River City Girls Zero - The History of a Super Nintendo Classic !?

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In today's episode we look at the history of River City Girls Zero, a Super Famicom game that is set to soon see release on the Nintendo Switch that has been left in Japan for many years. Join me, as we look back at the history of this classic game that was marketed under the name of Shin Nekketsu Kōha: Kunio-tachi no Banka.
#RiverCityGirls #RiverCityRansom #RetroGamingHistory
This Episode was Edited by
/ @pupppeteer
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Gameplay Sources
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[@TopHatGamingManChannel]

This Episode was Edited by RayAreReviewing, check out his own channel! kzbin.info/door/J5BIBlx2qwdkZbLh8ibU9Q

[@jacobbaranowski]

Yyeeaaaahhhhhhhhhhhh....

[@Pupppeteer]

@@jacobbaranowski lol yeaaaahhhhhh!!!

[@angandtor]

I actually have the Sega Genesis version of this......you'll legit flash through the entire game with the new characters

[@osakatales9228]

@@angandtor I think that's a rom hack of SoR, not an actual River City Girls.

[@xboys10p]

13:58 does character design have relation with creator of YuYu Hakusho character too?

[@GenericProtagonist118]

Honestly, finding out that Kyoko and Misako both survived being shot just makes them sound even more badass

[@devnom9143]

Yeah, that detail has given me a head cannon of River City Girls existing in the same universe as BattleTech & the girl's descendants being in the Black Watch where "Nukes are merely an inconvenience"

[@IcyFir3902]

@@devnom9143don’t forget Double Dragon. And Battletoads.

[@Invidente7]

Of course it exists. It was fan-translated a long time ago, and it was about time it got an official release!

[@maximumforce8275]

Now if only Nintendo could do the same for mother 3...and they wonder why emulation exists. People are trying to give them money for this when they dont have to...

[@jonathanamador5322]

You forgot to mention that they made a live action Kunio series in japan, misako is a recurrent character and I think kyouko made a cameo in the background when riki made his introduction

[@bedwablackburn]

And now I plan on firing up Shodai Nekketsu Koha Kunio-kun as soon as I'm off work

[@bedwablackburn]

The more I learn about the Kunio-kun series, the more I like it.

[@tarekmoneimsaid]

Oh, nice, you're exploring this series! I recently picked up RCG, and was trying to grasp the whole story of the River City (or Kunio-Kun) series, but it's really complicated, especially since, in the Western market, they often went by completely different names (or even franchise, such as the game boy game becoming Double Dragon II)... And it's so many games, in so many different genres (some are dodgeball games), it's hard to tell their order, or even if there is a continuity between them...

[@brotbrotsen1100]

Did you Allready played the 3ds games? They were awesome.

[@akaimizu1]

I came to this after getting a whole Collection of the Kunio-Kun series, all translated. All on a Physical cart from Limited Run. I haven't played through them yet, but I'm excited to play through them all (yeah, a lot of them) which also include Updated/Fixed versions of certain games that did have bugs and/or text errors in them, originally. I'll be able to get the entire story through that. Update: I noticed that yeah, the collection I have does not have the game which the up-n-coming River City Girls Zero is a remaster of, and the illusive River CIty Ransom 2 (currently unannounced for a translated re-release).

[@AcornElectron]

Liked, shared, what more can I say? Keep up the good work fella and stay safe. You’re currently the second best unseen retro channel on KZbin 😉🕹

[@UltimateGamerCC]

the Nekketsu series is an example of a franchise that should've made it to the states more than just the original River City Ransom, i always feel disappointed when good games in Japan dont make it to the US or at least EU for an english version.

[@CappuccinO80]

One of the games made it to the US as "Crash n the Boys" and other as "Nintendo World Cup" ... but in the end it just made it all confusing. Should've brought all of the Nekketsu games as "River City sports" or whatever.

[@UltimateGamerCC]

@@CappuccinO80 indeed, just like Nekketsu Dodgeball was released as Super Dodgeball, River City should've been the english name for the franchise, but Japan decided that we wouldnt be interested.

[@osakatales9228]

@@UltimateGamerCC The thing is, Nekketsu Dodgeball came out before River City/Downtown Nekketsu so they couldn't package it as a River City game when it didn't come out at the same time.

[@UltimateGamerCC]

@@osakatales9228 fair, but after RCR they should've named everything River City.

[@osakatales9228]

@@UltimateGamerCC Yeah, but nowadays Arc Systems is just bringing back the original name back to the light while using River City as the name for western marketing. Which is why the majority of the recent games, had River City in the titles. But after RCR, I'm pretty sure Technos didn't exactly see the popularity of RCR, so the games after it were just called different names like "Crash and the Boys", "Nintendo World Cup" and many others. Plus the Super Famicom Nekketsucgames would've had to go through massive changes to be called a River City game. Locations, characters, dialogue and any other little details just to make it more recognizable for foreign audiences.

[@BigTucker63]

so this games says that misako and Kyoko are literally in a coma but stable at the end of this game so the Theory of why river city girls is so damn crazy and meta is because they are having a shared coma hallucination makes sense espcially since if kunio and riki had two girl almost die for them and they forget they dated would make them complete assholes

[@JohnDoe-wq5eu]

I would dare them to make that the actual plot line. That would be freaking amazing.

[@CodenameCuervo]

This series was the best in the 80s - 90s!!!

[@MrShenable]

I love this game. I remember playing the the one on the super Nintendo in Japanese. I loved the Honda arm slaps and level ups, going to Subways and getting hit by trains. But I had no idea what to do as everything was in Japanese.

[@notyoursavior78]

That Kunio Kun game reviewed in this video for the SFC is fantastically wild and hilarious. I saw it played on youtube some years ago and really enjoyed watching these guys play it. I woulda loved to have played that one for the Super Nintendo back in the day. That's really neat it is getting an official translation and being released, but I hope they don't change it too much. Kyoko and Misako are cool, but as stated already the story really isn't about them. It's only named River City Girls Zero literally to try and capitalize more on the recent series which is kind of lame and misleading.

[@OmarAlikaj]

Just noticed you reached 100k subs. Congrats, Top Hat Gaming Man. (Update: Also, thanks for the heads up regarding Kunio and Riki being the main characters of "River City Girls Zero.")

[@thepaper888]

I love river city ransom, and girls, the only 2 I've played. Zero looks fun, and there's that kunio pack that has all the sports games in one collection I might get.

[@Mari_Izu]

It's a pretty good collection, it has all the NES versions, but also the japanese versions, all translated to english.

[@PikangsFutaba]

@@Mari_Izu And also the 3 NES Double Dragon and the localized 1st Kunio game (AKA: Renegade).

[@Mari_Izu]

@@PikangsFutaba I know, and the 1st Kunio game is part of "also the japanese versions, all translate to english".

[@markandrewpaul4233]

Congratulations top hat gamer on your 100k subscribers 👏

[@SharifSourour]

I actually tried this game out on my flash cart a few years back and was pleasantly surprised but didn't go that far on that one, so thanks for the review! Makes me want to unlock characters and so on.

[@pumpSHO]

This series is deserving of mass phone game popularity

[@rellmonshade3241]

Yea. They mention this after the optional boss fight in way forward s game

[@luisrivera7991]

I'm early here,love your channel,please cover more of the new releases of classic games

[@ragnarok2160]

Holy shit i never knew renegade was a river city game. Used to love that on my nes

[@teodororeyna6614]

I love the kunio series since I found almost all the games in a multicard with a famiclon back in my childhood... and I love that the series is having this revival right now. Thanx, greetings ffrom Mexico. PD I would love to see a review of the xbox 360 game "AAA Lucha Libre Héroes del Ring", is a mexican wrestling game.

[@Needwagon4Speedwagon]

I'm sure there's a name for this, like "Deja vu" or something, but I also got into River City (and video games) through a famicom in my childhood, with one of those 100+games carts and also in Mexico. Ain't that wacky

[@devingiles6597]

Hey, Top Hat Gaming Man. How about you do a review video on Super Dodge Ball for the Neo Geo?

[@supergamer1330]

One of the best game i played in river city franchise.

[@jimbox114]

I loved River City Ransom on the NES and the later GBA version as well. Most of the other games are just too difficult for me to enjoy I have River City Girls and there was another one I got on Steam that was just terrible.

[@AlphaProto]

Wow! That game is so stinkin' cool! The story and presentation make a good game, great! I need to own this game!

[@mikethetowns]

This one would've definitely gone under my radar if it wasn't for this vid, love the look of the intro section to the game especially. Gonna have to pick this up when it's released on Switch haha, cheers. Also been meaning to give River City Girls a shot since it released aaand this may have just pushed me towards finally doin' that too.

[@mattnordsell9760]

If you have gamepass, you can play River City Girls there without needing to pay any extra from the subscription. River City Girls is a really fun game.

[@SMASHINGblargharghar]

Congrats on 100k subs!!! You deserve it and much more. Looking forward to 1m!

[@richiecuna5781]

do something on dodge ball either for the nes or neo geo they both badass

[@badassgenevideos]

As a kid who grew up in asia from that era. I do have access to these games but sadly i don't understand Japanese so i never completed these games. The dodge ball is awesome. have many fond memories of it playing with my cousins, uncles and my parents.

[@peeterutsi4028]

So far I love Target Renegade (ZX Spectrum) the most. Very solid fighting mechanics.

[@CrysisFear]

The music when they escape the prison and run on the open field is legendary such nostalgic theme.

[@w1ck3dz0d1ac]

River City and the Technos Samurai NES games were two of my favorites. I over leveled the characters just to see all of the cool attacks. The Kunio series was one of my favorites and The Grand Theft Auto and Yakuza Series owe them a ton of respect. This was part of what made my childhood great.

[@jamesgruesome9780]

I always thought of Yakuza as a modern River City.

[@JohnDoe-wq5eu]

Hopefully along with River City Girls Zero they include the original translated version without all the bells and whistles. Just the straight up super famicom game translated. I know that might seem unlikely considering what they're trying to do but I think it would be a pretty basic extra.

[@salmonkindalikeme9316]

I doubt they wouldn’t let us play the original

[@gr8gmr]

Looks like you got what you wanted. I'm glad too.

[@WickedGamerCollector]

Congratz with the 100k !! 🙌

[@DruidVorse]

I like more the blue hair than the black hair

[@natsume-hime2473]

The last time I was this early, was being born prematurely.

[@mrmadmight266]

I already played this game a few years back,it was good overall,but it's definitely not what i would call River City "GIRLS" Especially because you're not allowed to play the game with the girls 100% anyway. Oh well,it's not like games never had a name that doesn't suit them,even back in the 90's.

[@jeremyriley1238]

My guess is they are capitalizing on the title.

[@JohnDoe-wq5eu]

@@jeremyriley1238 100% correct. I mean it's definitely in the franchise but the name is I feel deceptive unless they make some changes to the game itself. (Which I really hope they don't)

[@LowellLucasJr.]

This was an awesome surprise! Never knew thia existed!

[@chriswheatley3146]

Hopefully this title gets enough interest to be released on PC/Steam as well

[@robinwatkins8789]

I played most of these games but never completed any of them other than NES renegade and river city girls. Even the RC underground I didn’t finish but plan to soon. Thanks for this.

[@JohnDoe-wq5eu]

Why didn't underground ever go to anything besides PC / steam. It seems like they could have made a small fortune on the consoles especially switch.

[@johnnycenate91]

My only question is: If the game has you play both Kunio and Riki first off, and the Recruit The Girls after... Why name it River City Girls Zero? That's like saying it mainly revolves around the girls despite the two being in the game for about half the adventure compared to the boys... Maybe a more clever title might work. One that incorporates the original River City Ransom and River City Girls titles, but makes it work...

[@geekdaparaiba]

There's an implication that's Kunio-tachi no Banka is supposed to be the last Kunio-kun game made by Technos before it's bankrupcy. That's why they called it: "The Eulogy of Kunio and Company".

[@JohnDoe-wq5eu]

I'm a little worried they're going to try to rework it somehow to make it fit better in the franchise somehow.

[@BellowDGaming]

My very first Kunio game, unless you're talking about Renegade back in the nes which is the "localized changed" version aesthetically of the first Kunio game. Kyoko is best girl here in River City Girls Zero she's got a long range multi hitting kick like Chunli.

[@DarthEnderX]

Do River City Rivals Showdown please . It's an amazing stealth remake of the first RCR, that basically has a Majora's Mask style time mechanic.

[@thehevandragon]

Funny thing is it was only a stealth remake for the west and that was due strictly to the name and part of the marketing.

[@barbedwire4452]

Yeah it should just be river city zero

[@JohnDoe-wq5eu]

They're trying extra hard to make it part of the River City franchise. I hope they don't actually change the game in order to make it more relevant to the series some how.

[@KONChannel2020]

Thank you for your introduction!

[@scantronbeats]

Great series and been enjoying learning about this series!

[@Pupppeteer]

"one of the most critically acclaimed beatemups of the modern renaissance period" lol that's just straight facts right there!

[@marcgoesblindgaming2076]

Another great video it must be the teacher in you because I learn something new every time you put a video out

[@alexwilliams76]

Have this on the super famicom and it's really good.

[@hardkoregamer1981]

That was a pretty cheeky video introduction Mr tophat ^^

[@Ming1975]

I remember playing this game. I co-op this game with all my friends!!!

[@shirleymunoz9154]

Love the content and depth of it, and congrats on the 100k. Please I would recommend some speech/structure training to keep the narrative and pace more engaging.

[@joncollins7730]

Never got into this series, might give it a go now

[@driftingswordsmanzer]

I’m definitely picking this up, I’m a huge fan.

[@DeadliftDarrell]

Somehow, KZbin unsubscribed me from your Channel

[@UltimateGamerCC]

damn YT shadowbans.

[@DarkbluesEXE25]

Is Shin Nekkesu kouha Kunio-Tanchi no Banka is not River City Girl Zero

[@jumpmadmadness1222]

Kinda odd why only this River City game is getting the translation and not the other ones.

[@georgemetcalf8763]

The two for the DS shown in the video were released in the US. I bought them off Amazon roughly the same time River City Girls got its physical release. They were around 30 each. Hopefully rarity and popularity haven't increased their price.

[@JohnDoe-wq5eu]

@@georgemetcalf8763 They most likely unfortunately have though.

[@sabin97]

i have and love river city ransom......every once in a while i play it...... most people shun acro-circus but it's quite useful.....you get an unblockable hit going up, and when you come down you can finish them with a kick......just run, jump, hit, cross them over, reverse direction, kick them....it takes a bit of practice but once you get the hang of it, you dont need weapons and they cant touch you.....

[@SoulZGaming]

Congratulations for completing 100K , i love your videos espacially Streets of rage,Marvel, Capcom ❤

[@Roadpigjohn]

River city ransom is the best of the series no doubt about it man...😀👍💡

[@Devilshark_508]

I had no idea River City Girls Zero existed. This timeline is so broken, but I love the IP anyways.

[@YeOldeGamerGrampsofOlde]

Looking forward to Limited Run Games releasing a physical SNES cartridge version of this game. As much as I like Limited Run Games, when they release original cartridge versions of games like Ghoul Patrol or MegaMan The Wily Wars, I prefer to get the games for the old consoles. Not _"Purist BS"_ , just a preference.

[@adzi6164]

I'd say that River City Girls cannot be truly considered a serious story sequel to the old Nekketsu Kouha Kunio-Kun series. It's more of a parody, having things common with the originals to about the same degree Double Dragon Neon had.

[@Stroggoii]

Mislead is what marketing does.

[@JohnDoe-wq5eu]

I mean the main point of marketing is to get you to buy something. They clearly want to take something that has done well like River City girls and hitch it to an older game that already exists. Should be interesting to see the reaction when this comes out.

[@kuality1416]

I heard the original Japanese name of the SNES game was Shin Nekketsu Kouha Kunio Tachi no Banka maybe the name was changed due to the popularity of River City Girls.

[@CappuccinO80]

Game should probably be called just River City Zero or something, since the girls only have a support role... but hey, whatever. Still an awesome game, great music and gameplay that stands the test of time. Is there any info floating around River City Girls 2? As much as I love the first one's pixelart, I kinda hope they take the series to the next level like Shantae with modern sprites.

[@Mari_Izu]

River City Zero wouldn't make sense because the game is set after Nekketsu Renegade Kunio-kun.

[@CappuccinO80]

@@Mari_Izu that's why I said "or something". I'm not fully familiar with the Kunio timeline, all I know is that "River City Girls Zero" makes even less sense.

[@geekdaparaiba]

I was talking about River City Adventures: Kunio's Eulogy.

[@domennysometimesplays2484]

it's River City Girls "Zero" because the girls has "Zero relevance" to the plot lol

[@Real_The_Goof]

I'd like to know more about River City Ransom Underground.

[@JohnDoe-wq5eu]

Yeah me too, especially why it's on PC / steam and nothing else. And has been for years.

[@gregajohnson1985]

Megan McDuffee's soundtrack sold the game. banger after banger.

[@stevenbowen9216]

River city girls are my favorite beat ups game series

[@eltonbormes]

Neat! Hope Renegade comes next!

[@pillowtalk7460]

The real question is what happened to Rikki’s doppelganger?

[@kringhetto]

River City Romance. Gimme more!

[@arcturionblade1077]

Are we gonna ignore the NES/Famicom scene we're Misako promises to **** the entire sports team?

[@JohnDoe-wq5eu]

Wait do you mean 👌👈, because if so wow. But then again this is a Japanese game from the '80s so not that surprising.

[@osakatales9228]

She promised to kiss themmm, Translation just put that there.

[@JohnDoe-wq5eu]

@@osakatales9228 Oh okay, but you're saying those (*) asterisks were in there?!

[@osakatales9228]

@@JohnDoe-wq5eu No, the asterisks aren't there in the original one but it's heavily implied that she'll kiss them if they win.

[@alexismazzanti6929]

This one is great XD

[@besotoxicomusic]

Dodge ball was still my favorite.

[@millgiass]

So, are the sports games like Crash & the Boys and the dodge ball game Misako actually debuted in in a separate timeline where they date the two girls that are total bitches in River City Girls? Cause Kunio was definitely trying to rescue one of them.

[@michaelpeacock4228]

Seeing RCG become so popular that we're getting a translated prequel game, along with a sequel, fills my heart with goodness. Might be crazy, but I appreciate Misako and Kyoko's adventures MORE than Kunio and Riki's! These girls rock, and let them keep kicking more butt!

[@dondavid6514]

Shodai nekketsu isn't a continuation of river city/downton nekketsu There is a downtown nekketsu 2 on the famicom

[@officialtruvotru-druvevoch7049]

Just bought it trying it tomorrow did play it before on the SNES Before.

[@HandsomeH.U.N.K.]

I used to argue with my friends about them best beat 'em ups. They would say SOR or Final Fight. But I would always say Kunio was the best. That Japan was holding back their best games and we were just getting watered down version of the games.

[@MakoCabbit]

I love river city girls, but It makes me a little sad to see kunio games dont sell well (I love to death the 2 games on the 3ds) at the point they are pushing the spin off to sell :c

[@calebb7012]

13:55 Rather odd? It's a marketing strategy. Plain as day.

[@ziggys3734]

did you really said to bimmy and Jimmy??

[@lowerclassbrats77]

Dumb question but is Kunio, Sam? My 1st introduction to this series was the NES NTSC version of Super Dodgeball.

[@gr8gmr]

Yes, Kunio is Sam in Super Dodgeball.

[@QuotePilgrim]

The cover art for the original one looks like knock-off Yu Yu Hakusho 😆

[@jacobbaranowski]

Yeah

[@mariotaz]

So awesome. Thanks！

[@VcArena]

Anyone have the SNES ROM English translated link?

[@kumaSOevl]

game looks fun

[@leoclyde1861]

Lol. You just figured this out? Look up the game renegade. That's also kunio

[@osakatales9228]

Did you finish the rest of the video?

[@theblackemperor4670]

I've played this already, but would have never know about this English version without this video, thanks. How about Kunio-kun on the SNES?

[@nicolasmeisel]

When did this release?

[@philedney5381]

Have you been drinking? You sound drunk hat man!

[@Zamudiokid]

In comics an issue 0 or *zero* is used as a lore explanation for what readers have gotten used to reading but reached a point of confusion on account of left out facts and or other knowledge

[@Vespyr_]

I just wish River City Girls played more like RCR and less like a Double Dragon/Final Fight clone.

[@osakatales9228]

That's an.. odd take.

[@priestmorrison6564]

I KNOW i was SUBBED, here!? Hmph

[@chimpzchimpington2006]

NO!!! I WANT SMALL MOMMY BOTTOMHAT!!!!

[@DarkbluesEXE25]

Don Turteli

[@wtfsamusidk7574]

Misako is bae

[@paxhumana2015]

Honestly, I would love to see a River City Ransom Underground 2, and I would like to have some revelation that Alex/Kunio and Ryan/Riki have married Cyndi/Kyoko and Melita/Misako, respectively, and that Billy and Jimmy have joined the fight, and ditto for their allies in the NES/FDS and other ports of Double Dragon III and the SNES Double Dragon V and arcade Double Dragon fighting games, when The Shadow/Black Warriors team up with Slick and his gang, but, as it turns out, a new, and even more sinister, gang is controlling them both.