Renegade With a Cause

Even though you may know this classic arcade masterpiece as “Renegade”, it’s actually a westernized conversion (including changes to all of the sprites and backgrounds) of the original Japanese arcade game "Nekketsu Kouha Kunio-kun" (which roughly translates to “Hot Blooded Punk Kunio”), probably the first side scrolling beat ‘em up game, and the one which laid the foundations for later classics like Double Dragon and Final Fight.

The story changes quite a bit depending on the version of the game, as on the American version you need to rescue your girlfriend from her kidnappers, kicking faces and other body parts through five levels that take place on the subway, the docks and some unwelcoming streets of Brooklyn. Kunio-kun on the other hand stars the titular high school student Kunio standing up for his bullied friend Hiroshi, instead of the damsel-in-distress plot of Renegade. Each level starts with the some gang members thrashing Hiroshi in front of Nekketsu High School and Kunio going after his attackers to kick the bullying outta them.

Other things changed include the Japanese school uniforms wear by the main character and his pals, the backgrounds and even some characters (one was transformed into a woman, and other changed their skin colour).

Although it’s quite a violent game –the moves you can make include head butts, punches, kicks and flying kicks- there is an undeniable attempt to tone it down with its humorous and exaggerated approach. The game introduced for the first time several trademarks of the beat 'em up genre, including 4-directional control, punch-jump-kick play action, and enemies which can sustain multiple hits. To this day, be it Renegade or Kunio-kun, it has undoubtedly been one of the most influential titles of the video game industry.

Read these good summary about Renegade and the original game with screenshots comparing all versions and check out Wikipedia's entry on Renegade to gather even more info. And you can even play Renagade for free on your browser on that SNES emulator.