Technos

[NeoZeedeater]

Technos has left an impressive mark on gaming with their excellent contributions to the beat 'em up, sports and fighting genres among others. This thread is a tribute to them.

Minky Monkey(Arcade, 1982)
As far as I can tell, this was Technos' first game. It was a neat platformer. The object is to complete the message given up top by the monkey by gathering the correct fruits and placing them in the correct spots. You have to avoid a little bastard monkey who tries to eat the fruit.
http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b223/NeoZeedeater/Minky_Monkey.png

Dommy(Arcade, 1983)
A game where you have to push dominoes to the side of the screen while avoiding enemies. Once the dominoes are lined up, you knock them down and go to the next level.
http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b223/NeoZeedeater/Dommy.png

Scrambled Egg(Arcade, 1983)
http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b223/NeoZeedeater/Scrambled_Egg.png

The Big Pro Wrestling!(Arcade, 1984)
Technos has long been known for their sports games and this was their first. I haven't put much time into any of Technos' wrestling games so I can't comment on them.
http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b223/NeoZeedeater/Big_Pro_Wrestling_The.png

Syusse Ozumou(Arcade, 1984)
Sumo wrestling.
http://www.klov.com/game_detail.php?game_id=9990

Karate Champ(Arcade, 1984)
Karate Champ is often falsely credited as the first fighting game. Even though it wasn't first, it was still a huge milestone for the genre since it was leagues above Ultravision Karate in every aspect. Karate Champ was published by Data East but it is a Technos-developed game even though their name is absent.
http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b223/NeoZeedeater/Karate_Champ.png

Karate Champ seems to have initially inspired more Western developers than Japanese ones as Beam's Way of the Exploding Fist series and System 3's International Karate/World Karate Championship series closely resembled it. Data East tried suing over International Karate but they lost the lawsuit.

Mysterious Stones(Arcade, 1984)
In this game, you explored ancient ruins for treasure. I'm surprised they weren't sued for ripping off the Indiana Jones music.
http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b223/NeoZeedeater/Mysterious_Stones.png

Mat Mania(Arcade, 1985)
http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b223/NeoZeedeater/Exciting_Hour.png

Bogey Manor(Arcade, 1985)
http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b223/NeoZeedeater/Bogey_Manor.png

Nekketsu Kouha Kunio-kun(Arcade, 1986)
This game was a turning point for the company. It was the first Nekketsu game, Technos' largest franchise. This franchise centers around a character named Kunio(named after Technos' president) and his high school called Nekketsu.

Also, it was likely the first beat 'em up as we know them. Older games like Irem's Kung Fu Master could be considered beat 'em ups but they lack the vertical movement and characters swarming around you, traits that have defined the genre from Kunio-kun onwards.
http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b223/NeoZeedeater/Nekketsu_Kouha_Kunio-Kun.png

In the West, Taito converted it into Renegade. Aside from the NES version, Renegade was also ported by Imagine to computers and years later by Sega to the Master System. Imagine even made their own computer game sequels.

I'm curious if the SMS version was done in-house at Sega or outsourced to another developer like many late SMS games were.
http://www.vgmuseum.com/images/sms/01/renegadeSMS.html

Solar Warrior(Arcade, 1986)
A decent run 'n gun/platform game. I think its Japanese name Xain'd Sleena sounds cooler.
http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b223/NeoZeedeater/Solar-Warrior.png

Double Dragon(Arcade, 1987)
Double-D needs no introduction as it was one of the biggest hits of the '80s and brought the beat 'em up genre to new heights. Everything about this game is just so memorable: the characters, moves, and awesome soundtrack.
http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b223/NeoZeedeater/Double_Dragon.png

None of the home versions of Double Dragon quite do the arcade game justice but some of them were still pretty good. The NES game was loosely based on it; the levels were different and it had an experience system where you learned moves as you went along. One major downside to this version was the lack of a two-player mode in the regular game.
http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b223/NeoZeedeater/DD2nes.gif

Sega's Master System version was closer to arcade game in terms of levels, graphics and being two-player but I felt the gameplay was a bit off and therefore wasn't quite as much fun as the NES version. The best thing for Double Dragon fans in the '80s to do was to buy both versions if they could. http://www.vgmuseum.com/pics3/ddragon.html

There were also some shitty Double Dragon ports by Atari for the 2600 and 7800. Binary Design/Virgin Mastertronic ported the game to home computers.

Portables weren't left out the action. Game Boy Double Dragon turned out very nicely and Virgin did their own version for Game Gear which was quite a bit different than the arcade game.
http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b223/NeoZeedeater/ddgg.jpg

Lynx port published by Telegames - http://www.digitpress.com/DP/cmf/game.cmf?gameid=14740

Nekketsu Koukou Dodgeball-bu AKA Super Dodgeball(Arcade, 1987)
An excellent dodgeball game better known by its NES port.
http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b223/NeoZeedeater/Nekketsu_Koukou_Dodgeball-bu.png

Naxat made a PC Engine version in 1990. http://www.vgmuseum.com/images/tg16/02/nekkd.html

China Gate(Arcade, 1988)
http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b223/NeoZeedeater/China_Gate.jpg

U.S. Championship V-Ball(Arcade, 1988)
http://www.klov.com/game_detail.php?game_id=10248

Double Dragon II: The Revenge(Arcade, 1988)
This time your girlfriend wasn't just kidnapped, she was killed. For some reason I didn't like this sequel as much.
http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b223/NeoZeedeater/Double_Dragon_II_-_The_Revenge.png

The NES version of DD2 was a completely different game but I enjoyed it more than the arcade one. Having the control reverse when you do irritated me a lot back then but I don't really mind it now. That was my only real complaint; it's still a great beat 'em up.
http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b223/NeoZeedeater/doubledragon2nes.png

Palsoft ported the arcade game to the Mega Drive(and it blowed several goats). Naxat did a PC Engine version based on the NES game. Once again Mastertronic did the computer ports.

Block Out(Arcade, 1989)
A port of California Dreams' 3d Tetris computer game.

Downtown Nekketsu Monogatari AKA River City Ransom(NES, 1989)
This was an excellent beat 'em up/adventure game. It was later ported to the x68000 and PC Engine.
http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b223/NeoZeedeater/rivcity.gif

WWF Superstars(Arcade, 1989)
Technos began making wrestling games with the WWF license.

Superstars was followed by WWF Wrestlefest a couple years later.

The Combatribes(Arcade, 1990)
I loved Combatribes. It often doesn't get the same respect as the Double Dragon or Kunio games but I think it's just as good as them. Picking things(and people) up and throwing them is always a good time.
http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b223/NeoZeedeater/Combatribes_The.png

It's too bad the SNES port sucked. I don't remember what went wrong. It had the look of the arcade game but the gameplay was screwed.

Downtown Nekketsu Koushinkyoku: Soreyuke Daiundoukai(Famicom, 1990)
http://www.vgmuseum.com/images/04/downtown.html

Double Dragon 3: The Rosetta Stone(Arcade, 1990)
I hardly remember Rosetta Stone now since I only played it once but I remember it being a big disappointment.
http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b223/NeoZeedeater/Double_Dragon_3_-_The_Rosetta_Stone.png

The NES Double Dragon III on the other hand was very well-made.
http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b223/NeoZeedeater/doubledragon3nes.png

Nekketsu Koukou Dodgeball Bu: Soccer Hen(Famicom, 1990)
This game was released domestically by Nintendo as Nintendo World Cup.
http://www.planetnintendo.com/nindb/nes/images/ss/xz_1.jpg

Soccer Hen was ported to the Mega Drive, X68000, and PC Engine. I don't know the differences between these versions since I haven't played them but the NES game was awesome.

Kunio-kun No Jidaigeki Dayo Zenin Shuugou(Famicom, 1991)
This was an excellent feudal Japan samurai themed adventure in the vein of River City Ransom.
http://dorando.emuverse.com/images/downtown-special-kunio-kun-no-jidaigeki-dayo-zen-in-shuugou.2.png

Sugoro Quest(Famicom, 1991)
This was some kind of board game/RPG. Another version was made in 1994 for the Super Famicom. http://www.vgmuseum.com/images/snes01/01/sugoro.html

Bikkuri Nekketsu Shinkiroku AKA Crash 'n the Boys: Street Challenge(NES, 1992)
In this game you competed in various events.
http://www.consoleclassix.com/info_img/Crash_N_The_Boys_Street_Challenge_NES_ScreenShot2. jpg

Shodai Nekketsu Kouha Kunio-kun(Super Famicom, 1992)
This was a sequel to the first Kunio game. I was hoping it would be the 16-bit equivalent of River City Ransom since but it isn't anywhere near as good. http://www.vgmuseum.com/pics2/riki.html

Super Double Dragon(SNES, 1992)
A worthy Double Dragon sequel although by this time Technos was no longer king of the genre, IMO(I give Capcom and Sega those honours).
http://doubledragon.classicgaming.gamespy.com/sddsnes6.gif

Shadow Force(Arcade, 1992)
This is one of Technos' most underrated games. Strangely, this beat 'em up didn't look or feel like a Technos game. It's hard to explain but it felt more like a Konami or Capcom game.
http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b223/NeoZeedeater/shadowforce.gif

Ike Ike! Nekketsu Hockey-bu(Famicom, 1992)
A damn fine hockey game. One thing I love about the NES is that its three best hockey games(this one, Blades of Steel, and Ice Hockey) all have a completely different feel to them.
http://dorando.emuverse.com/images/ike-ike-nekketsu-hockey-bu-subette-koronde-dai-rantou.3.png

Kunio-kun no Nekketsu Soccer League(Famicom, 1993)

Both Ike Ike and Soccer League were supposed to be released domestically as Crash 'n the Boys games but never were.

Nekketsu Kakutou Densetsu(Famicom, 1993)
This was a tournament-based fighting game. The fighting was similar to previous Nekketsu beat 'em ups.
http://www.rahga.com/nkd/c2.png

Downtown Nekketsu Baseball Monogatari(Super Famicom, 1993)

Nekketsu Street Basket: Ganbare Dunk Heroes(Famicom, 1993)
Basketball is always more fun when you can beat down your opponents.
http://www.rahga.com/nsb/sshot.gif

Shin Nekketsu Kouha Kunio-tachi no Banka(Super Famicom, 1994)
http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b223/NeoZeedeater/BANKA_01.gif

Kunio no Oden(Super Famicom, 1994)
A puzzle game similar to Puyo Puyo from the looks of it.

Geom Cube(Playstation, 1994)
A puzzle game that looks like Block Out.

Double Dragon(Neo Geo, 1995)
Technos made Double Dragon into a fighting game for its Neo Geo debut. From what I remember it was okay.

Voltage Fighter Gowcaiser(Neo Geo, 1995)
http://www.klov.com/game_detail.php?letter=V&game_id=10347

Super Dodgeball(Neo Geo, 1996)
Definitely my favourite dodgeball game.
http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b223/NeoZeedeater/Super_Dodge_Ball_Neo-Geo.png

Technos went bankrupt soon afterwards and company president Kunio Taki went to a company called Million which remade Super Dodgeball, River City Ransom and Double Dragon for Game Boy Advance.
http://a248.e.akamai.net/f/248/5462/2h/images.gamezone.com/screens/22/3/44/s22344_gba_10.jpg

http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b223/NeoZeedeater/dda1pp-1.png


What are your thoughts on the company and its games? Please make additions or correct me if I'm mistaken on anything.

[smokehouse]

Some of my favorite games were made by them. I loved Double Dragon (I & II, I never tried III), I find River City Ransom on the NES (and on the GBA) to be one of the best games ever made and love Super Dodgeball. I currently have it for the NES, PC Engine and I will finally be getting the Neo Geo MVS version next week! I can’t wait. I think that Renegade is a good game although not as solid as Double dragon, I still have that for the NES as well.

All around I thought they were a great beat-em-up designer.

[smokehouse]

Nice job on the write-up by the way!

[jajaja]

I love to read these history lines :)
I remember when Street Gangs (european title for River City Ransom) was out. Borrowed it from a friend, loved that game and I still do. Bought the GBA version some months ago and enjoyed that version too :)

I also remember Nintendo World Cup very well from when I was a kid. Used to play that alot too. Gotta love the spesial shots.


Btw, WWF Superstars have screenshot of Double Dragon 3 NES.

[CRV]

I'm curious if the SMS version was done in-house at Sega or outsourced to another developer like many late SMS games were.

I was going to say it was done by Taito, but now I'm thinking Taito's SMS games may have been done by Natsume. I will have to look into this further.

[Beefy Hits]

Good write up. I enjoyed me some Double Dragon I,II River City Ransom and Dodgeball in the day. I wish they'd made a sequel to RCR.

[rbudrick]

One of my favorite VG companies of all time. I have many, many happy memories due to this company. They alwyas knew how to make some really killer games.

Really cool write-up, btw.

-Rob

[InsaneDavid]

Excellent writeup!


Double Dragon(Neo Geo, 1995)
Technos made Double Dragon into a fighting game for its Neo Geo debut. From what I remember it was okay.

This game was actually based on the horrible live action Double Dragon movie - game wasn't bad though.

[Tron 2.0]

Fascinating read up as useal 8-)

[sniperCCJVQ]

Best wrestling arcade games ever

WWF Superstars

http://images.webmagic.com/klov.com/screens/W/yWWF_Superstars.gif

WWF Wrestlefest

http://images.webmagic.com/klov.com/images/10/1056788200.jpg

Also Super Spike V'Ball, a great beach volley game on NES (did it came out in the arcade also ?)

http://www.digitpress.com/dpsightz/nintendo/superspikevball.png

[Chronodriftersx]

The picture of WWF Superstars(Arcade, 1989) in post 1 is of Double Dragon III

[heybtbm]

I wish they would make a Technos retro collection for the current generation of consoles. I used to love the arcade Double Dragon. I've had the NES version since it came out, but no home version has ever got it right. The GBA version is probably the closest, but still pales in comparison to the arcade.

[devilman]

Excellent post!

Just to add a little extra info to the Solar Warrior/ Xain'd Sleena bit - it was called Soldier of Light here in the UK.


'Created by Technos and licensed to Taito for U.K. manufacture and distribution. The title screen says Xain'd Sleena, which is the Japanese version of the game, but the Technos copyright was replaced by the Taito copyright.'

[Eternal Champion]

I love River City Ransom; probably more than Double Dragon. I've heard some negative things about the GBA port; I'll probably stick with the NES original. Too bad it never had a SNES sequel.

I was never able to play Double Dragon in the arcade but loved the NES version. Now I can't play the arcade ROM; I can't stand the slow-down. DDII on NES is a classic. And I actually really like DDIII on NES; they added some cool control schemes, but it's harder than hell.

Super Double Dragon on SNES is cool, nice moves, but S-L-O-W. Always make me want to play Streets of Rage 2.

[CosmicMonkey]

Shadow Force looks pretty cool. Anyone have any further info on it, like what board it runs on? It's not listed on System16.

Any good?

Thanks for that article. I forgot how many quality games they'd made.

[NeoZeedeater]

Thanks guys. :)
I removed that incorrectly pasted DD3 pic.


I was going to say it was done by Taito, but now I'm thinking Taito's SMS games may have been done by Natsume. I will have to look into this further.
Very interesting. I never would have thought of any Natsume connection to SMS games.

[Ed Oscuro]

Nekketsu Kouha Kunio-kun(Arcade, 1986)
This game was a turning point for the company. It was the first Nekketsu game, Technos' largest franchise. This franchise centers around a character named Kunio(named after Technos' president) and his high school called Nekketsu.
Nekketsu means "Hot blooded." High school, I think, is Koukou.

[Damon Plus]

River City Ransom is my #1 favorite game of all time, nuff said. Technos is one of the greatest companies to grace the Nes with its games, along with Nintendo, Capcom and Konami.

Can you imagine how a sequel could´ve been on the Snes? @_@