The Art of River City Girls gives us a close look at the series’ many abs
I am very happy that the River City/Kunio-Kun/Nekketsu/Downtown series has continued to this day. River City Ransom was a formative game for my modern tastes. River City Girls, as a game, I don’t love as much. Its art style and soundtrack, on the other hand, I dig with both hands.
To be honest, I was practically married to the NES/Famicom art style of the series. Whenever it moved away from those rectangular meaty-armed brutes, I always felt like something was lost. However, in recent years, we’ve seen that art style preserved. Some of those games that lean on the old 8-bit art style have even felt a little hollow behind the aesthetic, which is probably why I connected so well with River City Girls.
Misako and Kyoko have evolved from obscure side characters to headliners in their own right, and I love them for it. WayForward took the license, injected their own passion and vision, and cut out their own slice of it.
The Art of River City Girls is an incredibly well put together demonstration of that.
The Art of River City Girls collects artwork from River City Girls 1 and 2, as well as River City Girls Zero, which was WayForward’s localization of Shin Nekketsu Kōha: Kunio-tachi no Banka. It’s a pretty all-encompassing look at the art, with concept art, sprite sheets, illustrations, and even versions of the manga-style cutscenes.
All of this is packaged in a cover that resembles a classic yearbook. On top of that is a plastic slipcase that is a bit more product-y. I guess while we’re on the subject of actual product features, it’s over 300 pages (325 by my count).
It kicks off with a foreword by Adam Tierney. It’s the sort of introduction that starts with “It’s hard to believe,” but after that, it gets right into some
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