Kunio-kun (Nekketsu Kouha) series
Anyone played any of the Nekketsu Kouha (aka Kunio-kun) games?
They were developed by Technos and there were a bunch of them released, but most of them were of the dodgeball/fighting game sort. The first game in this series was either Renegade or Downtown Nekketsu Monogatari (which translates as something like "Downtown Hot-blooded Story"). I forget which one, so if anyone knows, then feel free to share that info.
Downtown Nekketsu Monogatari is most commonly known in America as "River City Ransom", and was released on NES. It was this fun little beat-em-up where enemies sometimes said "BARF" if you beat them.
There were other Nekketsu beat-em-ups like Shodai Nekketsu Kouha Kunio-kun and Shin Nekketsu Kouha-Kunio-tachi no Banka, which were released for the Super Famicom in Japan. Shin Nekketsu is probably the better game of the two since its gameplay is more deep and the dialogue is more believable than the other.
There were also a number of dodgeball games with the two ruffians, like Kunio-kun no Dodgeball-Zenin Shuugou, and Super Dodge Ball.
Zenin Shuugou was released for Super Famicom in 1993, and was a pretty deep little dodgeball game. You could do super shots, catches, passes, and everything else.
Super Dodge Ball was released for SNK's Neo-Geo system in 1994, right before Technos closed down. Kunio and Riki, oddly, were on separate teams in this game O_o
SDB had several improvements to the Zenin Shuugou formula, like a Super meter for team attacks, and easier-to-use special moves. Another interesting thing to note is that the game takes place in a theme park, much like the third level of Kunio-tachi no Banka. Wonder if it's the same park O_o
Then there were other Kunio games, like Kunio no Oden (a puzzle game) and a Kunio soccer game, which oddly enough used the character sprites from the original RCR game.
In a way, their legacy still lives on through Atlus, since they released River City Ransom EX for GBA, and a dodgeball game that is somewhat similar to Zenin Shuugou.
......yeah, I know, I play too many video games xD
