When WayForward Technologies released River City Girls back in 2019, it was a brilliant return of the classic series format done in a new way. Focusing on characters that didn’t typically get as much attention in the River City franchise, River City Girls managed to capture what we loved about the original games and applied WayForward’s trademark humour, charm, and style to the series. The result was one of the best beat em up games of the last few years and a title that seemed hard to surpass, well until now that is.
River City Girls 2 brings back what we loved about the first game, with its open world and blend of RPG and beat ’em up gameplay but takes things to the next level. There are more characters to choose from this time and all play differently, giving you a real incentive to try them all. Kunio and Rikki are playable from the start and play very differently from each other, for instance, and play very differently from Misako and Kyoko. You are not locked into a character either when you are playing and returning to Kyoko’s house will let you switch characters, though each will level up differently, and has their own inventory and separate amounts of money.
The plot here is even wackier than the first game, which was already a pretty out-there experience, and River City Girls 2 delights in poking fun at concepts such as the fourth wall whenever it can, although to be honest this can get a little old at times and may annoy some. The game follows up shortly after the end of the first game and then carries on the story of River City Girls Zero’s River City Girls localization, albeit in a loose way, and sees the return of Ken and Sabu as villains. Despite having a very humorous story, River City Girls 2 manages to have a good narrative as well, even if much of it is played for jokes, and there is some clever writing within.
As in River City Girls 1, you will gain experience as you defeat enemies and level up to gain new moves, though many of the moves must be purchased from dojos. Eating food items will also grant a stat boost the first time each type is consumed, and this will play a key role in being strong enough to take on enemies. Combat is similar to the first game, but there are a number of refinements and improvements to the formula, with more options for guard crushes and team moves, as well as new combo types that create a lot of potential for how to go about things.
This is not even getting into the gear you can unlock, which comes in a variety of forms, such as clothing and equipable objects that affect the gameplay. These can do a number of things such as electrifying weapon attacks, letting you regain more health via consumables, and doing more damage at the cost of speed just to name a few. You will need to choose carefully which ones you want to use, and the right combination will mean the difference in the way you end up playing the game.
One thing that really stands out about River City Girls 2 is how the world feels fuller this time. There are many fully destructible objects for you to attack to refill your meter, but some will cause damage to you upon breaking. This can be used to your advantage when dealing with enemies, however, and a good strategy is knowing when to learn enemies into the right trap to deal heavy damage.
As mentioned above, Kunio and Rikki are playable here, but so are Provie from River City Ransom Underground, the sequel to the western localization of Downtown Nekketsu Monogatari (aka River City Ransom) and Marian, the recurring damsel in distress from the Double Dragon series who has taken a massive level in being a badass since those days. Both have an interesting story to them and why they are in the game, and both play very well and different from the other characters. It really is a nice bit of canon welding to bring all these series connected to the Kunio-Kun franchise together in one game and it plays out perfectly.
As with the first game, the soundtrack by Megan McDuffee is nothing short of stellar. With tunes that quickly become earworms and music that perfectly fits the combat, Megan McDuffee truly outdid herself. The sound effects from the developers are also top-notch and represent the usual WayForward care and attention.
Visually, River City Girls 2 is as good as ever, and the addition of more diverse background characters was a nice touch to make the world feel more lived in. It is not just good looks though, as due to plenty of tributes to past Techn?s, Arc System Works and WayForward games, there are so many easter eggs to catch, you will need multiple playthroughs to see everything. The side quests are also handled a bit differently this time and the means of navigating, managing inventory and keeping track of things have also received an overhaul to flow much better, which all feels amazing.
All things said and done; River City Girls 2 is how a sequel should be done. It took the first game and made it better, and while the meta-humour sometimes falls flat, the overall game is truly incredible. This is a game that you will find yourself playing and replaying multiple times because of how good it is, and yet, it will never feel old. This is the evolution of the beat ’em up genre and the future is looking bright as a result.
Disclaimer: A review key was provided