Vimm's Lair: NES Reviews - Renegade

Nintendo
Renegade

Graphics:
Sound:
Gameplay:
Overall:
7.09
7.00
7.27
7.45
Votes: 11
Reviews: 2


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Reviewer: Gamer Jay Date: Jul 16, 2009
I actually have to contradict Seth Koopa's Review of this game. Renegade or Nekketsu Kunio-Kun as it's known as in Japan is not a spin off of Double Dragon, in all actuality it's the other way around! Double Dragon is actually a spin off of this game which in Japan is Part of the Nekketsu Kunio Series. If you don't believe me look up the Nekketsu Kunio series on Wikipedia.

Graphics: 7
The Graphics for an 8-bit console are okay. I never saw any lag when playing this game and the sprites were well done.

Sound: 6
The music in this sounds like something from the 50's possibly 60's with some rock thrown in. Not bad at all in my opinion. The sound effects weren't the best.

Gameplay: 4
Mehhhhh this is unfortunately where the game suffers. The controls are awkward in the NES version and unlike the arcade version of this game the standing punch attack is basically useless so it's jump kick jump kick jump kick through practically the whole game. After a while it gets frustrating especially seeing as the boss AI is cheesy and will end up making you throw your controller at the wall. Ahhhh, the joys of classic gaming!

Overall: 5
Unlike its arcade counterpart this game suffers from real lack of gameplay, cheesy boss AI, and shortness.

I still play this game from time to time just to look back at how far the gaming industry has come.

 

Reviewer: Seth Koopa Date: Sep 2, 2005
For reasons that I don't know now, I came across this game (second-hand) in my local flea market. When I inserted it into my NES and began to play it, the first thought that popped into my head was: 'A "Double dragon" spin-off... and quite a bad one.' I still haven't changed my mind. This average game can entertain you for a little while, but it falls short of being a decent game in any way.

Graphics: 4
The graphics are nothing to speak of. I've seen better average graphics. The environments are quite poorly done and unrich in any fine imaginative points, to say nothing of the numerous graphical glitches found. The enemies are just as poorly done (They look kind of familiar, though...). The first clue as to how bad a game this is.

Sound: 6
Okay, the music is, in parts, a bit catchy. It is without a doubt the best part of the game. The subway tune in particular is rather catchy, and the final battle tune as well. Overall, however, the music is really nothing to yell 'hooray' for.

Gameplay: 5
This game is really crude - in many senses of the word. The gameplay mostly consists of beating street gangs to a pulp (well, not literally). Some of the moves are downright stolen from "Double dragon". The controls are terribly frustrating as well, making pulling off moves unnecessary difficult.

The game has four levels. The first three consist mainly of battling your way past guards to face a boss. The first two bosses are about the size of yourself, something "Double dragon" rarely showed. But I consider this to be a flaw rather than a unique feature - the bosses are really unimaginative, as are most of the enemies - well, with the possible exception of the women who bash you with their purses. Without a doubt the most difficult of the first three bosses is the third, a very large woman who can grab (and hurt) you very easily.

The fourth level, I admit, is where things get the most interesting. You start outside a building, fighting hordes of gang members, but then two doors open and you can choose which one to enter. This building is a sort of hotel where the street gang you're battling is staying. You must navigate your way through this building, fighting goons in their hotel rooms and lounges as you go. Some doors you choose eventually take you back to the same spot; some doors are downright dangerous to take, because there you will find those large women bosses (and two of them - admittedly not at a time), and those doors are dead-ends anyway. You must be careful to choose the door out of there, though; otherwise you could end up battling them again!

There is a path, however, that you can take straight to the final boss. And he is armed with a gun - thus, one shot and you're dead, which feels surprisingly real. He's not desperately hard to beat, though.

The final level of this game brings the gameplay's score up a point, because it holds your interest at least for a little while.

Overall: 4
The music and the final level have interesting prospects. In all other factors, though, this is a crude "Double dragon" spin-off that I would not recommend you wasting your time on. I learned that the hard way, but I'm giving you that advice for free.

I threw away my copy of this game some while ago, by the way.