Cadillacs and dinosaurs... Willow..

[@rogersmith494]

I would like to see armored warriors covered and battle circuit

[@n00bprof82]

The thumbnail looked like a character in Baki

[@richardjoyce2764]

Yeah I remember Renegade for NES, it was all fun until I ran into Rosanne and got spanked for all my health 😒

[@KurisuBlaze]

All fun and games until you hear 'Giving up, already?'

[@LethalBubbles]

oh this video has an excellent title

[@davidheard709]

I am pure Nostalgian for the original version, in arcade, and nes. Mr. K. just rules in Uni--Monoe ‘kick ass’ against all odds.

[@Beigemage0621]

River City Ransom: Underground should get more credit than River City Girls for reviving the Beat'em up genre.

[@BlueMageWithSoulEdge]

So, when are you going to cover my favorite: "Top Hat Man's Education, Education, Education in Pain"?

[@hi-tych]

This game was insane. I think this was the first fighting game when you could jump off the wall too?

[@nroc6206]

The hero in renegade III looks like Rad Gravity

[@yeraysantanaaday6827]

Renegade for spectrum was the better game ever...it was sublime, perfect and change the present ot that time...

[@SkotchOG]

So execs pretty much screwed us over, and we missed out on the original Japanese game.

[@joandarc441]

Excellent job

[@Asobitech]

Please take a look at Konami's Crime Fighters and it's sequel Vendetta

[@Raphael_De_La_Ghetto]

I remember Target Renegade NES being HELLA easy.. you could finish the entire game in 20-25 mins

[@KenMasters.]

Renegade: The generic and effortless US version of Nekketsu Kouha Kunio-kun.

[@geechie-don7157]

Wwe played the shit out of that NES Renegade. Anybody remember that big lady grabbing and bitch slapping him over and over lol

[@nroc6206]

10:37 Renegade: Goat Leg Edition

[@HypercatZ]

I can't help but giggle at the fact the female characters look much more provocative in the western version of the game.

[@TheRealKaiProton]

Used to Play Target Renegade over and over on my 49k Speccy, I read, or saw a video someplace, that said its what Ocean had made, as a F-you to Technos because they gave the Double Dragon licence to some one else.. then of course, I was duped into getting Renegade 3.. oh dear :-(

[@gjergjaurelius9798]

I got a copy of renegade for sega master system. My favorite version.

[@somuchcooleronline7168]

Wait A Minute, Did You Notice Some Of Those Fighters Wearing Masks In Kunio-Kun?

[@johneygd]

I tout that double dragon came first.

[@VictorHernandez-nj2lo]

Please talk bout dungeons & dragons:tower of doom & shadow over mystara arcade games,the bouncer & urban reign on ps2,mortal kombat shaolin monks,scott pilgrim vs the world game,dragon's crown,mighty morphin power rangers mega battle,revenge of the wounded dragons,& the fighting/beat em up hybrid pit fighter

[@donaldjohnson1148]

@2:16 there is a ridiculously cool shot of of Mario facing Bowser breathing fire. Could someone tell please what that shot is from? It's been a really long time since I played a Mario game and I am not familiar with the series anymore. I appreciate any info anybody has on it.

[@osakatales9228]

It's from the recent one, Bowser's Fury.

[@donaldjohnson1148]

@@osakatales9228 many thanks 👍👍✌️✌️

[@osakatales9228]

@@donaldjohnson1148 Welcome ✌

[@jacobbaranowski]

I never heard of this game 🎮 before. Yeah Yyyeeaaaaahhhhhhhhh

[@MattoDementePazzo]

What game from is the tune at 2:18?

[@ExtremeWreck]

That's a trap on the thumbnail. That's a trap on the thumbnail. That's a trap on the thumbnail.

[@ness550]

and so I ask, who is it???????

[@aweirdredtoad3637]

She's a muscular woman, and her name is Misuzu.

[@crokkadoodledoo9956]

It is insane how it started a whole genre of fighting games all the way up to MK which was just brutal and graphic… which of course we as Americans ate up. But so much respect to Karate Champ Renegade DD Street Fighter KOF Virtual Fighter. Those games were so awesome ground breaking and even wholesome with traditional characters. Really have to give to the Japanese for inventing the whole concept and style.