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River City Girls Zero

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Shin Nekketsu Kōha Kunio-tachi no Banka
Japanese SFC cover art
Developer(s)Almanic Corporation
River City Girls Zero
WayForward
Publisher(s)
River City Girls Zero
Arc System Works
Designer(s)Yoshihisa Kishimoto
Composer(s)Kazunaka Yamane
River City Girls Zero
Megan McDuffee
SeriesKunio-kun
Platform(s)
ReleaseSNES
  • JP: April 29, 1994
River City Girls Zero
Nintendo Switch
  • WW: February 14, 2022
PS4, PS5, Windows, Xbox One, Series X/S
  • WW: September 21, 2022
Genre(s)Beat 'em up
Mode(s)Single-player, multiplayer

Shin Nekketsu Kōha: Kunio-tachi no Banka[a] is a beat 'em up video game developed by Almanic Corporation and published by Technos Japan for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System in 1994 exclusively in Japan. It was the fourth game in the Kunio-kun series released for the Super Famicom or in the US was called Super Nintendo Entertainment System.

WayForward and Arc System Works developed an English-localized version under the title of River City Girls Zero,[1] which was released for Nintendo Switch on February 14, 2022, and on September 21 for PlayStation platforms, Windows, and Xbox platforms.

Gameplay

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Compared with most of the other games in the Kunio-kun series, Kunio-tachi no Banka features a dramatic and serious storyline, with realistically proportioned character designs (in contrast to the usual "super deformed" style) and an emphasis on dialogue between battles. While there are no "stages" in the traditional sense, the game's structure is completely linear and players cannot backtrack into previously-completed areas.

During the bike stages, Player 1 rides the bike, while Player 2 sits on the back-seat.

Up to two players can play simultaneously. In lieu of extra lives, the game utilizes a party system in which the player can switch between different characters at any point. While Kunio and Riki are the only characters available at first, their respective girlfriends Misako and Kyoko also become playable as well throughout the course of the game. Each character has his or her own health gauge, but the game will end if the player's current character is defeated, regardless of how much health the others still have left. During a two-player game, if one player is defeated, then he will remain inactive (along with the last character he was using) until the other player either, completes the current scene, or is defeated by the enemy. Continues are unlimited and a passcode feature is available, allowing the player to restart the game at almost any scene. There are two difficulty settings as well, Normal and Easy, but the player can only proceed up to a certain point on Easy before being asked to restart the game on Normal.

Conversations between characters occur between battles.

The fighting system is similar to the original Nekketsu Kōha Kunio-kun (Renegade) or the Double Dragon series. All characters can punch, kick, jump, block, and attack behind them. Initially, Kunio and Riki can only perform basic moves while wearing their prison clothes. When they switch to their school uniforms, Kunio and Riki get access to more elaborate techniques such as grappling moves and individual special attacks. The fighting styles of the female characters also differ from their male counterparts (Misako and Kyoko cannot perform grab attacks for example, nor can they be grabbed by enemies).

Plot

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Kunio and Riki are convicted of a hit and run and the pair are imprisoned in a juvenile correction facility, but the two claim to be innocent. The next morning, the duo are visited by Kunio's friend Hiroshi, who informs them of a series of suspicious events transpiring in and around Nekketsu High School, including sightings of a boy with a strong resemblance to Kunio. Suspecting that they may have been framed for a crime they didn't commit, Kunio and Riki escape from prison and set out to find the person who framed them and clear their names, aided by their girlfriends Misako and Kyoko.

Development and release

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Unlike the other Kunio-kun games released for the Super Famicom, Kunio-tachi no Banka was developed by Almanic rather than internally by Technos Japan Corp, although most of the main staff members were former employees of the company. The game was produced by Noriyuki Tomiyama (who worked on the arcade versions of Super Dodge Ball and The Combatribes) and directed by Yoshihisa Kishimoto (creator of Kunio-kun and Double Dragon), while the late Michiya Hirasawa (sound programmer in numerous Technos titles) was the lead programmer and made sound effects.[2] Kazunaka Yamane (who worked on the original Double Dragon and Combatribes) composed the music. The game's scenario and screenplay was written by Hiro Yokokura.

Kyōko, Riki, Kunio, and Misako.

The game's engine and assets would be reused for Super Mad Champ, which was originally planned to be a Kunio-kun bike racing game but was revamped into an original game. Kishimoto wrote a draft for a Kunio-tachi no Banka sequel titled Nekketsu Kōha Kunio-kun: Kowloon no Tsume (熱血硬派くにおくん　～九龍の爪～, The Claw of Kowloon), which was planned for the PlayStation, but was never actually developed.[3]

The scene where Kunio and Riki fall down to a river along with a collapsing bridge, and find a hideout behind a waterfall, was based on an unused bit of level design from Return of Double Dragon.[4]

The game would be the final action game in the Kunio-kun series developed by Technos Japan.[5]

The game was released for the Super Famicom in Japan. In 2015, the company City Connection released the soundtrack to the game via digital distribution.[6]

Reception and legacy

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Upon release,[12] Famitsu gave Shin Nekketsu Kōha: Kunio-tachi no Banka a score of 24 out of 40.[7] Super Console gave it 85/100.[11] Nintendo Life gave it a score of 8 out of 10.[8]

Kunio-tachi no Banka served as inspiration for River City Girls, a spin-off title developed and released by WayForward in September 2019.[13][14] It stars Kyoko and Misako as the protagonists, and the game's lead composer Megan McDuffee arranged some of the tracks from this game. Kunio-tachi no Banka was later re-released in 2022 under the English-localized title River City Girls Zero, using Limited Run's Carbon Engine, and features dual audio for the new introductory cutscene featuring Kyoko and Misako, as well as the option to use the original translation and the new translation based on River City Girls.

Notes

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  1. ^ Japanese: 新・熱血硬派 くにおたちの挽歌, lit. "The New Hot-Blooded Tough Guy: The Eulogy of Kunio and Co."

References

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  1. ^ "River City Girls Zero announced for Switch, additional platforms". 14 June 2021.
  2. ^ 熱血通信 (in Japanese). Archived from the original on 2012-11-14. Retrieved 2012-01-20.
  3. ^ "熱血通信２". Archived from the original on 2014-10-12. Retrieved 2012-01-20.
  4. ^ Stage 6 - Forest: The suspension bridge in the end of the stage was supposed to break apart and fall, landing on a river which would then lead to a waterfall. There was a steel door behind the waterfall, which was the entrance to the hideout. The boss, Carlem, would come out from that door. Archived 2014-02-18 at the Wayback Machine at Double Dragon Dojo
  5. ^ "【4月29日のレトロゲーム】今日はSFC『新・熱血硬派くにおたちの挽歌』の発売25周年！". ゲームドライブ（ゲードラ） - スマホ・アナログ・レトロ・新作ゲーム情報を毎日掲載中！. Retrieved 2019-05-11.
  6. ^ "SFC『新・熱血硬派くにおたちの挽歌』のサウンドトラックがダウンロード販売開始". ファミ通.com (in Japanese). 5 October 2015. Archived from the original on 2016-01-24. Retrieved 2019-05-07.
  7. ^ a b "NEW GAMES CROSS REVIEW: 新・熱血硬派 くにおたちの挽歌". Famitsu (in Japanese). ASCII Corporation. 1994. Retrieved 2020-08-21.
  8. ^ a b Lopes, Gonçalo (1 June 2017). "Shin Nekketsu Kōha: Kunio-tachi no Banka Review (SNES) - Say that title three times in a row". Nintendo Life. Nlife Media. Archived from the original on 2018-10-17. Retrieved 2020-08-21.
  9. ^ Hellot, Grégoire (July–August 1994). "Import Super Famicom (Version Japonaise): Kunio Tachi". Joypad (in French). No. 33. Yellow Media. p. 39.
  10. ^ 超絶 大技林 '98年春版: スーパーファミコン - 新・熱血硬派くにおたちの挽歌 (Special) (in Japanese). Vol. 42. Tokuma Shoten Intermedia. 15 April 1998. p. 239. ASIN B00J16900U. {{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)
  11. ^ a b Merenda, Piefranco; Cardillo, Paolo (July–August 1994). "Review: Kunio Kun Tachi". Super Console (in Italian). No. 6. Editoriale Futura. pp. 52–54.
  12. ^ Halfpenny, Steve (20 September 2009). "Shin Nekketsu Kōha Kunio-kun – Kunio Tachi No Banka". Retro Gamer. Retrieved 2020-08-21.
  13. ^ Moyse, Chris (11 August 2019). "We chatted with WayForward about River City Girls' ass-kicking heroines and the Kunio-kun legacy - School's Out". Destructoid. Enthusiast Gaming. Retrieved 2020-08-21.
  14. ^ rawmeatcowboy (16 August 2019). "GoNintendo Interview: We talk to WayForward about all things River City Girls! — Pixel art, music, beat'em-ups, and pro wrestling?!". gonintendo.com. GoNintendo. Retrieved 2020-08-21.
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