Recently, I finally got around to the 2018 beat ’em up/RPG The friends of Ringo Ishikawa. Developed over several years by the one-man team of yeo, it was inspired by a combination of his love of the legendary Kunio-kun franchise—particularly those in the Downtown Nekketsu Story series—and his own life growing up in Russia.
The friends of Ringo Ishikawa
Taking a 16-bit approach and the style of the Kunio-kun games from Super Nintendo, The friends of Ringo Ishikawa is about the titular character, a Japanese high school delinquent as he repeats his final year of high school along with his close friends/gang.
Players are given full reign to get into fights, sell looted backpacks, smoke, drink, dine, study, read, train, and attend class. This is a very flexible game in the same vein as the DNS games.
Instead of some sort of concrete, defined storyline Ringo’s close friends have their own goals and aspirations which play into the climax of the game. His friends’ stories play out in the form of cut scenes and tend to just start when you least expect them.
There have been times when I finally decided to go to class only for a cutscene to start and my character ends up missing out on that day of class. I wouldn’t say this is annoying so much as if you have plans as far as developing your character’s stats, just know that it could happen.
The game sports some cool visuals in 2D such as standing on a bridge, the balcony of your home, or the school’s roof with your friends as the sun starts to set. I also enjoyed running into in-progress fights by other groups of delinquents in the small town.
To say that the town was alive can either be an understatement or an exaggeration. On one hand, the locals do have their own schedules and everyone is either heading off to hang out or actually off to do something.
However, very few people will actually talk to Ringo. Shenmue this is not but I did kind of get Shenmue mixed with River City Ransom vibes from this game.
Verdict: 8/10
I love these types of games and this graphical approach is my jam. The 2D approach is something near and dear to my heart. Honestly, The friends of Ringo Ishikawa is a hard 9/10 but there is a problem that causes it to fall a bit short of that goal.
The ending just hits unexpectedly. When you head off to what ends up being the final fight of the game, it’s just you alone trying to fight off rival delinquents. Your gang abandons you and leaves you to your desire for a fight.
It seems like there’s like another half of the game afterward—a time skip or something. Besides, we don’t know if your aspiring boxer buddy actually pursues boxing after high school. What becomes of your friend who needed to borrow money to pay off an obvious yakuza?
There are just hanging questions here. From a pure gaming perspective, it’s missing half of a game. Artistically, it leaves things open to interpretation and gives the player something to think about as the credits roll.
Mind you, the main thing I thought about was “Is there a time skip after these credits.” I mean coming-of-age stories such as The Wonder Years, Boyz n the Hood, Menace II Society, and Stand by Me feature an epilogue.
There’s closure to everyone’s story. I view Ringo Ishikawa as a coming-of-age story in beat ‘em form—albeit a hanging one. Hopefully, we’ll see a sequel or something down the line.
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