The WayForward team really hit it out of the park with their efforts River City Girls games. The original has become one of my favorite games for its fun writing, great voice acting, great music, and just plain fun gameplay. tracking, River City Girls 2, really delivered and maintained the high standards set by the first game. The sequel really built on what made the first game great, allowing more people to join in on the action, adding to the fun.
Write first. The games always have a great sense of humor, just enough to be funny without overdoing the fourth wall. It kept that and really improved with the introduction of more playable characters. Not only do we have the great banter of Misako and Kyoko, but now we have even more personalities to work with in Riki, Kunio, Provi, and Marian.
Speaking of more characters, the voice work for everyone is still great. Misako and Kyoko are still my favorite characters, but I love how well everyone sounds. No one just dialed in their performance and it really shows. Playing a game like this with such good sound really makes me wish more games had this capability. Another interesting thing is that the main theme talks about Kyoko and Misako, but neither voice actors sing. Christina Vee and composer Megan McDuffie they’re the singers on the track, but they do such a good impression of the characters that I thought it was them when they were talking. It really shows the level of talent he has for all aspects of the game.
The music for this game really amazes me. McDuffee has once again proven himself to be a perfect fit for this series of games. The combination of different genres and the participation of different artists make the soundtrack really dynamic. It does a great job of blending into the background of the game while you’re playing, but it also sounds great when you stop and pay attention. It does a great job of blending old school soundtracks with modern music. I also like it outside of gaming, listen to it next time you need some nice background music while you’re working.
Now here’s a quick rundown of how the game plays. The answer is really good. The moves between the characters are similar, and while each is unique, the change isn’t a big deal. What I mean by this is that move combos are executed in similar button sequences, with each character getting unique special moves and combos. While the execution of basic attacks is similar, they really differ between characters. The team did a good job of making each character feel unique, even though they have similar fighting styles. For example, Misako and Marian both punch, but Marian has bigger punches and is slower than Misako. One of my only gripes is that parrying is very difficult, but I admit that might just be my personal problem. There are also a few sections where you have to do something other than fight, like getting a high score on the dance machine. These little moments help break up the movement without being too heavy or jarring.
The game has a new stealth feature, which is great. Each map has a different hideout that allows you to change characters, heal, and adjust friendly fire settings. You can also choose to respawn in your hideout without losing money when you lose, which is always a good option. Hideouts are usually close to bus stops, so it’s easier to walk away from them.
I think the only thing I didn’t like was the Honkr feature. Don’t get me wrong, it’s fun to have a Twitter-like app on your phone, but important notifications pop up on the screen during gameplay, and if you’re fighting enemies, you can easily get lost in the shuffle was My personal preference is to automatically pause the game to only allow you to read the signals for the main story objective. The reason this doesn’t detract from my opinion of the game is that it’s just personal preference, you can easily stop the game and go in and read it all yourself, it’s just that the important ones sometimes get mixed up for me. .
Overall, I really enjoyed this game. If you like a good, challenging beat ’em up game, this is definitely worth checking out. Some of the boss fights are insane, but very satisfying when you finally win. And you can play with up to four people, which is always a plus. I give this game a 10/10. You can find the game on PS4, PS5, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, and PC.