The friends of Ringo Ishikawa

 Switch
User Score
6.5

Mixed or average reviews- based on 27 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 16 out of 27
  2. Mixed: 3 out of 27
  3. Negative: 8 out of 27
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  1. ZeldasChampion
    Jul 7, 2021
    0
    I bought this game because I love River City Ransom and thought this was something like that but its not. This game is merciless and gives you not even a clue as to what to do outside of explaining basic controls. Right in the get go you are weak and even with blocking, you still can get hit and when you get hit, YOU GET HIT HARD. You get little to no money and the food that would normallyI bought this game because I love River City Ransom and thought this was something like that but its not. This game is merciless and gives you not even a clue as to what to do outside of explaining basic controls. Right in the get go you are weak and even with blocking, you still can get hit and when you get hit, YOU GET HIT HARD. You get little to no money and the food that would normally heal you in every RCR game does nothing in this game. The only way to "heal" (that I know so far) is to smoke a cigarette while crouching and that takes almost half a day AND when I saw the day count, I figured there was some kind of time limit and sure enough there is according to a walkthrough so there's that to look forward to as you try to heal while wasting time only to find yourself dying from a fight and watch as half a day goes away when you wake back up in your bed.

    Also just like with healing EVERYTHING in this game forces you to wait in real time and when I say wait, I mean you better pull out your phone and do something like watch YouTube videos because you will be waiting several minutes just for something to finish.

    If you are an RCR fan, AVOID THIS GAME. This is not the same type of game!    … Expand
  2. beettlestew
    May 11, 2019
    10
    If you like a coming of age story, a immersive gaming experience and beat em ups set around japan, school, and the yakuza you love this
  3. beatnikbedlam
    Apr 21, 2019
    10
    this is a really compelling but meditative experience where you play as a Japanese high school student just living his life. it's a bit of a combination between Shenmue and Persona, with the free exploration of Shenmue and the high school schedule of Persona. unlike those two games however, this game can be as focused or as aimless as you choose. wanna be a good student and go to classthis is a really compelling but meditative experience where you play as a Japanese high school student just living his life. it's a bit of a combination between Shenmue and Persona, with the free exploration of Shenmue and the high school schedule of Persona. unlike those two games however, this game can be as focused or as aimless as you choose. wanna be a good student and go to class every day? you can do that! wanna beat up some jerks who looked at you funny? you can! wanna stand on a rooftop, smoking and watching clouds go by? it's all here! if you spent your senior year of high school skipping class and trying to figure out what your life afterwards was going to look like, this game is probably going to resonate with you. it also has some really stellar music and pixel art, and an atmosphere you can sink into like it was your favorite chair. all around, a really lovely little game.… Expand
  4. drowned
    Jun 15, 2019
    2
    Decent graphics but the gameplay gets really old really fast. It's just too casual. Also, when a character has a cigarette, the smoke blows in the wrong direction. It's maddening.
  5. Malooga
    Apr 12, 2019
    7
    If you were bummed that Shenmue wasn't a 2D side scroller, and you thought River City Ransom WAY better than Double Dragon (I did), then Friends of Ringo Ishikawa may be right up your alley.

    The story is interesting but tired. The "coming of age" stories are getting a little thick these days, although this one has its own flare and manages to translate pretty well in the atmosphere and    If you were bummed that Shenmue wasn't a 2D side scroller, and you thought River City Ransom WAY better than Double Dragon (I did), then Friends of Ringo Ishikawa may be right up your alley.

    The story is interesting but tired. The "coming of age" stories are getting a little thick these days, although this one has its own flare and manages to translate pretty well in the atmosphere and characters presented.

    Speaking of translation - if it's not intentional then the English translator for this game should be fired. Misspellings, misused words, broken sentence structure, it's a mess. I don't typically get annoyed by this much in text (voice work is a different story), but if its one of your ticks, stay away.

    The combat is responsive, and easy to learn - it simply doesn't evolve with the same freedom of choice that RCR did. Instead it feels much like Double Dragon in this way. You'll learn the basics, you'll learn new ways of stringing together the basics, and then you'll be done learning combat.

    The game is short however, so it never has a chance to annoy you too much with repetitive mechanics. In fact, keeping things fresh and non-repetitive is one thing TFORI does tremendously well. By peppering in JRPG mechanics at different intervals, and a plethora of mini-games - the game as a whole does a good job of breaking you away from the monotony before it becomes overbearing.

    All in all, a worthwhile experience. One I would have liked to see released at a sub $10 price point, so maybe wait for a light sale before investing. 7/10    … Expand
  6. Reed618
    Aug 11, 2020
    9
    Really quite unique and not for everyone. It has some real shenmue vibes to it. I'm not sure why, maybe the title and the boxart, but it stood out to me. I really enjoyed it a lot overall.

    There's no real idea of what you're supposed to do but at the same time there are things to do and work for. You can earn money, learn fighting moves, purchase a tv, buy videos, get a part time job,    Really quite unique and not for everyone. It has some real shenmue vibes to it. I'm not sure why, maybe the title and the boxart, but it stood out to me. I really enjoyed it a lot overall.

    There's no real idea of what you're supposed to do but at the same time there are things to do and work for. You can earn money, learn fighting moves, purchase a tv, buy videos, get a part time job, study, earn a scholarship and more.

    Story events seem to play out at random but they might be connected to progression in certain areas, I'm not sure. The characters are quite charming in a coming of age Japanese anime kind of way.

    A lot of people will be put off by the fact that it's so unclear what you're supposed to do but I think that's very much the point. There's something really quite unique and special about this title. I think if you enjoy shenmue (although I feel there are a lot more ways to spend your time in this game than shenmue) and appreciate the art style then this is probably something you'll enjoy.    … Expand
  7. BARDOCK77
    Apr 13, 2021
    8
    Awesome gameplay, music and visuals and very relatable and wholesome story.
    This game is a true passion project and it shows.
  8. Motozoa-san
    Jun 23, 2019
    10
    Some of the best character dialogue you could ask for. The music is spot on for the mods of every moment, and the open world exploration gets you familiar with the town without putting a bunch of markers on a littered map. Keep talking to the same people, nobody says the same thing two days in a row. A masterpiece in feeling, and exploration. The combat is standard brawler, but talk to theSome of the best character dialogue you could ask for. The music is spot on for the mods of every moment, and the open world exploration gets you familiar with the town without putting a bunch of markers on a littered map. Keep talking to the same people, nobody says the same thing two days in a row. A masterpiece in feeling, and exploration. The combat is standard brawler, but talk to the right people, and combos and positioning moves keep it from being a button masher. 10/10 must buy.… Expand
  9. Astrofist
    Jun 16, 2019
    10
    Best soundtrack in a game for the last 20 years. If for nothing else get it for the music.
  10. softcornpore
    Jul 20, 2019
    9
    You are Ringo. You lead a gang. You go to high school. You need money for food and cigarettes. The rest is up to you.
  11. Lord_AdGnalDiv
    Jun 20, 2020
    9
    I didn't know I needed a mix of River City Ransom and Persona in my life. But here comes this game and gives me exactly that. I love pretty much everything about this game. The characters, the art style the soundtrack, the story, the student-life-management.
    Though the combat isn't as polished as in River City Girls, for example, it's still a lot of fun. I love how much choice this game    I didn't know I needed a mix of River City Ransom and Persona in my life. But here comes this game and gives me exactly that. I love pretty much everything about this game. The characters, the art style the soundtrack, the story, the student-life-management.
    Though the combat isn't as polished as in River City Girls, for example, it's still a lot of fun. I love how much choice this game gives you and how much detail there is in every aspect of it. There's tons to do and even a fair amount of replay value.
    Definitely recommended if you got any enjoyment out of River City Ransom.    … Expand
  12. wandererhikari
    Jan 29, 2023
    7
    A chill game about wandering around town, chilling by yourself, getting into fights as a gang leader and trying to survive your last year of high school. It's not strictly a beat-em-up nor a JRPG like Persona where you're always looking for ideal outcomes through your activities. It's not a game you power through for hours continuously or right away.

    It wants you to embrace aimlessness    A chill game about wandering around town, chilling by yourself, getting into fights as a gang leader and trying to survive your last year of high school. It's not strictly a beat-em-up nor a JRPG like Persona where you're always looking for ideal outcomes through your activities. It's not a game you power through for hours continuously or right away.

    It wants you to embrace aimlessness and the ordinary. No tutorial or map or even specific goals for the most part. It wants you to take your time. It creates a rather immersive, introspective and (at least for me) existential experience that really puts you into the shoes of an adolescent with no idea where he wants his life to go or what his future will be.

    I enjoyed just playing for a short bit, under an hour or so, everyday, living through the titular Ishikawa dealing with his mundane life and then contemplating and journalling about where my own life is headed as well and where I want to be, whilst going about my desired activities, my routine, just like you're tasked with as Ishikawa. You can choose to beat up rival gang members, stay at home, go to the gym, study, attend school, hang out with friends, or just lie in solitude, either at smoking on your balcony or chucking stones at a body of water elsewhere in the town. All of this is set to a beautiful and chill hip-hop soundtrack that I boot up the game at times just to listen to.

    Make sure to savour this mindfully and slowly just like Ishikawa when smoking a cigarette.    … Expand
  13. mikemaniac
    Apr 8, 2022
    10
    One of my favorite games on Switch so far. Kind of a mix of River City Ransom and a school life sim. Can even play a poker machine in-game and lose all your money, just like real life.

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
64

Mixed or average reviews - based on 8 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 3 out of 8
  2. Mixed: 5 out of 8
  3. Negative: 0 out of 8
  1. Nintendo Force Magazine
    Feb 27, 2020
    85
    I appreciate Ringo's lack of structure. It feels real to me. [Issue #40 – July/August 2019, p. 17]
  2. Destructoid
    Jul 10, 2019
    50
    The combat, too, can get a little confusing when a bunch of characters are on-screen. You'll end up hitting the wrong foe, which then allows your intended target to get some free hits on you. The abundance of techniques doesn't add much, either, as the basic punch and kick combos do fine against everyone. I know this isn't meant to be specifically a beat-'em-up, but the gameplay feels a little basic.
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  3. IGN Japan
    Apr 29, 2019
    75
    The Friends of Ringo Ishikawa might look like an old-fashioned belt-scroller, but it is actually an open-world game full of life and… well, philosophy! There’s plenty of dialogue, and the way the story is told through everyday life events at school and in your neighborhood feels like real life. The game’s systems aren’t well explained, which will catch many gamers off-guard at first, but its climax has a lasting impact that is worth experiencing.
    Read full review
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