Published , by Ozzie Mejia
Published , by Ozzie Mejia
WayForward is certainly among the leading names when it comes to retro gaming franchises and retro gaming concepts. So after putting together throwback platformers and shooters, why not focus on a throwback beat-'em-up? The team has an idea, but one thing that they're not experts in is the world of anime. Fortunately, with some help from the fine people at Arc System Works, River City Girls is ready and now has a release date.
River City Girls was first unveiled back in April and the name might sound familiar. Yes, River City Girls is a spin-off of the River City Ransom series, which started 30 years ago with River City Ransom. This story centers around a pair of friends, Kyoko and Misako. Their boyfriends have been kidnapped by sinister forces and that means they need to brawl all over the six regions of River City to get them back. Like previous games in the franchise, players can take part in the main story, an assortment of side missions, and equip their characters with various items that can be picked up in shops. If you don't want to buy any weapons, you can always pick up some discarded ones from your foes or even recruit some of those fallen foes to help you out.
WayForward offers the same kind of retro gaming expertise that they've injected into some of their previous efforts, adding to a resume that already includes DuckTales Remastered, Contra 4, and their original Shantae series. This includes a 16-bit visual aesthetic and a synth-pop sountrack. Meanwhile, Arc System Works has assisted with the design of the game's brawling mechanics, utilizing their fighting game expertise that's on display in such games as Dragon Ball FighterZ and the Guilty Gear and BlazBlue franchises.
River City Girls is set to release digitally on PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch on September 5 for $29.99. A separate physical version is coming soon. Find out more on the WayForward website.