PixlBit

The Street Fighter

Sometime in May 1986, Japanese arcades saw the release of a brawler called Nekketsu Koha Kunio-kun (roughly meaning Hot-Blooded Tough Guy Kunio in English). It stars Kunio- a miscreant high schooler fighting for a classmate being picked on by rival gangs. The game is notable for being the first brawler to feature an urban setting and introduced many trademarks common to the genre- a tough guy protagonist, themes of street justice, generic thugs, female villains, and so on. The game underwent significant revisions for its Western release and subsequent NES port, including a name change to Renegade and the story wholly disconnected from its source material.

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3DS owners, you may just want to consider double-dipping.

I love Mutant Mudds; I’m not going to be bashful about it. It’s one of my favorite games in a very long time and its latest Wii U incarnation further cements that. Rather than rest on their laurels, Renegade Kid has worked in 20 new levels (bringing the grand total to 80) and an optional checkpoint system to help players through the game’s tougher challenges. Combined with the already solid content, Mutant Mudds Deluxe is not only the definitive version of the game, but an absolute steal at its asking price.

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Classic action-platforming with a 3D twist.

While not many have had the opportunity to play the Virtual Boy, Renegade Kid’s latest work is oddly reminiscent of Nintendo’s misfit system. Back when the Virtual Boy launched, it touted its special 3D capabilities; these boiled down to little more than multiple viewing planes, which gave the illusion of 3D. The most memorable games used these multiple planes to create deeper platforming experiences. Taking a cue from these experiences, Mutant Mudds allows players to jump between the current plane, background, and foreground.

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