Double Dragon & Kunio-kun Retro Brawler Bundle

By comparison, the presentation of the Nintendo Switch Online games looks like a cheap bootleg, while Double Dragon & Kunio-Kun Retro Brawler Bundle looks like the fitting tribute that some of the best games from the past deserve. Those in charge of Nintendo Switch Online should take note, as this is exactly how older games should be treated.

All in all, Double Dragon & Kunio-kun Retro Brawler Bundle is a thing I’m glad exists, even if maybe not every game is a winner. It’s a nice way to revisit a beloved and long-running NES series that saw roughly half of its releases even make it to America. The various online and technical flourishes make them all play the best they ever have. It’s awesome playing Super Dodge Ball not as it was, but more like I remember it.

Double Dragon & Kunio-kun: Retro Brawler Bundle demonstrates a level of commitment toward celebrating a franchise's legacy that puts other port-happy publishers to shame. [Issue #46 – May/June 2020, p. 24]

Overall, Double Dragon and Kunio-Kun: Retro Brawler Bundle is a very good compilation. The games are classics, with enough oddball gems to intrigue anyone looking for the oddities in the Famicom lineup. A majority of the games here are translated Japanese titles, so much of this content will be new to most players. The upgrades in quality mean that you're ultimately getting a better version compared to a straight rom dump. These are still difficult games, and the lack of extras feels like a missed opportunity, but this is a great title to add to any retro fan's library.

Double Dragon & Kunio-kun: Retro Brawler Bundle does feature games that feel dated by today’s standards, but they hold up well, enjoyment-wise, in spite of their age. It’s a wonderful package for dedicated fans and those who want to discover these fantastic gems.

Overall, what’s most amazing about the Double Dragon & Kunio-kun: Retro Brawler Bundle is that even the titles I won’t go back to as often are interesting, good for short bursts of play between the more engaging offerings. Fans of the classic NES titles would be remiss in not grabbing this immediately, and I hope they bring on an SNES bundle!

You might come to Double Dragon & Kunio-kun: Retro Brawler Bundle for Double Dragon and River City Ransom, but you’ll likely stay for the sheer variety of mayhem and play experiences that it has to offer.

Double Dragon & Kunio-kun: Retro Brawler Bundle goes well beyond a standard ROM compilation due to proper curation of the source material, and it successfully shines an overdue spotlight onto a sizeable selection of 8-bit Kunio masterpieces that most Western players never had the chance to experience. Contrary to what the tile may suggest, the NES games included end up being merely filler, while the real thrillers are undoubtedly the Famicom games, accessible to non-Japanese gamers for the first time here. A very large offering of varied single-player content complements nearly infinite multiplayer replayability, provided you keep it local, of course, as finding a game online is borderline impossible.

This is a nice collections of beat ‘em up, many of them available for the first time in the West. The most important addition are the 11 new languages these games have been translated to, since there are no extras or options to make them more accessible in 2020.

There is a lot to love about Double Dragon & Kunio-Kun: Retro Brawler Bundle, whether it be the silly expression on a player’s face after getting the wind knocked out of them with a soccer ball or launching a panel from a broken hurdle at a rival during a foot race in Downtown Nekketsu March Super-Awesome Field Day! There’s just something special about the oddities of what’s included that can often seem dated, yet somewhat ahead of their time as the barriers of logic get kicked towards an insane level of absurdity.

Double Dragon & Kunio-kun Retro Brawler Bundle is a great piece of video game history for beat-em-up enthusiasts the world over. The once niche and Japanese-exclusive library of Kunio-kun games are playable in English for the first time, and while some of them haven't aged well enough to warrant extended play sessions, the in-game achievement system and Online Play add oodles of replayability to otherwise minorly novel Famicom classics. The lack of a gallery mode and alternate console editions of each game keeps the collection from being perfect though.

For the quality included in Double Dragon & Kunio-kun: Retro Brawler Bundle, it feels as if Arc System Works isn't onto a winner here. In fact, when giving it a little thought, it's hard to understand why this collection is needed at all. Any Switcher with access to the Nintendo Online service already has access to some of the best titles available here. Double Dragon and Double Dragon II, as well as River City Ransom[/], and [i]Volleyball are available for the small yearly subscription, and are probably the best titles on offer. It's a major barrier to warrant a purchase, and the question will always rear its ugly head: why buy the gaming cow when you are getting the milk for free? One for the fans, and diehard retro collectors only…