Ever since arcades began to decline, the future of their iconic beat-’em-up genre has become uncertain. Its sibling genre of fighting games had made the jump to consoles, but 3D game design trends had begun to pull away from what made brawlers resemble themselves. For a while, the genre was relegated to the rare nostalgic throwback, and classic franchises likeStreets of RageandFinal Fightseemed to have retired. However, there has been a recent surge in beat-’em-ups from both the indie scene and larger publishers.Streets of Rage 4is now a reality, something no one thought could happen for decades.
And in the background the whole time was a certain Japanese beat-’em-up/combat sports franchise, steadily releasing games almost every year.Kunio-kun, orRiver Cityas it’s typically known in the West, never stopped releasing budget titles using the series’ trademark art style and old-school gameplay. In 2019, publisher Arc System Works and developerWayForwardbrought the series back to relevancy in a big way withRiver City Girls, a game starring the old girlfriends of series protagonists Kunio and Riki. The adventures of Kyoko and Misako were a smash hit, and not only inspired a sequel but a re-release of the girls’ first playable appearance. However, this game, dubbedRiver City Girls Zero, is far from a typical translation and remaster.
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How River City Girls Zero Differs From Its Original Release
Shin Nekketsu Koha: Kunio-tachi no Bankawas a side-scrolling action game developed by Almanic and published by Technos Japan Corp. It was releasedexclusively in Japan for the Super Famicomin 1994, being the fourth game in theKunio-kunfranchise to appear on the system. That isn’t saying much considering that it’s preceded by over twentyKunio-kungames, but it does mark the title as a refined version of the franchise’s typical formula. Gameplay and level design became fairly complex as the game progressed, and the visuals and story were both much more detailed and mature than in a regularKunio-kunromp. Chronologically,Shin Nekketsu Kohatakes place after the first-ever arcadeKunio-kun, but before the Famicom title that would becomeRiver City Ransom.
It’s fairly appropriate, then, that its localized title would beRiver City Girls Zero. Not only is this an acknowledgment of its place in relation toRiver City Girls, but also its place in the wider franchise timeline. However,River City Girls Zerois not a straight port and localization ofShin Nekketsu Koha. A new animated opening sequence and a new theme song byRiver City Girlscomposer Megan McDuffee have been added toZero. There are alsovoiced manga-style cutscenesat the beginning and end of the game to tieZeroback intoRiver City Girlsproper. The new translation intends to align character personalities with theirRiver City Girlsselves, but unless an entire second English script is made, there are not expected to be any plot alterations.
River City Girls Zero’s Approach is Becoming More Popular
Despite all these additions,River City Girls Zerois still expected to be a totally faithful localization ofShin Nekketsu Koha: Kunio-tachi no Banka. The approach of adding new content without changing existing content is an interesting one and has been observed in a number of modern re-releases.Wild Guns: ReloadedandThe Ninja Saviors: Return of the Warriorsare both modern re-releases of classic titles that add new playable characters and other touch-ups to create the definitive versions of each game.River City Girls Zeromay not be going that far, but even its faithful script is going to be framed differently thanks to the new cutscenes.
This raises the discussion of how viable it is to treat unlocalized games as the focal points for new projects. Altering a game’s presentation to appeal to a modern audience with different knowledge is a viable marketing tactic, but a pure presentation has some merits. A major part of understanding history is trying to understand the original context of events, after all. Still, it’sgood to preserve old gamesand give more people access to them, so a dressed-up re-release is preferable to nothing. WhileShin Nekketsu Koha: Kunio-tachi no Banka’s old gameplay has been left as-is, beat-’em-up enthusiasts will still appreciate the chance to play this lost classic in English, andRiver City Girlsfans will have something to chew on as they wait forRiver City Girls 2to get a release date.
River City Girls Zerois in development for PS4, PS5, and Switch.
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