Popular Games by Technōs Japan
Reviews of Technōs Japan Games
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Review Arcade Archives Renegade (Switch eShop)
The Kunio-kun origin story
Hamster is really spoiling us with this port, because unlike the PS4 version, this Switch offering manages to include both the original Nekketsu Kōha Kunio-kun Japanese release and the reskinned, The Warriors-inspired western localisation known as Renegade. While both games play essentially the same, it's nice...
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Review Arcade Archives Double Dragon (Switch eShop)
Brief, flawed but enjoyable arcade action
Scrolling beat ‘em ups may be simple affairs that just have you moving along smacking groups of thugs in the face, but when they are done right they can be hugely entertaining. Before Streets Of Rage, before Final Fight the game that got people excited was Technos’ Double Dragon, which put you in control...
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Review Shin Nekketsu Kōha Kunio-kun: Kunio Tachi no Banka (SNES)
Say that title three times in a row
With the celebrations of all these other anniversaries going about it is easy to forget the adventures of Kunio, which also celebrated thirty years in 2016. Despite being absent from most Western gamer’s memories in the past several years (despite the odd virtual console re-release), the legacy of Technōs most...
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Review Shodai Nekketsu Kouha Kunio-Kun (SNES)
16-bit barf
If you were to ask kids in the late '80s and early '90s for iconic NES video game characters, alongside the usual gang of Nintendo, Konami and Capcom regulars, you would often hear the name "Alex". No, not our own Alex "Lovely People" Olney - this Alex was none other than the western version of Kunio, the short-tempered high school...
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Review Double Dragon III: The Sacred Stones (Wii U eShop / NES)
A tough but enjoyable adventure for Bimmy and friends
Bimmy. If there's one thing people know about Double Dragon III: The Sacred Stones, it's Bimmy – a typo during the game's (multiplayer) intro that humorously renames the main protagonist. There's more to this third NES entry in the Double Dragon series than a small chuckle however. There's a...
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Review River City Ransom (Wii U eShop / NES)
Holding your funds for ransom
Originally released in Japan for Nintendo Famicom, classic beat 'em up 'Downtown Nekketsu Monogatari' was then heavily localised for its eventual release in the US; background artwork was amended to look more 'western' (for example, rooftop tiling designs and mailboxes were changed) plus all location names were updated...
Latest Technōs Japan News
Sunday24th Nov 2024
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Poll Box Art Brawl - Duel: Kirby: Nightmare In Dream Land (GBA)
When light faces dark
Another week, another edition of Box Art Brawl! Before we dive into this week's battle, let's see how things panned out last time. We looked at Double Dragon for the NES, and it was yet another close call. After over 1,600 votes from our dear readers, it was the Western design that took home the win with 53% of the vote. Well...
Sunday17th Nov 2024
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Poll Box Art Brawl - Duel: Double Dragon (NES)
Double trouble
We are back, back, back with another edition of Box Art Brawl! Last time, we matched up two Game Boy covers for the weird Tetris sequel, Hatris, and oh boy was it a close contest! The colourful Japanese design just about clinched it in the end, taking 51% of the vote over North America's 49%. Talk about a photo finish! For a change...
Wednesday6th Sep 2023
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News Nintendo Expands Switch Online's Game Boy Color, SNES & NES Library With Four More Games
Three "Japan-only" titles and a Warner Bros. licensed game
Nintendo has added four more games to the Switch Online library today but it's not the sort of lineup you might be expecting. Three of these games are "Japan only" and were never translated into English. Starting off with the NES lineup, there's the 1993 release Joy Mech Fight. This is a...
Saturday3rd Sep 2022
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News River City Ransom Director & Miracle Kidz President es Away
Worked on multiple classics at Technōs Japan
We've got some incredibly sad news coming out of Japan today. Miracle Kidz president Mitsuhiro Yoshida ed away at the end of last month on August 30th. Yoshida worked at Technōs Japan (known best for the beat 'em up series Double Dragon) - helping create classics like Kunio-kun (Downtown Nekketsu...
Wednesday2nd Jun 2021
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News Arc System Works Announces Kunio-kun 35th Anniversary Project
News games, collabs and more expected...
If the celebrations for Sonic the Hedgehog and Dragon Quest over the past week weren't already enough, this year also marks the 35th anniversary of the Kunio-kun series. Technōs Japan's popular co-op beat 'em up series starring Kunio-kun and Riki first started out in Japanese arcades in May 1986 with the...
Thursday27th Aug 2020
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News Super Dodge Ball Is The Latest Arcade Archives Classic To Hit The Switch
If you can dodge a...
Hamster Corporation continues to provide the Nintendo Switch with plenty of retro goodness and this week it brings Super Dodge Ball by Technos Japan to the Arcade Archives Collection on the eShop. This action game was originally released in 1987 in arcades and was the second title in the Technos Japan line starring the...
Thursday16th Apr 2020
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News Seven Classic NES Titles Just Appeared On The Switch eShop
Arc System Works opens up its brawler collection
Arc System Works has just casually dropped seven NES games on the Switch eShop (as well as other digital storefronts). The games are all part of the company's Double Dragon & Kunio-kun Retro Brawler Bundle, but thanks to these new releases, you can purchase the titles individually at €4.99 /...
Thursday6th Feb 2020
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News Arc System Works Is Bringing The Double Dragon & Kunio-kun Retro Brawler Bundle To The West
Take to the streets later this month
Update - Thu 6th Feb, 2020 00:45 GMT: Exactly a week later, Arc System Works has made the western release of the Double Dragon & Kunio-kun Retro Brawler Bundle official. It will arrive on the Switch in North America on 20th February. Here's the rundown via the official game site: D
Wednesday22nd Jan 2020
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News Smash Bros. Ultimate Hosts Kunio-kun Event Later This Week, Four New Spirits Up For Grabs
Get ready to brawl
One iconic series that doesn't always get the recognition it probably deserves is Kunio-kun (also known as River City and Street Gangs here in the west). Thankfully, though, this week Nintendo is celebrating it in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. Starting this Friday, on 24th January, there'll be a new event all about this long-time...
Sunday18th Aug 2019
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Poll Box Art Brawl #4 - River City Ransom / Street Gangs
Vote for your favourite box art
Welcome to the fourth round of Box Art Brawl, the series where a classic retro game takes on its doppelgängers from other territories to see which has the greatest cover art. Last week we saw GameCube titan Resident Evil 4 knock itself sideways as its moody European self won a very comfortable victory over its North...
Monday25th Jun 2018
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News Hamster To Unleash Renegade On The Mean Streets Of Switch
There's a pair of retro shmups incoming, too
Hamster will be re-releasing Yoshihisa Kishimoto's iconic beat-'em-up Renegade this Thursday. Released at the arcades one year prior to 1987 classic Double Dragon, Kunio's debut adventure first won the hearts of Japanese gamers when it was originally released as Nekketsu Kouha Kunio-kun...
Friday3rd Nov 2017
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News Retro-Bit's Super Retro-Cade Adds Technos Classics To Its Lineup
Double Dragon! Renegade! Combatribes!
Retro-Bit has revealed that select Technos titles will be featured on its forthcoming Super Retro-Bit micro-console. The company lifted the lid on the new system a short time ago, and announced that it would come pre-loaded with Capcom and Data East titles such as Strider, Final Fight, Joe & Mac and many...
Sunday23rd Oct 2016
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Feature NES Mini Classics - Double Dragon II: The Revenge
A mini fight
With the release of the Nintendo Entertainment System: NES Classic Edition (NA) / Nintendo Classic Mini: Nintendo Entertainment System (EU), we're going to provide short profiles of all 30 games included on the system. This time around we look at Double Dragon II: The Revenge. So far this series of articles on the NES Mini...
Tuesday4th Oct 2016
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Video You're Unlikely To Find A More Exhaustive History Of Double Dragon Than This
"You got 50,000 on Double Dragon?!"
Technos' Double Dragon has to rank as one of the most seminal arcade games of all time. While it wasn't the first side-scrolling fighter by a long way, it laid down the foundations of the genre and inspired countless clones and even a (terrible) Hollywood movie. It also played a significant role in the cult film...
Tuesday14th Jul 2015
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News Arc System Works Keen to Develop 3DS Titles With Technos Japan IPs
Yes, we'd love a new Double Dragon or Kunio-kun game
Arc System Works is likely to be a familiar name to eShop aficionados, in particular, though the publisher hasn't always knocked it out of the park with its own games. It's picked up some popular franchise rights, however, including those of Technos Japan's titles. What brands does this...
Friday12th Jun 2015
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News Arc System Works Now Owns The Rights To All Of Technos Japan's Titles
Double Dragon, Super Dodge Ball, River City Ransom and Kunio-kun snapped up
It has been revealed today that Arc System Works has acquired all of the rights to Technos Japan's back catalogue. This includes hits such as Double Dragon, the Kunio-kun series and Super Dodge Ball. Double Dragon is one of the most famous fighting game franchises in the...
Wednesday8th May 2013
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News Crash ‘n the Boys Are Roughhousing Their Way To Western 3DS Consoles
NES sporting title gets an OFLC rating
Crash ‘n the Boys: Street Challenge — part of the famous Kunio-kun series in Japan — has been given an OFLC rating, which would suggest a 3DS Virtual Console release very soon. Known in its native homeland as Bikkuri Nekketsu Shin Kiroku! Harukanaru Kin Medal, Crash ‘n the Boys: Street Challenge is a...
Wednesday30th Jan 2013
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News Double Dragon Is Brawling Onto The Japanese 3DS eShop Next Week
Billy and Jimmy are taking no prisoners
Nintendo of Japan has confirmed that the Famicom (NES to you and me) version of Double Dragon is coming to the 3DS eShop next week - February 6th, to be exact. It's set to retail for 500 Yen (approximately £3.50 / $5.50). The 8-bit classic is one of the seminal side-scrolling fighters of all time, and is...
Saturday19th Mar 2011
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News Super Dodge Ball's Attack Line Drawn for WiiWare this May
Updated and aiming for your head
Originally developed for the arcades and the NES in the late '80s, Super Dodge Ball is making a return as Miracle Kidz announces more details on the remake set for WiiWare release this year. Known in Japan as Downtown Nekketsu Dodgeball, the game will be taking after Nekketsu Koko Dodgeball Bu (known as Super Dodge...
Thursday13th Aug 2009
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VC and DSiWare on offer next week whilst the WiiWare holiday continues.
After the mega update preceding the Oban Festival holiday this week it looks like things are returning to normal with 4 VC releases and 7 DSi releases for next week, though nothing new in the WiiWare pipeline. Virtual ConsoleIke lke! Nekketsu Hockey-bu (500pts - Technos) -- A...
