River City Girls 2: Still Tough Fun But Now With Online Co-op
The Kunio-kun series has a weird history in the States. The original game Nekketsu Kōha Kunio-kun created by Yoshihisa Kishimoto was originally pitched as a semi-autobiographical game based on his teenage high school years. The game was ported to English-speaking markets as Renegade, which was packaged as a generic arcade beat ’em up. While the game didn’t set the industry on fire, it is fondly remembered by die-hard fans of the genre.
There were a number of Kunio-kun sports game spin-offs that made their way Stateside as well, which essentially got the Renegade treatment, but the game that fostered the franchise’s cult following was River City Ransom.
Developed by Technōs Japan and originally released in Japan on April 25, 1989, it was the third game in the series. River City Ransom underwent great changes in its storyline and graphical presentation during its localization in order to make the game more palatable in the Western market. The games are celebrated for fusing tight combat controls, interesting characters, and RPG elements, which has allowed the franchise to endure in both the US and in Japan.
Fast forward to 2019, and Arc System Works now owns the Kunio-kun license and releases a spin-off called River City Girls, where you play as Kiyoko and Misako, the girlfriends of series protagonists Kunio and Riki. Their boyfriends have seemingly been kidnapped and the two gals decide to spring into action to rescue them. The pair rampages across the city, attacking any suspicious person they find while seeking answers.
The game was fun but challenging, and I ashamedly never finished it because it was so hard. Thankfully, part two, released Dec. 14, 2022, gets you up to speed at the very beginning.
In River City Girls 2, Misako, Kyoko, Kunio, and Riki — joined by newcomers Marian and Provie — must team up and face the mastermind behind the events of the first game.
Working yet again with publisher WayForward, studio Arc System Works has kept the gameplay as much work as it ever was and while the enemies have never been damage sponges, they will pile on you like an actual schoolyard brawl, so it’s dangerous to go it alone. Luckily this time around there is online gameplay, which was a much-needed feature when I started playing the first game at the beginning of quarantine.
Other quality features that come with the dual pedigrees of Arc System Works and WayForward are well on display — solid voice work from returning casts Kira Buckland, Kayli Mills, Kaiji Tang and Greg Chun, as well series newcomers Erika Harlacher and Destiny Parker as Marian and Provie respectively. With a special nod to Cristina Vee for her superb voice direction.
The soundtrack was a nice mix of punk and pop music, which is due in no small part to vocals from Priscilla “Rem” Hamby whose goofball insert songs made the game that much more fun. The sprite and general artwork are as consistently beautiful as in the last game.
Basically, a pretty good sequel. It’s not for noobs to the genre, but I enjoyed it immensely. So, grab a friend and check it out.
I give River City Girls 2 a 4 out of 5.
