Kunio (くにお) is one of the two main character of River City Girls.
Profile[]
- Hair Color: Brown
- Eye Color: Brown
- Height: 175 cm (5'7")
- Weight: 65 kg (143 lbs)
- Blood Type: AB
- Status: Alive
- Affiliation: Nekketsu High School (Southside High School in Crash 'n the Boys: Street Challenge)
- Year: Sophomore (Nekketsu Kouha Kunio-kun series), Senior (Downtown Nekketsu series)
- Alternate Names: Mr. K (Renegade), Sam Powers (Super Dodge Ball), Alex (River City Ransom), Jeff "Crash" Cooney (Crash 'n the Boys: Street Challenge)
- Hobbies: Dodgeball, Football, Hockey
About[]
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 Samejima, the banchou 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.
Appearance[]
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 Kouha Kunio-kun Special. It is also the fourth game in the franchise (the other three are Downtown Nekketsu Baseball Monogatari: Yakyū de Shoubu 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. |
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 Technos 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.
- Kunio can be considered Nekketsu High's Banchou (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 banchou is an uncouth fighter who has a strong sense of honor.
- The character Yusuke Urameshi from the anime and manga series Yu Yu Hakusho bears a resemblance to him.
References[]