There’s been a bit of a resurgence in the beat ’em up genre lately. 2020 has brought us Streets of anger 4a series that had been inactive since 1994. And a year before that, River City Girls hit the scene, a spin-off in the Kunio-kuno (River City) franchise. The game was popular enough to give the green light for a sequel, which is due out sometime this year. However, for fans hungry for content, developer WayForward has released an English version of the Super Famicom title, Shin Nekketsu Kōha: Kunio-tachi no Bankanow dubbed River City Girls Zero. River City Girls Zero released on Nintendo Switch earlier this year, but I got a chance to review the adventure before its debut on other platforms. I’m sorry to say it’s a horrible experience.
A prequel story with a humble beginning
River City Girls Zero begins with a brand new anime opening, complete with a song telling the player that this is a port of an old game. WayForward takes this point even further home with a comic book film featuring the River City Girls themselves, Misako and Kyoko. The pair pull out a Super Famicom to play their first adventure with their pals, Kunio and Riki. It’s a fun, humorous way to introduce gamers to the story. This also applies to the translation used in the actual game, with a funny dialogue.
As for the main plot, Kunio and Riki are framed for a hit-and-run. They are put in jail and must escape and clear their names. Along the way, they pick up Misako and Kyoko as playable characters. The group traverses schools, an amusement park, highways, a club and other locations as they fight for justice. This game marks the first time the River City series used realistic sprites and serious story, so don’t expect enemies to explode into coins and shout “BARF!” call.
Intriguing Systems
When it comes to playing River City Girls Zero does have some interesting ideas. Instead of lives, players can switch to one of four heroes as soon as they encounter them. For example, if you get a kick in the butt as Kunio, you can switch to Riki as his health is slowly replenished. Each character can perform two unique special moves without also depleting life. There are also differences depending on the gender of the main character. The ladies can’t be grabbed by enemies, while the guys can get on top of the grounded bad guys and hit them with punches.
Downward spiral
Alas, everything else about River City Girls Zero is below par. The levels are short and very limited. For example, you are in an area, take out some enemies and go to the right, but no exit appears. You will then realize that you need to double down and fight more enemies from where you came in, but no arrow will appear telling you to do this.
The motorcycle stages are really bad and a chore to play. The corners are tight and if you don’t slow down you will crash into the side of the road and die instantly. There is also a theme park level section that is absolutely maddening. You have to climb on a Ferris wheel (by the way, you have to press a button after jumping to grab edges.) and fight opponents while the seats push you to the sides. Trust me, your friends will hate you if you let them play this section in co-op mode.
Even knocking snot out of gang members, a staple of the River City series, loses its luster here. Punches and kicks feel stilted and slowed down. There are cases where you punch someone because they are one pixel above your level of existence. There are no weapons to pick up and use. And if you run out of life with one of the four characters, it’s game over. Fortunately, you have unlimited follow-up options that leave you at the beginning of the section you were in, as well as a password system. And WayForward has added the ability to save and stop anywhere, which is basically a save state system. You will definitely take advantage of this as the difficulty of the game increases quite quickly.
The review verdict on River City Girls Zero
River City Girls Zero is a product of its time, but in a bad way. Sure, it’s nice to have a few new cutscenes, and extra promotional material (boxart, manual images, etc.) in the menu is a nice touch. However, it is not enough to save this game. WayForward should have redone this title from scratch to make it worth playing. I understand that its resources may be primarily used for: River City Girls 2. If so, I advise everyone to avoid this old-fashioned adventure and just play again River City Girls again.
Release date: February 14, 2022 (Nintendo Switch); September 13, 2022 (PlayStation, Xbox); September 22, 2022 (PC)
Publisher: Arc System Works
Developer: WayForward
Platforms: Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X | S, PC
A PlayStation 5 review code for River City Girls Zero was provided by the publisher.
0 Comments