I found Renegade for the Nintendo Entertainment System while reading an online article about beat-em-up games I should play not named River City Ransom or Double Dragon.

Renegade is an interesting game to play because it is a forerunner of a number of elements to later combat games. Four directional movement, for example, started with the Japanese arcade version of Renegade. The original game, Nekketsu Kōha Kunio-kun, translates into "Hot-Blooded Tough Guy Kunio," which makes it worth playing in the first place. Further reading also indicates Renegade was the first game to introduce enemies who could sustain multiple hits before being defeated.

Renegade on the NES is a below-average game. The player is immediately thrust into the action with no idea of what we're doing here. I'm fighting enemies to rescue someone? Maybe a girlfriend? It's never clear on the objective. The player simply starts fighting everyone in site.

And the computer throws multiple enemies at the player on every map. Maps are limited in scope to just a single setting, a subway station for example, with movement being limited to the edges of the screen. There are often three bad guys to take on at once, one is usually armed with a weapon but takes fewer hits to defeat. The others are unarmed but can hold down the player to allow gang-up beatings. They take more shots to defeat. After the player defeats a number of waves, a final boss shows up and the player then defeats him.

I was bored at first since the AI had the same strategy for players and learning the timing, paired with the button-mashing, made the game easy after the first play-through. Interesting enemies showed up, namely guys on motorcycles who try to run down the player, an enemy with a big knife that defeats the player with one stroke, and towards the end of the game, warps that send the player back levels if they select the wrong path to take.

The thing that struck me was the controls to the game. There is a A-B jump-kick maneuver available based on the direction the player is facing. But the odd thing is the punches and kicks are simple left and right with B and A. The B button is a directional attack to the left and the A button is a directional attack to the right. No matter which direction you're facing, A always attacks right. Furthermore, if you're facing right, it's a punch. If you're facing left, it's more like a roundhouse kick to the right, making it advantageous to face away from an enemy to kick them. A player can also press the down on the D-pad and squat to continue beating an enemy who is on the ground.

Renegade is an average game. It's ground-breaking in that it led the way for future beat-em-ups and it added a number of elements to the genre. I enjoyed playing the first few levels but it quickly became the same strategy against slightly different sprites for enemies and different backgrounds. The stripped down plot, which is simply "Go fight guys and save your girlfriend" doesn't develop into anything special and allows the player to focus on the action. The action, unfortunately, is mostly button-mashing.

Nice work again.

Beat 'em Ups are one of my favorite genres, but unfortunately we don't see many of them anymore (though I consider Knack part Beat 'em Up anyway). And the old ones, prior to the 16 bit era, were a little unweildy, though I did like them still. The 16 bit era seemed to really polish them up and that's where they really hit their stride I felt. Streets of Rage, Alien Storm, Altered Beast, Golden Axe... Though Altered Beast and Golden Axe weren't as smooth as Streets of Rage or Alien Storm, they were still fun.

So yeah, this is my kind of game, and even if the others of it's kind that I've played from before the Genesis were less than stellar in the controls and contact departments (and even the gameplay department) they weren't without their merits -- heck, I bought the original Double Dragon on my PS4.

So would you recommend this or River City Ransom either one for $8 to someone who feels the way I just said I did?


As for the review itself, as always you focused on both good and bad, and we're clear on your thoughts and why you feel the way you do. I like your style -- it's straightforward. Keep on reviewing, man.

Eirinn : If you can get River City Ransom for $8, just jump all over that. River City Ransom has to be my favorite beat'em'up for the NES. I think it's better than the Double Dragon games and the others because the upgrades through buying food and goods throughout. You fight bad guys, get money, and then can upgrade your skills. You can build a flying, kicking ninja, or a weapon-wielding tank, or a stone-fisted brawler depending on how you choose to spend cash.

It's a great game. I still go back and revisit it every few months. Athena? I'm done with that forever. I won't go back again.

I second Ghostbear, River City Ransom is a absolute steal at $8.  This game for 8 bucks... I wouldn't. its pretty short and as our reviewer said, its paved the way for much better games.

The simple plug-and--play of these old NES games is what makes them so accessible to me. I believe the 'plot' of this game is cleaning up the city from gangs.  Not that this has any kind of story in game.  Keep up the good work Ghostbear.