Target Renegade

1990

Developer: Software Creations

Publisher: Taito

Composer: Tim Follin

Soundtrack Link

As I've talked about in my Toys R Us musing, buying games as a kid was a gamble.  I’m going to start with a real dud that I had the misfortune of picking up but how could you fault me with box art as badass as that?  It looks like a kung fu Rambo pulling off a flying kick through a glass window.  Like a lot of other NES cover art, the image was lifted from other source material.  This one came from the book cover of martial arts legend Joe Lewis' The World's Greatest Fighter Teaches You How To Master Bruce Lee's Fighting System.  Enough useless knowledge, onto the game review!

Impress your friends at NES trivia night!

Target Renegade is a side scrolling beat’em ported from the ZX Spectrum\Amstrad CPC\Commodore 64 to the NES and was the sequel to Renegade originally developed by Technos.  Inspired by the Double Dragon series, it had all the makings to be a decent game but failed in so many places and unfortunately did not live up to it's sweet cover.

Ugly constipated man presents 

80's action movie tropes 101

The one hit wonder band Mr. Big with the unforgettable monster ballad “To Be With You” are holding your brother hostage, or so my little pea brain thought.  The plot is extremely minimal but hey, this is a beat' em up game on the NES.  How much story do you need?  

You're a generic blue vested one man army up against hordes of enemies of all shapes and sizes.  Seriously, this game has it all!  There are bikers, karate guys, skateboarders, prostitutes, juiced up baseball players and the dreaded creepy balding old men in green trench coats.  I really commend them for keeping the enemy sprites varied throughout the game.  The environments however are boring and with ugly color palettes.  You'll spend a majority of the game fighting through the city streets with your only relief being the forest and bar locations toward the end of the game.

Those hookers pack a mean punch

Your repertoire of moves consists of kicks, punches, flying jump kicks and a sort of tripping attack which throughout most of the game becomes your greatest ally.  There are hardly any weapons to pick up throughout your journey.  The only two to be found are a baseball bat and a parking meter which make the most hilarious "doink" sound if you actually land the attack.  They are difficult to use and near impossible to connect any hits with thanks to unresponsive controls.  Health is scarce and randomly dropped from baddies and you have one life to make it through each level.  Bosses can be completely unfair and frustrating at times.  Your health bar will deplete to almost nothing before you can even get a hit in.  All of this has contributed bite marks on my poor controllers.  Unfortunately, the 2 player aspect of the game never ported over to the NES so you can't even suffer through the game with a friend.  My pro tip to get through the game?  Sweep the leg...sweep ALL the legs.

Prince Hippo?

Musically, the game is pretty good.  It might just be Target Renegade's one redeeming quality.  Tim Follin (Silver Surfer, Spider Man/X-men Arcade's Revenge) has some unique compositions and does some pretty cool stuff with the NES hardware.  It's the type of butt-rock soundtrack that could only be fitting in a game called Target Renegade.  Check this track out immediately!  There are very few songs however so be prepared to hear them over and over again.

I hate when I show up too late for Egg McMuffins too.

So why was Target Renegade such a bad decision as a kid?  In one word, mediocrity.  When going toe to toe with Double Dragon II, the game is trumped in every way.  Where DD2 had the addictive flying knee and jumping spin kick to keep things fun and interesting, Target Renegade had nothing that made it stand out from the rest.  I recommend at least trying the game out if only for it's decent soundtrack and hilarious face animations but fair warning, you'll need at least 5 beers in you to slightly enjoy it.

This is your balls on Target Renegade

Controls: 2

Graphics: 2

Music: 3

Fun: 2

_________

Total: 9/20