Renegade (Nekketsu Kouha Kunio-Kun) Walkthrough for the NES ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Author: Scronan (scronan2000@yahoo.com) ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Version: 2.1 (Final) (created 2-10-04) ----------------------------------------------------------------------- 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 ----------------------------------------------------------------------- 1. Welcome ----------------------------------------------------------------------- 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. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- 1a. Version History. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- 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. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- 1b. Differences between the US and Japanese Releases ----------------------------------------------------------------------- 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." ----------------------------------------------------------------------- 1c. Double Dragon RipOff? ----------------------------------------------------------------------- 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. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- 2. Playing Renegade ----------------------------------------------------------------------- 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. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- 2a. Your life Meter ----------------------------------------------------------------------- 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. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- 2a. Basic attacks ----------------------------------------------------------------------- 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). ----------------------------------------------------------------------- 2b. Grab Attacks ----------------------------------------------------------------------- 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. :) ----------------------------------------------------------------------- 2c. Dashing Attacks ----------------------------------------------------------------------- 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. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- 3. Enemies ----------------------------------------------------------------------- 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. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- 3a. Regular Enemies ----------------------------------------------------------------------- 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. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Street Thug ----------------------------------------------------------------------- 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. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Motorcycle Thug ----------------------------------------------------------------------- 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! ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Motorcycle Rider ----------------------------------------------------------------------- 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. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Angry Japanese School Girls ----------------------------------------------------------------------- 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. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- 3b. Bosses ----------------------------------------------------------------------- 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. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Jack: The boss of stage one ----------------------------------------------------------------------- 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. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Joel: The boss of stage two. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- 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. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Kim: The boss of stage 3 ----------------------------------------------------------------------- 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. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Sabu: The Yakuza Boss of stage 4 ----------------------------------------------------------------------- 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! ----------------------------------------------------------------------- 4. Beating the Game on the higher difficulty settings ----------------------------------------------------------------------- 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). ----------------------------------------------------------------------- 4a. How to find the last boss - Difficulty Setting 2 ----------------------------------------------------------------------- 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. :) ----------------------------------------------------------------------- 4b. How to find the last boss - Difficulty Setting 3 ----------------------------------------------------------------------- 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. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- 5. Bugs, Etc ----------------------------------------------------------------------- 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. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- 6. Closing comments ----------------------------------------------------------------------- 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. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- 7. Disclaimer ----------------------------------------------------------------------- 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.