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. 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
  2. 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

Critic Reviews

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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.
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