Nintendo
Nintendo
Advertisement

River City Girls is a spin-off game in the Kunio-Kun series, developed by WayForward and published by Arc System Works, released as digital software on eShop for Nintendo Switch. The game had a special physical released by Limited Run Games.

Gameplay[]

River City Girls is a beat 'em up brawler. The player can choose between Kyoko or Misako, who play similarly but have unique moves and animations. Two players can play a local cooperative mode with both. Waves of enemies and occasional bosses are out to oppose the chosen character(s). The player progresses through six areas in a linear manner similar to Shodai Nekketsu Kōha Kunio-kun and Shin Nekketsu Kōha: Kunio-tachi no Banka. Like River City Ransom, the player is free to return to previous areas, but they must complete certain battles and objectives to go to the new locations in their current area. In many areas where combat is initiated the first time, chains and a lock will surround the edges of the screen. At this point, the player will be unable to leave the area until all enemies are defeated. There are six bosses in the game; to be able to advance to the next area, the player must defeat the boss of the current area.

Defeated enemies drop money for the player to collect, just as in River City Ransom. Money can be spent at various shops to purchase items, food, and gear to increase stats. Money can also be used to purchase new fighting moves from the Dojo to complement the starting basic set. Abilities are all simple to perform, being a direction + a button; complexity for advanced players lies in chaining the simple moves together into long combos. Characters also gain experience points and level-ups from defeating enemies, as in River City Ransom: Underground. Completion of quests grant experience and money rewards to both characters, ensuring that the one that the player is not using in a single player game does not fall behind in levels or money. As bosses are defeated in the game, enemies become stronger. Upon defeating the final enemy in an area, they might surrender. The player can choose to either defeat the enemy as normal, or to recruit them. Recruited enemies can be summoned to assist the player, although only one recruit is kept at a time. The player can pick up various objects during the game and use them as improvised weapons, but they will break after being used multiple times.

If the player loses all their stamina bar and is defeated (or both characters defeated in multiplayer), the player must restart the current room and lose a portion of their cash on hand, but their health is fully restored. In multiplayer, if only one character is knocked out, it is possible for the other player to revive them by standing over their fallen body and repeatedly kicking their departing soul back into it. An angel leaving the character's body acts as a timer so that the other player can perform the revival as fast as possible.

Once introduced, Kunio-kun character Godai will offer players numerous side quests. There are also various NPCs that the player can interact with. After completing the game once, the player will unlock Kunio and Riki as playable characters.

Plot[]

River City Girls stars Kyoko and Misako, two street-tough high-schoolers who must fight their way through the six regions of River City to rescue their kidnapped boyfriends, series mainstays Kunio and Riki.

Reception[]

River City Girls received "generally favorable" reviews from critics.

External links[]

Advertisement