River City Girls – Nintendo Switch Review

Overview – developed and published by WayForward in collaboration with Arc System Works, River City Girls is a brand new spin off to the legendary River City (Kunio-Kun in Japan) series of brawlers. In this new spin, the tables have been turned this time with the boys Riki and Kunio, needing to be saved by the duo of Misako and Kyoko. This title is available on all platforms, with a link to each version of the game at the bottom of this review.

Disclaimer: before I get into the review, I would like to thank WayForward for originally providing the copy of River City Girls that was used for this piece. The provision of this software has not influenced the contents of this review, all thoughts and opinions are my own.

Now with the introductions out of the way, let’s get into the review, starting off with the story. I will only be covering the core mechanics of the game in this review, as to prevent spoiling secrets and surprises. Also please be aware that this is a re-review as the original is no longer available, due to the site hosting it is no longer available.

Story – after years of beating up the yakuza, taking down the gangs and needing to rescue their girlfriends from the bad guys, the tables have been turned on Kunio and Riki. They have been kidnapped and now it is up their girlfriends, Misako and Kyoko to save them this time. After receiving a picture of them kidnapped, the tough girls set out on a mission to save their boyfriends, and they are prepared to beat down anyone that stands in their way.

Gameplay – the core game loop for this game is pretty simple to pick up, with the player able to select either Misako or Kyoko when starting the game. The two girls have their own unique move sets, with a normal combo attack, heavy attacks and a special attack that requires a meter to use. The action plays out in a traditional side scrolling brawler style, with a vibrant arcade style. The player must make their way through each area, battling throughout River City.

The story plays out in chapters, with NPC characters giving the player missions and quests to complete in order to progress. This is a good way of laying out the narrative, as it leaves the player to explore as they are heading to the objective for that chapter. There are also side quests that can be activated, which will give bonus rewards for completion, but these are optional allowing players to come back to them later on during the game.

As the player makes their way through each section of the game world, the player will be bombarded by enemies from all sides. The combat flows smoothly, with reactive combos, flashy special moves and a smorgasbord of weaponry to use against foes. As the player beats down those in their way, they will drop money that is collected by walking over them, adding it to the player bank. Enemies will also give experience points when they are defeated.

When the player accumulates enough experience points, the player will level their character up, granting access to new skills and attacks. As each level is gained, the player will also gain stat boosts, which will strengthen the characters even further. However, to prevent over grinding, experience will be reduced if the player stays in one area for too long. Players will also be able to gain upgrades and power-ups from the shops in the world, using money earned during play.

The waves of enemies that appear are tough, but they are easy enough to wipe out in order to progress. But they can be a dangerous threat to players, as they can swarm the player if they are not careful. During each story section, the player will be locked into the screen, unable to escape until the enemies are defeated, with a lock and chains that will break when all enemies are downed. These are the most challenging areas of the game aside from the boss battles.

Speaking of boss battles, at set points during each of the story chapters, formidable boss opponents will appear to fight the player. These battles are incredibly tough, as they can quickly and easily destroy the player if they are careless, testing their skills in the battle. The boss battles are the perfect place to make good use of the special mechanic for this game, enemy recruitment. Within the different areas, the player can recruit enemies that will surrender and beg for mercy.

These recruited henchmen can be called into battle, where they will launch their attack and quickly retreat from the battle. If a recruit is hit by the enemy, they will lose a hit point and their attack will be interrupted. The recruits have three hit points and if they are all depleted, they will be lost and a new recruit must be captured. Allies can be changed out by recruiting another one, which will refresh they health and can switch up the flow of action.

The game world of River City is fairly large, with all of the different areas connecting to others and branching off to new places. This creates a nonlinear experience, which can lead to some backtracking to go to shops and complete side missions. There is also co-op multiplayer for this title, with the second player using the other girl that isn’t selected by the first. Friendly fire is optional in this release too, along with experience/money only for the player that takes the enemy down.

Now with the gameplay covered, it is time to move onto the other aspects of this release, starting with the controls.

Controls – the controls for this title are nice and responsive, with the smooth and fluid inputs for the different actions. There is a slight bit of awkwardness with controls, where I was facing the wrong way while trying to fight multiple enemies, but this doesn’t ruin the experience. The controls are comfortable regardless of the controller used, as the Joy-Con and Pro Controller have no issues with input lag. It also feels real nice when playing it in handheld mode.

Difficulty – there is a nice balance to the overall challenge that is present, with two difficulty options to select, Normal and Hard. The main difference between the two is the amount of damage enemies deal, with the Hard difficulty increasing the output from foes. When the player is defeated, they will be sent back to a checkpoint and money will be lost. This means that defeat comes with a heavy price, so it may be important to prioritize between battling and healing.

Presentation – River City Girls is pleasing to the eye with colors that pop off the screen, with retro styled pixel art and vibrant environments. The story sections use anime/manga style art which elevates the experience further. The sound for the game is excellent, with a soundtrack by Megan McDuffee, along with a rockin opening featuring Cristina Vee. There is English and Japanese VO, with the native cast featuring Kira Buckland (Nier Automata), Kayli Mills (Death end re;Quest) and Sarah Williams (Mary Skelter).

Final Thoughts – I had played the original River City game a long time ago, along with the Japanese exclusive titles so this really appealed to me. When I got my hands on it, I was hit by the hard rock intro and that set my expectation for what lay ahead. I was pleasantly surprised with how smooth, responsive and fun the action was. The boss battles are a frustration at times, as they can repeatedly beat you down and lead to losing money that could be used for upgrades.

But that is just a small part of the game, because it will get easier as the player spends time leveling up, earning new powers and kicking bad guy butt. I found myself wanting to keep going long into the night, both during my first play through and when I returned to it for this re-review. I recommended it back then, and I can happy say that I still recommend this game as it is so much fun, especially when you are sat down with a second player.

In the end, I give River City Girls a final score of 4.5/5. This is an excellent brawler that takes all of the history of what came before it, expanding and refining it into a brand new experience, with an excellent cast of characters, solid action and a rocking soundtrack. If you want to check this title out for yourself, a link to each version of the game will be below.

Link to Nintendo Switch version (HERE)

Link to PlayStation version (HERE)

Link to Xbox version (HERE)

Link to Steam version (HERE)