The River City Ransom series is running strong 30 years after the release of the legendary NES game. Players will get their chance to brawl through the fabric of time and space in a new adventure that features all of the quirks fans have come to recognize with the series. The latest entry will arrive in under two months after the release of River City Girls, showing that Arc Systems is committing to a renewed push of an otherwise niche genre.
Titled “Stay Cool, Kobayashi-San!: A River City Ransom Story,” the game features many of the same concepts present in the series such as multiple endings, RPG elements, and its quirky art style. Taking place in the Kunio-Kun universe, fans of the series may get the chance to see favorites of past games as they add to their party and unlock new abilities.
Arc System Works released a trailer to show the game in action, displaying its fighting mechanics and subsystems. At first glance, the game’s retro presentation is in line with previous games of the series as well as the humor pitting the River City heroes from an evil organization from the future.
While the trailer touts the series as a long-running franchise, the connection to the original Nintendo title might fail to resonate with gamers much like September’s River City Girls. The Kunio-Kun universe is better known in Japan, as the majority of titles in the franchise outside of Super Dodgeball stayed there. With the game being released so soon after the well received River City Girls, Arc System Works is making a serious push to revitalize a franchise and a genre not currently known to the mainstream US audience.
Releasing the game in the US will not come with the same high expectations of a Japan release, so even middling success in sales would be a boon to continuing the franchise into its incredible third decade. If anything, it can serve as a good starting point for new fans of the series. Stay Cool, Kobayashi-San!: A River City Ransom Story hits consoles and Steam on November 7.
Source: NoisyPixel