River City Girls has surprised me in being one of the most fun games I’ve played in a long time. From the anime-style pixelated graphics to the fun and well done voice acting, a lot stands out from this game. The story starts off in school, where the two main characters, Misako and Kyoko, discover that their boyfriends have been kidnapped and have to fight their way out of detention.

There’s much to love and little to hate here. Playing this game will put a smile on your face, especially with the nostalgic effect it brings. With graphics and style similar to the recently deleted Scott Pilgrim game, fans of the franchise will feel right at home playing this one.

River City Girls brims with style as an open world metroidvania-esque game with core beat-’em-up gameplay. Once it starts from the school, the game thrusts you right into River City with its’ unique characters, be it your cheerleaders or your regular street punk. You’ll be going from one side of town to another, punching faces along the way to get to a specific goal. Some of which will be given to you by other non-playable-characters.

Going through the game can be a bit monotonous at times, but you’ll hardly ever feel bored progressing through River City. You’ll always see something new in the background such as shops, holding consumable items or accessories. These accessories are items your preferred character can use to gain advantages, such as more damage to a specific enemy type, or being able to take more attacks before falling (which you’ll do a lot if you aren’t prepared for the waves of enemies thrown at you.) If you aren’t paying attention you’ll miss a lot. The game rewards you for talking to NPCs, interacting with objects and entering shops. In fact, sometimes it is the only way to progress.

The gameplay although simplistic, has a lot of variety to it. Both playable characters have their own specific set of moves. For example, Misako can headbutt and stomp on enemies, while Kyoko can pick up fallen enemies and use them to beat down other enemies; oh and she also dabs. Do not underestimate the dab as it will help get the the swarms of haters (enemies) off you for a while. You could also just use it to assert your dominance on them like I do.

When fighting enemies around River City, its good to always keep an eye out for items you can use to beat down enemies with. A few examples of such items are crates, trashcans and yo-yos (the yo-yos are OP). You can also spare certain enemies and recruit them to fight alongside you. Though most of them are useless and do little to no damage, they also wont hit any enemies if you’re facing the opposite side of them, so i never really used them much.

You also collect money as you go, some of which is lost when you die. Money can be spent on new items, weapons, and moves. The more you fight with a character the more she levels up, so grinding out enemies to level up or gain money is always beneficial, especially before a boss fight.

Speaking of boss fights, there can at times be a difficulty spike when facing a new boss. That is, especially if you are unprepared. Sometimes going through regular enemies is a breeze but when facing a boss can cause you to get wiped out almost instantly. If you don’t pay attention to leveling up, buying consumable items that heal you or equipping the right accessories, you could be in for a rough ride. Though besides that, each boss has their own unique personality and the voice acting really brings them to life. You’ll find yourself laughing at the dialogue between the characters.

Overall River City Girls is a fun game that everyone should get to play. With little faults to hold it back, some fun voice-acting and a fantastic soundtrack that features original pop songs. I should mention though that this game (like most other games,) is more fun with a second player by your side.

                A PS4 review copy for River City Girls was provided by WayForward for this review.

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River City Girls

$29.99 USD

8

Score

8.0/10

Pros

• Amazing 2D graphics
• Great voice Acting
• Amazing Soundtrack
• Fun Combat

Cons

• A Bit Grindy
• Difficulty Spikes
• Combat Tends to Drag on