River City Girls Zero Switch Review

River City Girls Zero
Developed By: Wayforward/Limited Run Games/Technos

Published By: Wayforward

Date of Release: February 14, 2022

Price: $14.99

Well at this point it's no secret that Technos' Kunio-Kun series is an epic saga of badassery, and the latest release from Wayforward, River City Girls Zero is no exception. Hailing from the halcyon days of the Super Famicom, this title was originally released as Shin Nekketsu Koha: Kunio-tachi no Banka in the year 1994. This fourth entry into the beat-em-up franchise marked the first time that Misako and Kyoko were playable characters, as they teamed up with Kunio and Riki to liberate their hometown.

This port of the game is the first time that the game has been localized for a western audience and has a new script that matches the tone of River City Girls, as well as a new theme song/anime intro and manga cutscenes as well. There's also the option to play a literal translation of the game, or the original Japanese version as well. The localization is rather welcome as this is an incredibly lore-heavy game, with an extensive plot laid out through character dialogue. The emulation is spot-on, using MVG's Carbon Engine, previously seen in the Switch port of Shantae. It's really a masterful effort.

Of course none of this would matter if the game was no good, eh? Luckily this is one of the better titles in the series, despite the slightly clunky combat compared to more modern titles, however that's to be expected considering the game is 28 years old at the time of this review. It's still an amazing experience, and Wayforward has truly done an excellent job bringing it into these modern times and updating the story to match their canon. River City Girls Zero is a must have for anyone who is a fan of the series, or beat-em-up fans in general.