Developer: Technos Publisher: Taito Release: 01/88 Genre: Beat em up
Double Dragon is one of my favorite beat em ups on the NES. In many ways it shaped what I came to expect from the genre. But it was not the first. While Kung-Fu Master created the beat em up Renegade defined it. As a localized version of Nekketsu Kōha Kunio-kun Renegade established nearly all of the staples of the genre, the belt scroll, combo attacks, and the street brawling theme. But it is also a product of its time and kind of hard to go back to.
In Japan Renegade was the first in the long running (to this day!) Kunio Kun series. As a semi-autobiographical take on the creator’s adolescence its theme of Japanese youth gone wild resonated with that audience. For its Western localization Taito based the game around the 1979 film the Warriors. I guess it was supposed to resonate better with overseas players. But it loses its identity in the process and comes across a bit generic. This is on top of the other problems the game has.
Renegade uses a two button system for left and right attack. In theory it works. But in practice it is confusing as the buttons reverse when you switch directions. Compounding this your character automatically faces whichever enemy is closest which is annoying. I’ve never liked this control setup and unfortunately it will return in many subsequent games. You perform jumping attacks by pressing both buttons which is unwieldy. Considering how often the enemies will duck under your jump kick it is pretty worthless. The controls are sluggish unfortunately which hampers the game’s otherwise solid mechanics
I will give Renegade credit, it has a lot of technique for a game this old. In fact you have more tools at your disposal than most beat em ups which is embarrassing. Aside from your basic punches and kicks you can jump kick and dash. Dash attacks are highly effective and are preferable to basic combos. Once you hit an enemy a few times they become dizzy at which point you can knee bash them a few times or perform an over the shoulder throw. That one is tricky and I have only done it a few times. Once you knock down an enemy you can sit on them and punch them in the face a few times. This move is so cool I wonder why more games never incorporated it. Sadly there are no weapons or secondary items which is a shame as the game could use them.
In spite of the fact Renegade arms you with so many techniques the game is simply no fun at all. It all comes down to the AI which is annoying rather than smart. When you attempt a flurry of attacks the computer will frequently step back and cause you to miss. When they are not doing that they have priority over your attacks and will break your combo easily. Since you fight three enemies simultaneously they employ the classic brawler tactic of surrounding you and pummeling you in to oblivion. In fact this might be the game where it was born. You spend more time trying to trick the AI than enjoying the game. The unresponsive controls do not help in this endeavor.
Beyond the localization changes Renegade is a heavily stripped down version of the arcade game with numerous differences. The levels barely scroll and most take place in a series of singular rooms. You only face three enemies at once which is a far cry from the arcade’s six or seven. But to make up for this the game has repeated waves before you can move on. Even with that each stage is very short. The second level has a brief motorcycle chase before its boss battle. Stage three is the first to offer a choice of paths. The final stage is a maze and a bad one at that. You have as many as four doors to choose from at times with some sending you back to the beginning. There are no hints as to the correct path making it a tedious end to a frustrating game.
These changes would not be so bad if they were actually good. But the problems they introduce ruin the game. There are far too many waves per stage and it is worse as you fight a single enemy type per level for most of the game. Renegade gets repetitive before you leave the first screen and only gets worse. I can respect the attempt to make the game longer; the arcade game was a brief experience and to the point. But this is not it.
In Closing
Renegade is one of the most influential games of all time. But it is a chore to play today. The genre has come a long way and the myriad flaws stand out. I respect it as a part of gaming history but would rather play something else, like one of the many games it inspired.
