Kunio-kun
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.
| Kunio-kun | |
|---|---|
Arcade flyer for Nekketsu Kōha Kunio-kun, the first game in the series | |
| Developer(s) | Technōs Japan WayForward Technologies Almanic Corp. A+ Games Arc System Works |
| Publisher(s) | Technōs Japan SNK Million Corp. Atlus Arc System Works |
| Creator(s) | Yoshihisa Kishimoto |
| Platform(s) | Arcade, Famicom, Game Boy, Mega Drive, X68000, PC-Engine, Super Famicom, Game Boy Advance, Nintendo DS, Virtual Console, iOS, Android, PlayStation 2, WiiWare, Nintendo 3DS, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, Switch, Windows, Linux, MacOS |
| First release | Nekketsu Renegade Kunio-kun
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| Latest release | River City Girls 2
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A few of the early Kunio games for the NES were localized for the North American market. These include Renegade, River City Ransom, Super Dodge Ball, Crash 'n' the Boys: Street Challenge and Nintendo World Cup, which are heavily "Americanized" versions of the Kunio-kun games. Technōs Japan has released over twenty Kunio-kun titles for the Famicom, Game Boy, and Super Famicom in Japan. In addition, licensed ports of the games were made for other platforms such as the PC-Engine (through Naxat Soft), Mega Drive (through Pal Soft) and the X68000 (through Sharp).