Crash 'n the Boys: Street Challenge

Crash 'n the Boys: Street Challenge
Cover art
Developer(s)	Technōs Japan
Publisher(s)	JP Technōs Japan NA American Technos
Composer(s)	Kazuo Sawa
Platform(s)	Nintendo Entertainment System Game Boy (Japan Only) Virtual Console
Release date(s)	JP June 26, 1992 NA October 1992[1] Game Boy JP July 16, 1993 Virtual Console JP October 18, 2011 NA September 14, 2009[2]
Genre(s)	Sports
Mode(s)	Single-player video game Multiplayer
Rating(s)	ESRB: E (Everyone)
Media/distribution	ROM cartridge

Crash 'n the Boys: Street Challenge, released in Japan as Bikkuri Nekketsu Shin Kiroku! Harukanaru Kin Medal (びっくり熱血新記録！はるかなる金メダル^?, lit. "The Astonishing New Records of Nekketsu! Distant Gold Medal") is a 1992 sports game for the NES by Technos Japan Corp. A Game Boy version of the game was also released in Japan only. The game featured Olympic style contests without rules or regulations, between five teams. The games included 400 metres hurdles, Hammer throw, Swimming, Roof Top Jumping, and Fighting Scene. It was re-released for the Nintendo Wii's Virtual Console on September 14, 2009.

Story

Theodore "Todd" Thornley IV has had enough. After being humiliated once again by his rival, Jeff "Crash" Cooney and his blue-collar buddies from Southside High School at the All-City Track Meet, he has decided to issue a challenge to Crash. Inviting two of the other elite high schools to participate in the challenge, plus an additional team sponsored by his wealthy father, Todd has seemingly stacked the deck against Crash and his boys.

Gameplay

The game has four different teams to choose from, as well as a fifth computer-controlled team. Each team have five members each with their own strengths and weaknesses, making some better suited to certain events than others. Before each event, players have the opportunity to go shopping in the mall to buy power-ups for their characters. These items are paid for through the various medals that each team achieve as they progress through the challenge, but since the winner of the challenge is the team that collects the most medals overall, players must be fairly judicious in how much they spend.

There are two types of events in the game: individual events (Hammer Throw and Roof Top Jumping) and head-to-head events (400 Meter Hurdles, Swimming and Fighting). In individual events, each team takes turn individually and ranking is determined by who gets the most points. The head-to-head events take place under a single elimination tournament format, in which one player against another in a series of heats. The player who successfully defeats both of his opponents will get to compete against a member of Team Thornley for first place.

The game can be played by up to four players. Since there's never more than two teams competing at the same time, the third and fourth player can play simply by alternating between the two controllers. Thus, a four player adapter is not required, unlike other Kunio-kun games.

Teams

• Southside High/Nekketsu High School (熱血高校, Nekketsu Kōkō^?)
  • Crash (Jeff Cooney) / Kunio (くにお^?)
  • Cheese (Rico Romano) / Sugata (Sanjūrō Sugata (姿 三十朗, Sugata Sanjūrō^?))
  • Sting Ray (Ramon Garcia) / Morimoto (Ken'ichi Morimoto (森本 健一, Morimoto Ken'ichi^?))
  • Dragon (Tommy Woo) / Nanase (Haruka Nanase (七瀬 遥, Nanase Haruka^?))
  • Noise (Troy Jackson) / Ichijō (Hayato Ichijō (一条 勇人, Ichijō Hayato^?))

• Washington High School/Hanazono High School (花園高校, Hanazano Kōkō^?)
  • Todd (Theodore Thornley IV) / Riki (Riki Samejima (鮫島 力, Samejima Riki^?))
  • Nate (Nathan Vanderpoole) / Saotome (Hikaru Saotome (五月女 光, Saotome Hikaru^?))
  • Dove (Randall Duvall) / Yoshino (Mitsuaki Yoshino (吉野 光明, Yoshino Mitsuaki^?))
  • Zack (Zachary Swanson) / Shimizu (Shūji Shimizu (鷲尾 修二, Shimizu Shūji^?))
  • Spoon (Wendell Witherspoon) / Washio (Kōichi Shimizu (清水 浩一, Shimizu Kōichi^?))

• Lincoln High School/Reihō Academy (冷峰学園, Reihō Gakuen^?)
  • Artie (Arthur Van Smythe) / Ryūichi (Ryūichi Hattori (服部 竜一, Hattori Ryūichi^?))
  • Skip (Winston Hildegard Jr.) / Ryūji (Ryūji Hattori (服部 竜二, Hattori Ryūji^?))
  • Wheels (Charles Edward Darlington) / Mochizuki (Shun Mochizuki (望月 駿, Mochizuki Shun^?))
  • Monty (Worthington Montgomery)/ Kobayashi (Masao Kobayashi (小林 政男, Kobayashi Masao^?))
  • Knots (Alexander Knottingham III) / Hayasaka (Ryōma Hayasaka (早坂 良麻, Hayasaka Ryōma^?))

• Jefferson High School/Interschool Union (各校連合, Kakugō Rengō^?)
  • Sprecks (Richard Spreckles) / Gōda Tsuyoshi Gōda (豪田 剛, Gōda Tsuyoshi^?)
  • Clint (Clinton Swanson) / Godai Susumu Godai (五代 奨, Godai Susumu^?)
  • Barns (Clifford Barnsworth) / Kumada Jūzō Kumada (熊田 重蔵, Kumada Jūzō^?)
  • Baldy (Lawrence Baldwin IV) / Nishimura Naritaka Nishimura (西村 成孝, Nishimura Naritaka^?)
  • Milo (Miles Smithfield) / Hayami Takeshi Hayami (速水 武士, Hayami Takeshi^?)

• Team Thornley / Oklahoma High School (オクラホマハイスクール, Okurahoma Hai Sukūru^?)
  • Rocky Rockowitz / Johnny (ジョニー, Jonī^?)
  • Crush / Raphael (ラフェール, Rafēru^?)
  • Bubba / Steve (スティーブ, Sutību^?)
  • Tank / Alex (アレックス, Arekkusu^?)
  • Foil / Jimmy (ジミー, Jimī^?)

Events

• The 400 Meter Hurdles event is a one-on-one race that features different sized hurdles that need to be avoided in different ways, or be turned into weapons. The event ends either when one player loses all their stamina, or they both cross the finish line.
• The Hammer Throw Golf event is mixed with golf rules, in that the player has to get the steel ball into the hole in the least amount of throws. This event is held with each contestant alternating.
• The Swimming event, also known as Water Slaughter, is a game of endurance, as the player and his opponent attempt to drain the stamina and oxygen of the other by drowning each other.
• Roof Top Jumping, or Skyline Scramble, features each participant alternating in an attempt to see who can finish with the best time. The spaces in between the roof tops vary, and require different techniques to cross.
• The Fighting Scene or Judo event is a one-on-one fight, in which each player uses a variety of judo moves to attempt to subdue the opponent.

Localization

Street Challenge is a localization of Bikkuri Nekketsu Shin Kiroku!, originally part of the Kunio-kun series and a sequel to the 1990 Famicom game Downtown Nekketsu Kōshinkyoku: Soreyuke Daiundōkai. It the eighth game in the series released for the Famicom and fifth to be localized for the North American market. Like previous localizations of the series (see Super Dodge Ball and River City Ransom), the game's graphics and plot were altered to make the game marketable outside Japan.

• The actual scenery for the sports events were changed. While the original Japanese version represented the events as part a legit Olympic tournament, the backgrounds were changed in Street Challenge to go along with the urban setting.

• The four main teams in the Japanese version, Nekketsu, Hanazono, Reiho, and Rengo, were composed of established Kunio-kun characters (such as the Double Dragon twins, Ryuichi and Ryuji) and were all returning characters from Koshinkyoku. Of the four main teams, only Rengō (the Union) did not represent a specific school, being composed of students from several schools. The CPU-controlled Team Thornley was originally the Oklahoma High School team, the sole American school in Shin Kiroku.

• The character roster was changed, to make the Southside High team (Nekketsu High School) more ethnically diverse. Tōdō and Yamada (Todd and Skip respectively in Street Challenge) were not playable characters in the Japanese version, Tōdō was simply the sponsor of the tournament. In Street Challenge, Todd was made into the captain of the Hanazono High School team (which became the Washington High team in Street Challenge), replacing established hero Riki. Riki's sprite is used in Street Challenge as a member of Team Thornley named "Crush", who replaces a black character named Raphael. Artie and Skip replace the Double Dragon twins, Ryuichi and Ryuji, as the captains of Reiho (Lincoln High in Street Challenge). The Rengo team (known as Jefferson High in Street Challenge) was the only team that had its roster unchanged during the transition from Shin Kiroku to Street Challenge.

Street Challenge was planned to be the first in a series of Kunio-kun games to be localized under the Crash 'n the Boys moniker. The ending to Street Challenge features a teaser for the next game in the Crash 'n the Boys series, Ice Challenge, a localization of the earlier Ike Ike! Nekketsu Hockey Bu (the original final image for Street Challenge showed Momozono on a swing in the sunset, with the message "That's All" written in hiragana characters). A promotional poster packaged with the SNES game The Combatribes featured the cover artwork of the game. However, Ice Challenge was never officially released. Other Crash 'n the Boys games that were announced by American Technos included Soccer Challenge (Nekketsu Soccer League), Diamond Challenge (Downtown Nekketsu Baseball Monogatari) for the SNES and the Game Boy version of Street Challenge, all of which were unreleased.

On September 14, 2009, Crash 'n the Boys: Street Challenge was released on the Wii's Virtual Console service in North America.

Game Boy version

The Game Boy version has few differences compared to the Famicom/NES versions. Namely, the Swimming event is replaced with an umbrella battle, where the characters jump from a building and fight in mid-air using an umbrella.^[3] The CPU-controlled Oklahoma High School is now playable via a cheat code.

Pop Culture References

Crash 'n the Boys is the name of a band in the comic book Scott Pilgrim. The band appears in the film adaption as well as the game based on it.

References

1. ^ "NES Games" (PDF). Nintendo. http://www.nintendo.com/consumer/gameslist/manuals/nes_games.pdf. Retrieved 2011-04-02. 
2. ^ "Spend a Revolutionary First Semester Racing From Texas to Toyland". Nintendo of America. September 14, 2009. http://www.nintendo.com/whatsnew/detail/QM6Gevvr2ifhPu8VJIT3ODSlXd1BhPZv. Retrieved 2009-09-15. 
3. ^ Kurt Kalata; Saikak. "Hardcore Gaming 101: Kunio-kun / Nekketsu High School". Hardcore Gaming 101. http://www.hardcoregaming101.net/kunio/kunio2.htm. Retrieved 2010-02-04. 

External links

	Japan portal
	Video games portal

• Crash 'n the Boys: Street Challenge at MobyGames