After a very long hiatus, Natsume is bringing back the obscure Japanese brawler with River City Tokyo Rumble. The original, River City Ransom, came out for the NES back in 1990 and gained a cult following. A few remakes and dodgeball spin-offs was all that could keep audiences mildly satiated while they waited for a real follow-up. Over 25 years of waiting and now we are being treated to a true sequel done in true retro fashion.
The Japanese trailer for River City Tokyo Jungle. It released in Japan in 2013.
The story hasn’t changed much in the two and half decades since the original; friends Kunio and Riki are out to keep the streets of Tokyo safe from a certain ‘nefarious gang.’ Many thugs will stand in your way, but will easily fall to your plethora of weapons. Do bats, bicycles, brass knuckles, or rubber balls sound good to you? Speaking of which, you can take some time off and play in depth games of dodge ball online or off. You can earn money working odd jobs, buy new items and accessories all while unlocking characters and stages throughout the main story.
Even though River City Tokyo Rumble isn’t coming out until this summer on 3DS, Natsume has a surprise to everyone at E3. If you visit booth 513 in the South Hall, you can give this game a rumble. There’s been no word on pricing, but the physical edition in Japan retails for about $40 USD, so it could be something similar. However, it’s most likely going to be a digital-only copy which will hopefully knock down the cost.
As a final treat Natsume provided a ton of artwork for the game. I curated the top 12 pics for your perusal and enjoyment below.
