SCOTT PILGRIM VS. THE GIRLS.
The newest game from WayForward is a take on the Kunio/River City series, which is a series I love, so prepare for me to be a bit negative towards certain aspects of this game. Before pulling the pitchfork out of the last critic who dared criticize a game that seems to be loved by most let me just say I did enjoy this game quite a bit, which is why the issues feel larger than they may seem.
River City Girls is a beat ‘em up with minor RPG elements like the other Kunio/River City titles. Players move screen to screen beating up angry citizens, eating food to regain health, and occasionally grabbing one thug by the ankles and beating another thug with their downed friend. Good, wholesome Sunday fun. There’s plenty of humor as well. On the most basic level I am not disappointed with this game at all. In fact, most of the game is what I just described and for that reason I do really enjoy this game. I bought the Limited Run Games release even though I got a review copy. I do recommend this game a lot. However, there are some aspects to take into account.
PLATFORMS: PS4, XB1, PC, SWITCH
MSRP: $29.99
PRICE I’D PAY: $19.99
Most important thing to realize is that this game is clearly meant to be played co-op. The difficulty scaling is odd in single player, going from difficult in the early game to far too easy in the middle section and then moving into tedium towards the end. A large portion of this is the fact that money is hard to come by in the first portion of game and healing items are based off of a percentage rather than straight numbers. So paying $20 for 60% health is bank breaking and vital to success at the beginning and just a chore towards the end. Surely the answer to this issue is to not get hit, except once in a combo I could not exit it, meaning an enemy would attack me from behind or would throw a punch and knock me out of my combo (this was common in boss fights if I didn’t carefully count out three punches). Had items in the early game been cheaper and covered a set amount of health a single player session would be easier, because in multiplayer not only is there someone to watch my back but if I or the other player die we can revive each other.
A related issue is that item shops don’t say what the items do, so it’s easy to spend money on items and food that give little benefit to the player. I double checked, and this was not an issue in any of the 3DS River City/Kunio games.
Another issue the 3DS games did not have was buttons doing multiple actions. There’s a basic and heavy attack and special attack button in River City Girls, meaning grabbing an item is relegated to the basic attack button instead of its own, which lead to my character trying to pick downed enemies at times rather than punching the enemy I am trying to hit, ending up with my character taking damage. That same button is also used to switch screens for some reason, meaning if combat is happening too close to an area that has a transition, throwing a punch could end combat early and move the player to another screen. That is a terrible concept and I have no idea how that made it through testing. Had they applied it to the heavy attack button it would have reduced the amount of times that exact situation occurred by a lot.
I haven’t mentioned the story because it sounds like a good idea, but it slowly becomes a drag. Kyoko and Misako find out Kunio and Riki (the main characters of the Kunio games) have been kidnapped and head out to rescue them based on vague clues as to where they might be, but every time they get to where someone said they were THE BOYS AREN’T THERE. I sort of knew what the ending was going to be, but it is bad and quite frankly doesn’t do the main characters (who I liked) any sort of justice. It didn’t feel right, especially when the voice actresses playing the characters do such a good job of making me like them. They are tough girls who are reduced to just another female trope.
This is without me mentioning that for some reason magic powers, zombies, and other really dumb stuff that doesn’t happen in other River City/Kunio games seems to just be here and randomly accepted as everyday occurrences. I’m not going to suggest that River City/Kunio games don’t have their own dumb moments, but generally they are hidden as items sold in secret shops or tucked away as an Easter egg for beating a bunch of missions. There’s unlockables and secrets in River City Girls that expand on the story but not in a way that to me feels fulfilling.
I will say that despite my gripes with the story, the performances felt really great. The two main characters are fantastic and extremely likeable. A standout for me was Godai voiced by Jacksepticeye who consistently shows up to give missions and each time was funny and a break from what can be a slightly monotonous game. The music is superb, especially the track “The Hunt” which I feel could be a pop song without its attachment to this game (CD soundtracks are included with the Limited Run Games release as well as on Spotify FYI).
The biggest compliment I can give is that since the Scott Pilgrim vs. The World game was delisted there has been cries for it to be put back on digital storefronts, and while that has not happened, this is an amazing replacement. It’s not necessarily what I want from a River City game, but it is definitely the direction I want to see beat ‘em ups go in. I would recommend this to anyone who has a friend to play with, but if not I would say boot up the 3DS and give the other River City games a shot (there’s three relatively new games on there). I hope WayForward gets to follow this game up so they can tweak their gameplay a bit and explore their take on the world of River City a bit more.
Review copy of game provided by publisher.
