2012 · Million · Beat 'em up

Riki Densetsu

Nintendo exclusive

Spin-off of the Kunio-kun series starring Kunio's friend, Riki.

Released: 12 December 2012
Platforms: Nintendo 3DS
Genres: Beat 'em up
Developers: Million
Publishers: Arc System Works
Modes: Single-player
Perspective: Bird view / Isometric
Themes: Action
Age ratings: CERO B

About

The Kunio-kun (くにおくん) series (typically localized as River City) is a video game series started by Technōs Japan. The series is now handled by Arc System Works who purchased all of the intellectual property rights from Technōs' successor, Million Corp. The first game in the series is fully titled Nekketsu Kōha Kunio-kun (熱血硬派くにおくん), which roughly translates to "Hot Blood Tough Guy Kunio", with Nekketsu being the name of the series' title character Kunio's high school. The kun suffix after his name is an informal Japanese honorific usually applied to young males.

The series originated in arcades, before appearing on the Famicom console. Kunio later became Technōs Japan's main mascot, appearing on the company's logo in several games and television commercials.

Keywords

brawler
digital distribution
deliberately retro
delinquency

The articlegameplay, story, development, reception

Development

The original game Nekketsu Kōha Kunio-kun was created by Yoshihisa Kishimoto. He pitched a semi-autobiographical game based on his teenage high school years, with the protagonist Kunio-kun loosely based on himself. Kishimoto recalled his experiences as a high school student regularly getting into fights on a daily basis, which was partly triggered by a break-up with a girl who dumped him. Kishimito was also a fan of Bruce Lee's Hong Kong martial arts films, particularly Enter the Dragon (1973).

He combined elements from Lee's Enter the Dragon with that of his own life to create the concept for Nekketsu Kōha Kunio-kun. He went on to design Double Dragon (1987), which was originally envisioned as a direct sequel to the original Kunio-Kun game, before becoming a new game with a different cast and setting.