WayForward had a hit on its hands with the release of River City Girls, a spinoff of the famed brawler series that focused on the women of the series. The game had a comedic bent and a great combat system and gained a fanbase of its own, but one aspect stood out as the game took many cues from Shin Nekketsu Koha: Kunio-tachi no Banka. This Kunio-Kun beat em’ up for the Super Famicom never left Japan, but WayForward working with Limited Run Games has brought it out to the west with some touches.
Released as River City Girls Zero, the game is actually mostly untouched aside from a new intro and cutscenes to tie into the later WayForward title. The release even has two localizations included, one that keeps the irreverent and lighthearted tone of River City Girls, and one that is true to the actual story of Shin Nekketsu Koha: Kunio-tachi no Banka. There are other touches like filter and screen options, a new save option and so on, but the gameplay is left untouched for better or for worse.
Those going into this game expecting a SNES-style version of River City Ransom may be a bit shocked at what they find here, given how much darker the story is. The reason for this is that River City Ransom was part of the Downtown Nekketsu branch of the Kunio-Kun franchise while this game is part of the more serious Nekketsu Koha branch, which also includes titles like Renegade. As such, players may be a bit taken aback by some of the themes in the game and some of the language used, if using the faithful translation.
The game starts with Kunio and Rikki being thrown into jail after being framed for a crime and breaking out to clear their names. The characters eventually team up with their girlfriends Misako and Kyoko, but be aware that despite the title of the game, Kunio and Rikki are the main characters here. Misako and Kyoko play differently from Kunio and Rikki, but keep in mind that while they are faster, they take damage more easily and have weaker attacks, making for a trade-off.
Players in the single-player mode can press a button to shift between characters and doing so is key to survival in the game, as each character has a separate life meter. Dying as a character will lead to an immediate game over even if another character still has a full life meter, but players can continue from where they were last. One other thing to remember is that this game was made for the Super Famicom in 1994, and as such is not anywhere near as advanced as River City Girls.
River City Girls Zero’s story is a major part of the game, and there are moments that will genuinely surprise players, though no spoilers will be given. Even if the new localization is used at first, using the faithful translation (dubbed the literal translation), is recommended as well in order to get the full effect of the story and see it for what it genuinely was. That being said, the new translation may help players get more comfortable with this game if some of the aspects of the story seem off-putting.
Gameplay-wise, this is a good beat ’em up, even if it is not as advanced as more modern games, but sometimes a classic is a classic for a reason. There are no RPG elements in this game, unlike River City Ransom, and the game will constantly put shakeups in the way, such as fighting on top of a collapsing building. There are also some great breaks in the typical brawler gameplay, such as a motorbike riding section where players can kick enemies off of their bikes like in Road Rash. There was nearly a spinoff based on the latter concept, that was cancelled and later retooled as Super Mad Champ.
Now the question is, does the game hold up today? And the answer is yes it does for the most part, as long as gamers understand when this was made and are not expecting a modern game. For a game from 1994, River City Girls is still very good, and there is a lot of fun to be had here and this is very much recommended.
Hopefully, if this sells well, Shodai Nekketsu Koha Kunio-Kun, which came out before this game, will also be localized as well. That game has a lot in common with River City Ransom including RPG elements, despite being part of the Nekketsu Koha branch and not the Downtown Nekketsu branch. It may have a more serious story, but of River City Ransom will enjoy it, and we can always hope.
Reviewed on Nintendo Switch
Currently Available on Nintendo Switch. Coming soon to PS5, PS4, Xbox systems, and PC
Disclaimer: A review key was provided.
Images were taken from Nintendo.com