Kunio (くにお) is one of the two main protagonist of his eponymous franchise. He serves as the famous guardian of Nekketsu High School against rival schools and is the captain of the school's Dodge Ball team. A righteous delinquent with a strong personality, he has a heart of gold and cannot abandon those who are in trouble. He has a weakness for pretty girls, which often leads to heartbreak.
Although he is the captain of the Dodge Ball club, he excels at other sports and participates in many of the other sports clubs at his school as an assistant, where he displays ace-class skills that exceed the capabilities of regular club members.
Kunio's best friend and rival is Riki, the banchō of Hanazono High School. After joining forces in Downtown Nekketsu Monogatari, the two are always seen working together as allies against a common threat, but they continue their rivalry in multiple sports competitions.
Appearances
Nekketsu Kōha Kunio-kun
Kunio being congratulated by Hiroshi and other Nekketsu High School students in Nekketsu Kōha Kunio-kun.
Kunio first appears in Nekketsu Kōha Kunio-kun, where he avenges his beaten friend Hiroshi, an honor student and a sophomore (2nd year student) like him. He defeats Hanazono High School students and their banchō Riki, at Shinjuku Station, then he faces off against "Yokohama Funky" bōsōzoku gang and their leader, Shinji the Blue Emperor. Afterwards, he fights a girl gang from the Taiyō Academy and their sukeban, Misuzu. Finally, he faces Sabu, the leader of the Sanwakai crime organization.
In the Famicom version of the game, instead of avenging Hiroshi, Kunio has to rescue him from Sabu.
In the arcade version of Renegade, Kunio is changed to a nameless vigilante who fights against street gangs in order to rescue his girlfriend. In the NES version, Kunio is replaced by the same nameless vigilante, now named Mr. K. Mr. K just happens to run into the wrong part of town and gets in trouble, but he won't run away from it.
Nekketsu Kōkō Dodgeball Bu
Kunio and Nekketsu High School selected to represent in Japan in Nekketsu Kōkō Dodgeball Bu.
Kunio's second appearance is in Nekketsu Kōkō Dodgeball Bu. Parodying the round intro scenes of Nekketsu Kōha Kunio-kun, Kunio is knocked out by a dodge ball thrown by an unknown assailant (who looks like Heilman but the ogre-type characters are not named in the arcade version). Kunio joins his schools' dodge ball club in order to represent the Japanese team in a world competition, though he has to defeat the Hanazono High School team first (led by his rival, Riki).
In the arcade version of Super Dodge Ball, Kunio is replaced by the unnamed captain of a dodge ball team representing Dallas. They go on to represent the American team in the competition after defeating the Chicago team. In the NES version, Kunio and the Nekketsu team are changed to team USA, with Kunio changed to Sam.
According to Kishimoto[2], Kōji invited Kunio to the Dodge Ball club. However, that was not the only reason for Kunio to join. After defeating Riki and Sabu, Kunio rarely had any opponents to face. To resolve his situation of a lack of exercise, he joined the dodge ball club.
Downtown Nekketsu Monogatari
Kunio confronts Yamada on the Reihō Academy roof in Downtown Nekketsu Monogatari.
Months after Kunio defeated Sabu (an exploit that has made him infamous) Kunio is now a senior student in Nekketsu High School. Several months later, students of Reihō Academy begin taking control of neighboring high schools, defeating their strongest delinquents. Kunio meets with his rival Riki and decides to accompany him to Reihō Academy. Riki's girlfriend Mami has been kidnapped and is being held in the academy, but Kunio wants to go there to meet an old friend.
He is warned about the Dragon Twins by Hasebe, a student of Reihō Academy and one of his fellow middle school classmates. After Kunio and Riki fight against other high schools and their elite students, they defeat the Dragon Twins and meet the true mastermind: Yamada, his old friend and a classmate of Kunio and Hasebe. Kunio and Riki are identical in gameplay in this game, they are only distinguishable by their appearances. This was done to make the game similar to Double Dragon.
In River City Ransom (the American localization, known as Street Gangs in Europe), Kunio is renamed Alex. Slick (Yamada), who is behind the kidnapping of Ryan's (Riki) girlfriend Cindy (Mami), turns out to be his childhood friend Simon.
Nekketsu Kōkō Dodgeball Bu: Soccer Hen
Kunio, Genei and the dodge ball club awaiting Misako's reward in Nekketsu Kōkō Dodgeball Bu: Soccer Hen.
A sequel to Nekketsu Kōkō Dodgeball Bu, Misako, the soccer club manager of Nekketsu High School approaches Kunio and his fellow members of the dodge ball club with Takashi, one of the goalkeepers in the club. After qualifying for a soccer tournament, the team members went to a sushi restaurant to eat but most of the members were affected by food poisoning. Kunio agrees to help Misako but his fellow members of the dodge ball club want to be rewarded with something, so Misako promises to kiss the players if they win the tournament. After winning the tournament, Misako fulfills her promise by kissing each player on the cheek, but she kisses Kunio on the lips.
A character named Kunio is the captain of the Japan team in Nintendo World Cup. He only looks exactly like Kunio when the CPU controls the team.
Kunio acts as the captain of the Nekketsu Soccer Club team in Masa's absence. His Super Shot is the Nuts Shot, which takes a similar form to his Penetrating Shot from the Famicom version of Nekketsu Kōkō Dodgeball Bu.
Downtown Nekketsu Kōshinkyoku: Soreyuke Daiundōkai
After the events of Downtown Nekketsu Monogatari, Kunio accepts the athletic meet challenge presented by the Reihō Academy student council president Mamoru Tōdō. Kunio enlists Sugata, a sophomore, to recruit members for the athletic meet. Sugata has his childhood friend Momozono take the position of cheerleader and team manager and recruits his best friend Nanase. Unable to recruit other seniors or sophomores, Sugata enlists three freshmen: Morimoto, Takamine and Ichijō. The Nekketsu Team is ultimately victorious in the athletic meet, defeating the opposing teams of Hanazono High School, Reihō Academy and the Inter-School Union.
In this game, Kunio is the captain of the Nekketsu High School team, often described as Kunio's one-man team, as he is the strongest and fastest character in the team. He is viable in all events, but using him in favor of other members comes at the cost that if he takes too much punishment, he will have little room to recover. The team is the underdog to win and the player must use each character wisely to help Kunio win. This is important in single-player against the CPU, as only the Nekketsu High School team as an ending in the Famicom version.
To counter Riki's Mach Punch and Kobayashi's Mach Chop, Kunio is given the Mach Kick as his special move. This is the first game that sets the move as his signature move, and future games continued the trend. The only disadvantage of this move is that Kunio is unable to perform a jumping kick.
Nekketsu Kōha Kunio-kun: Bangai Rantō Hen
Kunio and Riki force Yūji to apologize to Hiroshi in Nekketsu Kōha Kunio-kun: Bangai Rantō Hen.
Hiroshi is beaten by Yūji Munakata and cronies in his employ after the former attempts to stop him from taking a fellow Nekketsu classmate Mihoko by force. Hiroshi's recovery will take close to three months. Angry that Hiroshi was beaten so badly, Kunio decides to meet with Yūji and force him to apologize. Riki joins Kunio a second time since Yūji has been using force to take control of other schools and Hanazono is one of them. Kunio and Riki eventually reach Yūji and beat him in a fight, then drag him to the hospital to apologize to Hiroshi.
In the West, the game was originally going to be released as The Renegades. Instead, the game was released as Double Dragon II. Kunio was thus replaced with Billy Lee.
Gameplay-wise, Kunio and Riki are identical, just like in Downtown Nekketsu Monogatari.
Downtown Special: Kunio-kun no Jidaigeki da yo Zen'in Shūgō!
Kunio in the role of Kunimasa in Downtown Special: Kunio-kun no Jidaigeki da yo Zen'in Shūgō!.
In this period play, Kunio takes the role of Kunimasa.
Like in Soreyuke Daiundōkai, Kunio begins this game with the Mach Kick by default, but like in Downtown Nekketsu Monogatari, he can learn a wide array of moves. The player is free to build Kunio as they see fit.
Nekketsu Kōkō Dodgeball Bu: Kyōteki! Dodge Senshi no Maki
Ike Ike! Nekketsu Hockey Bu: Subette Koronde Dairantō
While performing club activities for the Dodge Ball club with Shinichi, Kunio accidentally strikes Yōichi, the captain of the school's Hockey Club. Learning from him that the Hockey Club will be disbanded if they lose an upcoming game against Shirogane High School, Kunio agrees to help Yōichi out by playing an exhibition game between the Dodge Ball and Hockey clubs. The Hockey club plays poorly and are defeated, which cause the dejected Yōichi to proclaim that they simply cannot win. An angry Kunio knocks him out, but Kaori of the newspaper club appeals to Kunio, who agrees to take the Hockey Club under his wing. Kunio enlists the help of other clubs and friends from other schools (Yōko, Riki and Godai) to get the club ready for the game against Shirogane.
Kunio acts as the captain of both, the Dodge Ball Club and Hockey Club teams of Nekketsu High School in the game. His Super Shot is the Nuts Shot, which is similar to the one used in Soccer Hen.
Bikkuri Nekketsu Shin Kiroku! Harukanaru Kin Medal
A direct sequel to Downtown Nekketsu Kōshinkyoku: Soreyuke Daiundōkai. Kunio is invited to another athletic meet hosted by Tōdō, this time with the help of his father, Kōnosuke Tōdō. To make things more difficult for Kunio, Tōdō invites a team of American high school players from Oklahoma to participate. In the end, Kunio and his Nekketsu High School team defeat the Hanazono High School, Reihō Academy, the Inter-School Union and the Oklahoma team. Kunio also becomes friends with the members of the Oklahoma team, particularly with the team's captain Johnny and the team's strongest member, Raphael.
Just like in Soreyuke Daiundōkai, Kunio carries the Nekketsu High School team once again. He is the fastest and strongest character in the team, but characters can only be used once in each event, so players must choose wisely so as not to weaken Kunio. This game introduces a new move for Kunio, the Fireball Spike, a throw he can perform in the Judo event.
In the localization, Kunio is changed into a character named Jeff "Crash" Cooney. Crash is the son of an Irish-brick layer and the greatest athlete of Southside High School, and is an honest and much-admired leader. Every well-to-do girl in the other high schools idolize Crash for the spirit he displays when he competes and wins in every competition, much to the dismay of Hillers.
Shodai Nekketsu Kōha Kunio-kun
During a class trip to Osaka, Kunio is confused for a student of Sakuramiya High School (due to his school uniform being white) and ends up involved in a gang war between the Osaka Alliance and the Osaka Union. Kunio can side with either, but ultimately, it comes to Kunio facing off against Yoshihiro, who has taken over the Osaka Union to further his goal of taking over Tokyo. Kunio defeats him, ending the war between the Alliance and the Union.
Nekketsu Kakutō Densetsu
Kunio-kun no Nekketsu Soccer League
Kunio-kun no Dodgeball da yo Zen'in Shūgō
Nekketsu! Street Basket: Ganbare Dunk Heroes
Kunio manages to win a contest in which the winner would get a trip with all expenses paid to the United States of America. With that trip, Kunio plans to participate in a street basketball competition, teaming up with Riki, Godai, and Johnny.
Downtown Nekketsu Baseball Monogatari: Yakyū de Shōbu da! Kunio-kun
Shin Nekketsu Kōha: Kunio-tachi no Banka
Kunio no Oden
Nekketsu! Beach Volley dayo: Kunio-kun
Super Dodge Ball
A tough guy from Nekketsu High School. After defeating D.B Maou, the latter states that he created the tournament for the purpose of making people hate the sport after he became frustrated in an incident where he killed his wife with one of his super shots, thus he began to hate the sport. Kunio states that he does not hate dodge ball, and the reason why he entered the tournament is because he loves the sport even after all he went through in the tournament, and should D.B Maou host another tournament, he would wish to participate in it again.
His Power Shots are the Nekketsu Nut Shot and the Nekketsu Rolling Shot. His Super Shot is the Nekketsu Royal Strike. He is an all-around type character, and his default teammates are Kamekichi and Musashi.
Downtown Nekketsu Monogatari EX
In this game, the player can choose to start the game as Kunio alone or to have Riki accompany them. It is also possible to play as Riki with Kunio as his ally. When playing as Riki, Kunio will have his own stats instead of starting with base stats. Regardless, he will always have the Mach Kick from the start.
Choosing to play with Kunio on his own allows the player to recruit the Senridai Bombers. They can also recruit Sugata.
If the player is playing as Riki, Kunio will be waiting for him right outside of Kobayashi Industries, regardless of if Kobayashi himself was defeated. Depending on Riki's reputation, Kunio and Riki can fight for old time's sake (the two are not friends yet) or Kunio will try to stop Riki from going any farther, as he has become too violent. If Kunio wants to fight Riki on friendly terms, the player is free to not fight him. If the player chooses to play as Riki, Kunio cannot be recruited.
This is the first game in the franchise in which Kunio acts as boss, though previous games did make him an opponent in competitions.
Super Dodgeball Brawlers
River City Super Sports Challenge
River City Soccer Hooligans
Nekketsu Kōha Kunio-kun Special
Nekketsu Kōha Kunio-kun Special is a remake of the original Nekketsu Kōha Kunio-kun and acts as a reboot of the franchise, starting from a new continuity. Riki Densetsu acts as a prequel to this game.
Kunio is about to begin his sophomore year in Nekketsu High School. He was recently transferred there as his previous school could not control him due to his tendency to solve any problem with violence. Upon entering the back of the school, he witnesses Yuuya and Toshio beating Hiroshi. After beating them up, he and Hiroshi become friends. This does not stop Yuuya and Toshio from still attacking Hiroshi, so Kunio beats them up again. Aware that they cannot deal with Kunio, they go to Hanazono High School to get help.
Kunio is the only character the player controls in the game. The game combines the same gameplay from the original Nekketsu Kōha Kunio-kun with the one from Downtown Nekketsu Monogatari, giving Kunio a wide array of moves from both of those games.
River City: Tokyo Rumble
River City: Tokyo Rumble is the direct sequel to Nekketsu Kōha Kunio-kun Special.
Tokyo as been relatively peaceful after Kunio's defeat of Sabu. Sabu promised Kunio that he would keep his hands off the country. Leaving Nekketsu High School with Misako, Kunio sees Sakata, Wataru and a knocked out Hiroshi. After making sure he is okay, Kunio runs after Sakata and Wataru to get revenge. After he defeats them both, he learns from Sakata that Riki gave the order to beat up Hiroshi. Kunio travels to Shinjuku to confirm, and Riki makes it clear that the two are being played. Riki agrees to settle the matter back in Ikebukuro. While in a vacant lot there, the two meet Ginjishi, a member of the Kanto Lion Alliance, which plans to take control of Tokyo. Sakata and Wataru have joined the alliance as well. After defeating all three, Kunio and Riki agree to join forces to stop the Kanto Lion Alliance.
When starting a new game, Kunio is the only character the player controls, just like in the previous game. He has no special moves, but can learn every special move in the game, unlike the other characters. In the game's Rumble Mode, he can use the Mach Kick and the Whirlwind Kick, while he uses his trademark Nuts Shot and Penetrating Shot in the Dodgeball Mode.
River City: Knights of Justice
Kunio plays the role of Cooney Valford.
In the localization, Kunio is renamed Alexander, but keeps the Valford surname.
River City Super Sports Challenge ~All Stars Special~
This remake of Soreyuke Daiundōkai re-imagines the events of that game. The story takes place after River City: Rival Showdown.
In this game, Kunio acts as the captain of the Nekketsu High School's athletic team and coaches them to victory along with Momozono. During tryouts, a new freshman from Nekketsu High School is selected for the team (which leaves either Morimoto, Takamine or Ichijō as back-up). While on their first training as an assembled team, Hiroshi arrives to tell Sugata and Momozono that Reihō as brought representative teams for a visit. These teams led by Reika, Kobayashi and Onizuka, wish to play against the school's team, though they notice Kunio is absent. Although Momozono is hesitant, Sugata believes that they can win without Kunio and accepts the challenge. Although Reihō plays fair, Nekketsu loses spectacularly, leaving the team humiliated and beaten.
Kunio arrives and sees the defeated team and decides to get them involved in some serious training. Once the athletic meet begins, they win their first event. However, Sugata is injured by an explosion, forcing the new freshman to take his position and the back-up player to return. After a match against Hanazono High School, a girl (really Nanase in disguise), offers Kunio a drink for his victory. The next day, Kunio cannot attend the athletic meet due to food poisoning.
Kunio acts as the captain of the Nekketsu High School team. Other than the Mach Kick, he is now able to perform his trademark Nuts Shot, which he can use in all events. The Mach Kick can also be used in Camphor Ball. In Team Registration, his stats increase by 2 if he is selected as captain and by 1 if he is a vice-captain. He is a captain by default in the Nekketsu High School Team, so he receives the captain bonus. In Single Play, when he rejoins after the 7th round he acts as vice-captain, the player's created character takes the role of captain.
Kunio
| Cost | 6 |
|---|---|
| Stamina | 240 |
| Punch | 10 |
| Kick | 14 |
| Weapon | 10 |
| Throw | 10 |
| Agility | 11 |
| Swimming | 8 |
| Strength | 12 |
| Special Moves | Mach Kick Nuts Shot |
Kunio is also in three separate downloadable content teams: the Nekketsu Dodgeball Club, the Historical Drama and the Nekketsu Magical Story.
In the Dodgeball Team, Kunio still has the Nuts Shot, but he can also perform the Penetrating Shot. He cannot use the Mach Kick and even though he has the same amount of health, his stats are tailored more towards throwing weapons. Kunimasa is the character in Historical Drama and he only has access to the Mach Kick. Kounie, the character in Nekketsu Magical History has the Mach Kick and Mach Strike.
Downtown Nekketsu Jidaigeki
Kunio returns to the role of Kunimasa.
River City: Rival Showdown
River City: Rival Showdown is a remake of Downtown Nekketsu Monogatari. The game takes place after River City: Tokyo Rumble but before River City Super Sports Challenge ~All Stars Special~.
River City Melee: Battle Royal Special
Battle Royal Special makes many references to previous games in the franchise. Although the game states that it takes place right after ~All Stars Special~, the game is probably not in continuity, as it contradicts many things from the new continuity started with Nekketsu Kōha Kunio-kun Special.
After the end of the previous athletic meet, a new tournament was announced. There have been rumors of frequent attacks against students in other schools. Some believe that these attacks are related to the tournament. Believing that some suspicious is brewing, Kunio asks Sugata to put together a team once more. Sugata angers Kunio, as once again he gathers the same team of freshmen, Sugata simply was unable to gather seniors again. According to the rumors Kunio as heard, the attackers are or bear a resemblance to the Tiger Brothers, but as Kunio has fought the previously and he personally knows them, he doubts it.
Kunio and his team eventually defeat all their opponents and get to face the Tiger Brothers. Though Kunio is sure that they are not involved with the attacks, he and the Tiger Brothers could care less, as they are interested only in fighting each other. However, Toraichi is aware that Kunio's teammates want answers, while Toraji considers them weak. After they defeat the Tiger Brothers, Kunio's teammates realize that it is impossible for the the Tiger Brothers to have been the attackers, though even they are unaware of who could have done it. Kunio promises to clear their names. After the Tiger Brothers leave, Sumi of Wu Wonfu arrives, annoying Kunio and the others due to is slow arrival.
Sumi reveals that he is responsible for the attacks near Nekketsu High School, as he and Kunio go way back. Though Kunio claims he has never met him, and due to the story taking too long and Sumi being annoying, Kunio decides to fight him immediately. After his defeat, Sumi reveals that a colleague of the friend of the brother of the wife of the brother of his friend was once defeated by Kunio. For this reason alone, he sought to destroy Kunio and Nekketsu once and for all. Kunio and his teammates want real details behind the attacks though, and that's when Tsubaki, the leader of Wu Wonfu, and the remaining members of that group arrive.
Tsubaki explains Wu Wonfu's objective to Kunio and his teammates, but the real mastermind is Yuuji Munakata, an old enemy of Kunio who wanted revenge for his previous defeat, though Kunio barely remembers him. Yuuji create the tournament for the sole reason to get back at Kunio and Riki, annoying Kunio, who would have agreed to a simple one-on-one fight. Kunio's team is given the choice to be crippled or become loyal to Wu Wonfu, should they lose.
After Kunio defeats them, Yuuji learns of the source of Kunio's strength and realizes that he cannot beat him. Yuuji and Wu Wonfu leave, but not before Tsubaki reveals that his series of books are part of the reward for winning the tourney. Nishino, the master of ceremonies, then arrives with the books. Although Nanase and Morimoto have no problems with the books, the others are enraged. Nanase and Morimoto leave with Nishino before things get dangerous, as Kunio and the remaining members are pissed at the book's content. They chase after Wu Wonfu to get revenge.
Kunio also appears in the stories of other teams. He, along with Wu Wonfu, acts as the leader and final boss for the Outlaw team. However, this is actually Matsudo.
Kunio
| Stamina | 240 |
|---|---|
| Punch | 10 |
| Kick | 14 |
| Weapon | 10 |
| Throw | 10 |
| Agility | 11 |
| Strength | 12 |
| Special Techniques | Mach Kick Nuts Shot Fireball Spike |
Kunio from the Nekketsu High School team receives a new move, the Fireball Spike from Bikkuri Nekketsu Shin Kiroku! Harukanaru Kin Medal. Once his rage meter is filled, he can perform the Mack Kick II in place of the Mach Kick.
River City Ransom: Underground
River City Ransom: Underground makes no references and has no connections to the story in Downtown Nekketsu Monogatari.
In this sequel to River City Ransom, Alex works together with Ryan and Roxy, Simon's former girlfriend at A&R Auto Shop. In this continuity Alex had (and still has) feelings for Cindy, who is no longer with Ryan and is instead with William, who he considers a bum.
In the Japanese version of the game, Alex is named アレックス (Alex) instead of Kunio, though during the game's prologue, it is possible to play as Alex wearing a gakuran so that he resembles Kunio (this was exclusive only to backers, but has since been made available to all players).
River City Girls
River City Girls takes place in River City, but uses characters from the Kunio-kun franchise. The game is a spin-off and is not part of the continuity that started with Nekketsu Kōha Kunio-kun Special. It is also the fourth game in the franchise (the other three are Downtown Nekketsu Baseball Monogatari: Yakyū de Shōbu da! Kunio-kun, Riki Densetsu and River City Super Sports Challenge ~All Stars Special~) in which Kunio is not the main character.
The hot-blooded tough guy with a good heart and Misako's boyfriend. He has been in multiple fights and sports competitions, which has made him an infamous hero. He is voiced by Greg Chun in the game. In the game's opening intro and in the first cutscene once players begin the game, it is revealed that Kunio has been kidnapped along with Riki. His girlfriend Misako and her best friend Kyoko, Riki's girlfriend, run around River City beating up local thugs and searching for clues to rescue them.
Misako and Kyoko eventually reach Sanwakai Tower and defeat Sabuko, kicking her out the window of the tower's top floor. Misako and Kyoko crash into the bath house and lose track of Sabuko. While trying to find her, they stumble on Kunio and Riki taking a bath in the sauna. Upon being discovered and scolded, Kunio and Riki proceed to ignore Misako and Kyoko, referring to them as "those crazy girls" and not even knowing what their names are. He and Riki wonder what Hasebe and Mami are doing for the night. This leads Misako and Kyoko to uppercut them through the broken roof of the sauna into the stratosphere.
Unlocking the newer 1.1 secret ending via the appropriate tasks instead allows Kyoko and Misako to defeat Hasebe and Mami and upon crashing into the bath house, encounter the boys once more. This time, Riki and Kunio have no apparent feelings towards Hasebe and Mami and instead offer to take Kyoko and Misako out on a burger date. Both are still offended at the idea of having been kidnapped.
Once the game is completed once, Kunio and Riki are unlocked for use in the save file where the game was completed. Both start at level 1 and need to learn all of their moves, just like Misako and Kyoko. The game, however, does not change story-wise and acts as if they are not present in the fighting. One of the moves Kunio can learn in the game is the Hot Blooded Punch, the only move that is not the Ground Pound or Ground Punch that can hit grounded enemies. It hits them multiple times and combined with the Cat Pin accessory and Tank Button, is the cheapest move in the game.
| Move Name | Input | Special Meter? | Learned From | Level Required | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jump 180 Kick | Heavy Attack in midair | No | Leveling Up | 3 | An half spinning kick that knocks enemies down. |
| Slide Tackle | Heavy Attack while running | No | Leveling Up | 4 | A sliding kick, knocks enemies down. |
| Back Elbow | Block and Heavy Attack simultaneously | No | Leveling Up | 5 | Kunio's back attack, he attacks with his elbow. |
| Eat | Directional Pad Left/Right + Heavy Attack | No | Leveling Up | 7 | A "headbutt" attack, Kunio goes for a meal, knocking enemies away. |
| Flying Knee | Special Attack (can be charged) | Yes | Dojo | 0 | A variant of the Rhino Kick and Misako's Hop Knee. The longer the move is charge, the higher they are launched. |
| Side Headbutt | Light Attack | No | Dojo | 0 | Extends Kunio's Light Attack combo. This becomes his third attack. |
| Super Kick | Directional Pad Up + Heavy Attack | No | Dojo | 0 | An upward kick that knocks enemies upward. |
| Uppercut | Directional Pad Down + Heavy Attack | No | Dojo | 0 | Kunio's launcher, he kicks upwards with a jump, throwing enemies straight up. |
| Hot-Blooded Punch | Directional Pad Up + Special Attack | Yes | Dojo | 5 | Kunio throws a Screw Upper that leaves a trail of volcanic fire, launching enemies upward. The attack hits multiple times and can also hit enemies that are on the ground, juggling them for additional damage. |
| Goalie Punch | Special Attack while running | Yes | Dojo | 5 | A Tornado Uppercut that knocks enemies down. |
| Roundhouse | Light Attack | No | Dojo | 5 | Extends Kunio's Light Attack combo, this becomes his fourth attack. |
| Sauna Towel | Directional Pad Left/Right + Special Attack | Yes | Dojo | 8 | Kunio grabs enemies with a towel, then launches them upwards. |
| Clothesline | Heavy Attack after grabbing stunned enemy from behind | No | Dojo | 8 | Kunio knocks the enemy down with a lariat. |
| Pavement Smooch | Special Attack after grabbing stunned enemy from the front | Yes | Dojo | 8 | Kunio grabs the enemy by the head, then proceeds to smash their faces into the ground. |
| Hurricane Kick | Directional Pad Down + Special Attack | Yes | Dojo | 12 | Kunio's Whirlwind Kick. Can be performed in midair by pressing the Special Attack button. |
| Air Pavement Smooch | Heavy Attack + Special Attack near enemy in midair | Yes | Dojo | 12 | The Pavement Smooch, but in midair. |
River City Melee Mach!!
In this game, Kunio's Mach Kick is upgraded to the Mach Kick A. Kunio performs a Mach Kick II in the same style as Rival Showdown. The player can follow it up with a jumping soccer kick by pressing the punch button after the final kick. This time, when he performs the Nuts Shot, the thrown item turns into a dodge ball. Finally, the Fireball Spike is now identical to Bikkuri Nekketsu Shin Kiroku! Harukanaru Kin Medal.
If Kunio grabs the soccer ball in the soccer court stage, he can perform the Nuts Shot when he kicks the ball. This is not listed in his Special Moves.
Kunio has a slight increase in Agility and Strength in this game.
| Stamina | 240 |
|---|---|
| Punch | 10 |
| Kick | 14 |
| Weapon | 10 |
| Throw | 10 |
| Agility | 12 |
| Strength | 13 |
| Special Techniques | Mach Kick A Nuts Shot Fireball Spike |
Stay Cool, Kobayashi-san!: A River City Ransom Story
Other video games
CODE SHIFTER
Baseball Superstars 2020
Other media appearances
Ore wa Otoko Da! Kunio Kun
Nekketsu Kōha Kunio-kun (TV series)
Nekketsu Kōha Kunio-kun (4koma Manga Kingdom)
Kunio-kun! Nekketsu Game!
Ā, Nekketsu Kantai Ga Yuku!
Localized versions
- In Renegade, Kunio was changed to a nameless vigilante who had to rescue his girlfriend from a gang of thugs. The NES version of the game gives him the name Mr. K.
- In the NES version of Super Dodge Ball, Kunio was named Sam, a captain of Team USA.
- In River City Ransom, Kunio is known as Alex. His full name is expanded to Alex Kun in River City Ransom Underground.
- In Crash 'n the Boys: Street Challenge, Kunio was named Jeff "Crash" Cooney, a captain of Team Southside High School.
Trivia
- He is named after Technōs Japan's former president, Kunio Taki.
- Kunio has no surname. The closest he has had to a surname is Oyama, due to second Oyama brother in Double Dragon 3: The Rosetta Stone being named Kunio. In the TV drama, he is given the surname Fu'unji (風雲児).
- Kunio is the only character whose name was not mixed up in Nintendo World Cup.
- Kunio's birthday is on November 27, the same as Bruce Lee. Kishimoto choose this date in order to pay homage to Lee[3].
- Kunio can be considered Nekketsu High's Banchō (番長), a Japanese term used to call the leader of a juvenile delinquent gang. This can be noticed due to the fact most of his schoolmates often look up to him (examples include Hiroshi and Sugata), and is always the captain of the Nekketsu High sports team in every respective game. Also, the typical image of a banchō is an uncouth fighter who has a strong sense of honor.
- The character Yusuke Urameshi from the anime and manga series Yu Yu Hakusho bares a resemblance to him.
Gallery
Sprites
.png "Kunio sprite NKK (arcade).png (969 bytes)"){kind=icon}
.png "Kunio sprite NKK (Famicom).png (429 bytes)"){kind=icon}
.png "Kunio sprite NKDB (Famicom).png (354 bytes)"){kind=icon}
.png "Kunio sprite DNM (Famicom).png (360 bytes)"){kind=icon}
