Compilations and HD remasters became very popular last-gen and that has continued into this current console generation, too. The interest in reviving older games — be they just a previous gen before or old enough to be considered retro — and in games that never made it out of Japan — presents an interesting market for publishers with a deep catalog. We’ve seen Sega finally come around over the years to delivering the Yakuza titles from Japan, and their reception here (as anyone who played the first two on PS2 knew) has been very positive.
As an older gamer myself, and one that would love to see every Japanese game translated and brought to the west in due time, I was happy to hear about a very unique new release on Switch and PS4 from Arc System Works. The Double Dragon & Kunio-kun Retro Brawler Bundle packs quite a punch, bringing players eighteen games, eleven of which were previously Japan-only — in one nicely-packaged digital download. Incredibly, all eleven of the Kunio-kun games were originally and only released in Japan and on the Family Computer Disk System, aka the Famicom Disk System.
Now, like many retro games, a lot of those in this bundle aren’t all that interesting and probably won’t keep you coming back for more. Furthermore, though the name of the bundle might lead you to believe otherwise, this bundle isn’t just a set of brawlers. Side-scrolling, co-op (two or four player) brawlers tend to age rather well because of their accessibility and short length, and while there are some classic brawlers in this set, there are also games like Super Dodge Ball and Downtown Nekketsu March Super-Awesome Field Day! that are sports themed, very old, and you know, pretty blah. Another four games are actually “just” (not to minimize what it is, but at the same time the differences are minute) the Japanese versions of the North American versions of River City Ransom, Renegade, Crash’n the Boys, and Super Dodge Ball. There is also some RPG presence in this set, too. Actually, before going any further, it’d be prudent of me to list the games that this bundle does include:
DOUBLE DRAGON
DOUBLE DRAGON II: The Revenge
DOUBLE DRAGON III: The Sacred Stones
Renegade
Super Dodge Ball
River City Ransom
Crash’n the Boys Street Challenge
And now for the games that were previously only ever published in Japan:
Nekketsu Renegade Kunio-kun
Nekketsu High School Dodgeball Club
Downtown Nekketsu Story
Nekketsu High School Dodgeball Club – Soccer Story
Downtown Nekketsu March Super-Awesome Field Day!
Downtown Special Kunio-kun’s Historical Period Drama!
Go-Go! Nekketsu Hockey Club Slip-and-Slide Madness
Surprise! Nekketsu New Records! The Distant Gold Medal
Nekketsu Fighting Legend
Kunio-kun’s Nekketsu Soccer League
Nekketsu! Street Basketball All-Out Dunk Heroes
Several sports games are present as you can tell, including, to my surprise, an ice hockey game. Videogames and ice hockey, especially old school, arcade-like hockey games, go together very well, and that’s true here again. Several of the games are forgettable, though nonetheless appreciated and cool to see added here, but overall my favorite is probably Renegade.
In addition to save states and a nice interface for experiencing these games, Arc System Works also includes a ‘Quality Up’ version of most of the games that actually addresses original glitches, bugs, and even tweaks the balance of some of these games. Having not played any of these games originally, I can’t immediately tell a difference, but, with the press of a single button you can toggle between the original version of these games and their Quality Up versions. That kind of effort for a bundle like this deserves a special nod of recognition. Additionally, online play is supported for every title for up to four players, either in co-op or versus, depending on the game (though I didn’t test this). Plus, there are fifty-five missions or ‘achievement’ tasks you can do to acquire additional nicknames and avatars that you can use in online play. It’s also a decent way to get players to try out every game, too.
The Double Dragon & Kunio-kun Retro Brawler Bundle is a quirky, cool, unique release that gives players a big dose of retro gaming including several titles that have never been published stateside. I appreciate the history here, and the preservation, as well as the modernization efforts by Arc System Works. Even though several of the games didn’t hold my interest at all, and four of them are almost identical clones of other games in the same set, there’s still enough here to make this a release that retro gamers should take note of.
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