The rare game in which its greatest strength—seamless coherence of gameplay and theme—is also its Achilles' heel. For a game which aims to capture the ennui most of us feel at some point in our formative teenage years, it's refreshing to witness just how fully it commits to that vision. You'll wander around listlessly after school, looking for anything to occupy your time, get in fights with kids from rival schools and have life chats with your boys, all while trying to keep on the straight and narrow as you finish out your last semester of high school. What could be better?
Many of those elements automatically trigger my brain's pleasure center—and they're even propped up to the next level by some seriously strong writing and fantastic lo-fi aesthetics—but as a whole, it just feels a bit too aimless for me to fully embrace. The vibes alone would be enough to carry most people through this game for awhile (make no mistake: this thing VIBES for days), but I think the story is missing just that tiny bit of propulsion needed to make the day-to-day feel less like a chore. My last week (in game time) before putting it down really started to feel like I was going through the motions; not even playing anymore, just doing the things Ringo should be doing day-in, day-out, waiting for something to happen. But nothing did. Brilliant realization of its themes or just flawed game design? You tell me.
I hope Yeo doesn't stop making games though. There are (rightfully) so many people that love the unique flavor of The friends of Ringo Ishikawa, and I wish all of its ambitious pieces clicked into place more smoothly for me. I may not have felt fully satisfied by it, but it did refresh me in ways I couldn't have expected.
Many of those elements automatically trigger my brain's pleasure center—and they're even propped up to the next level by some seriously strong writing and fantastic lo-fi aesthetics—but as a whole, it just feels a bit too aimless for me to fully embrace. The vibes alone would be enough to carry most people through this game for awhile (make no mistake: this thing VIBES for days), but I think the story is missing just that tiny bit of propulsion needed to make the day-to-day feel less like a chore. My last week (in game time) before putting it down really started to feel like I was going through the motions; not even playing anymore, just doing the things Ringo should be doing day-in, day-out, waiting for something to happen. But nothing did. Brilliant realization of its themes or just flawed game design? You tell me.
I hope Yeo doesn't stop making games though. There are (rightfully) so many people that love the unique flavor of The friends of Ringo Ishikawa, and I wish all of its ambitious pieces clicked into place more smoothly for me. I may not have felt fully satisfied by it, but it did refresh me in ways I couldn't have expected.
With friends like these…
Tells a poignant and impressively mature story, yet dilutes that aspect with cumbersome RPG mechanics and an overtly vague structure. The indie-persona charm is lost after the half way point; eventually you're just repeating the same activities over and over again, for little reason, just hoping that the story will progress, that the game will end. One could abstract this as some greater piece of the message; some grand, high-level metaphor. One could also say it's shit game design.
Fui conquistar suzuran e ganhei depressão.
Não tem muito o que falar da historia sem estragar a experiência. São jovens confusos no seus últimos dias de colegial buscando objetivos e novas experiências, e com isso muitas das vezes se expressando com a força.
Na estrutura, ele é um jogo é um mundo aberto sem mapa ou qualquer objetivo, o jogador é livre para fazer o que bem entender diariamente controlando Ringo. Seja estudar, trabalhar, malhar, roubar, entrar em confusão e etc.
Na parte técnica faltou um polimento, mas nada que vá estragar o jogo. O combate é bem simples, um botão para soco outro para chute, novos golpes são aprendidos praticando alguma arte marcial.
Não sei muito bem como colocar em palavras o que estou sentindo sobre ele no momento mas com certeza um dos meus favoritos, cada hora nele valeu muito a pena, é minha ambientação e tema favorito nos mangás e aqui é feito com maestria. É muito bom vivenciar o drama de cada personagem.
Não tem muito o que falar da historia sem estragar a experiência. São jovens confusos no seus últimos dias de colegial buscando objetivos e novas experiências, e com isso muitas das vezes se expressando com a força.
Na estrutura, ele é um jogo é um mundo aberto sem mapa ou qualquer objetivo, o jogador é livre para fazer o que bem entender diariamente controlando Ringo. Seja estudar, trabalhar, malhar, roubar, entrar em confusão e etc.
Na parte técnica faltou um polimento, mas nada que vá estragar o jogo. O combate é bem simples, um botão para soco outro para chute, novos golpes são aprendidos praticando alguma arte marcial.
Não sei muito bem como colocar em palavras o que estou sentindo sobre ele no momento mas com certeza um dos meus favoritos, cada hora nele valeu muito a pena, é minha ambientação e tema favorito nos mangás e aqui é feito com maestria. É muito bom vivenciar o drama de cada personagem.
The friends of Ringo Ishikawa is a "open world" beat-em-up released by yeo in 2018. This is a very unique game in terms of the structure and mood it provides. On the surface it just looks like a banchō beat-em-up but there's a lot more that meets the eye here that manages to give you a grim reality.
The pixel art here in motion and overall is pretty good even from portable mode on my switch. The soundtrack here has to be one of the most unique things about this game combining lo-fi rhythms and jazz that gives the game a very chill yet melancholic vibe. The characters and writing here feel like real people with how they describe things and answer each other and does a good job of making each NPC feel like its own person. Combat is very simple yet the impacts and hits of each kick and punch are satisfying that get the job done well with multiple techniques to learn and the ability to train up stats. The story or really rather moments with your friends are well written and always something to look forward to whenever they manage to happen.
Nonetheless this game sorta really drops you in with not much info at all to the point, you might have to look up what certain things do or how to get to a certain place. It's very easy to get lost in the first hour or two with no map or sense of direction to where you are exactly. I think my biggest gripe is the "RNG pacing at times considering when you finish the game actually varies and sometimes it finishes quicker and sometimes it can drag on to the point where you're just killing days (like I did) while managing to almost 100% the game as it is. If I can say one thing would be to add a map, some way to tell where and how to trigger some story events and explain the systems the game gives you better.
I don't think there really is a game that lets you act out the fantasy of being a delinquent in a rural japanese town in the late 20th century. The characters and the overall atmosphere really carried this game only marred by the pacing and several lack of quality of life stuff that would've made the experience more solid and tight in my opinion. This game really hits you with the grim reality that nothing really lasts forever and to cherish what you have.
The pixel art here in motion and overall is pretty good even from portable mode on my switch. The soundtrack here has to be one of the most unique things about this game combining lo-fi rhythms and jazz that gives the game a very chill yet melancholic vibe. The characters and writing here feel like real people with how they describe things and answer each other and does a good job of making each NPC feel like its own person. Combat is very simple yet the impacts and hits of each kick and punch are satisfying that get the job done well with multiple techniques to learn and the ability to train up stats. The story or really rather moments with your friends are well written and always something to look forward to whenever they manage to happen.
Nonetheless this game sorta really drops you in with not much info at all to the point, you might have to look up what certain things do or how to get to a certain place. It's very easy to get lost in the first hour or two with no map or sense of direction to where you are exactly. I think my biggest gripe is the "RNG pacing at times considering when you finish the game actually varies and sometimes it finishes quicker and sometimes it can drag on to the point where you're just killing days (like I did) while managing to almost 100% the game as it is. If I can say one thing would be to add a map, some way to tell where and how to trigger some story events and explain the systems the game gives you better.
I don't think there really is a game that lets you act out the fantasy of being a delinquent in a rural japanese town in the late 20th century. The characters and the overall atmosphere really carried this game only marred by the pacing and several lack of quality of life stuff that would've made the experience more solid and tight in my opinion. This game really hits you with the grim reality that nothing really lasts forever and to cherish what you have.
addicting enough to keep me playing through
too bad there isn't too much to do after you get the gist of it, i wish there was some kind of progression instead of random cutscenes triggered by chance
too bad there isn't too much to do after you get the gist of it, i wish there was some kind of progression instead of random cutscenes triggered by chance
Super charming game that doesn't have enough of it's charm to fill out it's gameplay, I like what's there, but a lot of what's there is repeated. Super charming art.
Ringo Ishikawa does not deserve any friends
only played maybe 45 mins before giving up because it’s so sucks. shit designed to make waspy chuds pog out and plays like a flash game, I will never finish no more heroes bc it’s the exact same fucking vibe as this lol
It matters not how you play, this game will give you a lot to think about. Regardless of your monitor, you will feel yourself reflected on it.
Picked it up because I thought it’d be just a fun beat ‘em up. This shit broke me Beautiful game if not a little slow.
Good game but the dev is a douchebag so don't have too high expectations from him. Just look at the twitter and you'll see what I mean.
This review contains spoilers
I spent so much time studying, going to classes, completing essays... I like to think Ringo eventually turned his life around and went to college. Still, you can see he's attached to his meaningless, directionless habits while trying to deny reality (like when he tries morally justify stealing from people he knocked out as if it was part of some honorable code of war. He's glorifying this empty way of life). It's hard to become a new person if you're stuck trying to pursue a fake, idealized world. There was a bug during the last sequence that made the soundtrack completely silent, but I think it helped emphasize just how empty his entire existence has become. He's an empty man, abandoned after everyone around him grew out of an outdated mindset.
Atmosphere: The Game. As a plaything, a toy, this is just so-so. The combat is engaging-ish, and it's fun walking around town and exploring, but that fun goes by pretty quickly and in my playthrough I ran out of stuff to do long before the story beats actually started kicking in. I just sorta passed time to get to the cut scenes, which is in fact kinda the point, so it's certainly good at nailing its themes. It's well worth the experience, and I definitely loved its highs.
I'm really really glad that in my lifetime video games have evolved to a place where when I say "I don't get it," I can talk about pace, theming, tone, story... all sorts of actual interpretive tasks beyond baseline interaction and aesthetic. The dude who makes these games is my analog to a director who I respect the hell out of and don't think I'm ever going to like anything he's made. Maybe one day it'll click. I'm not going to try and force that.
It's like a weird tone piece, it's so hard to explain this game. You look at it, and it's River City Ransom. You play it, and it's a lot like Punch Club's stat management. You'll encounter random scenes that play out like Persona conversations.
The story is almost nonexistent, but each scene is so perfect. The dialogue is True Detective levels of vague curtness. The ending comes out of nowhere, seemingly randomly, yet unavoidably.
How do you explain what makes this game so special? I don't even think I understand it myself. All the things I said above probably sound like negative points against the game. But although there are many things that are like parts of this, there is also nothing like this, and it will stick with you, sinking into you brain for weeks after the credits roll.
The story is almost nonexistent, but each scene is so perfect. The dialogue is True Detective levels of vague curtness. The ending comes out of nowhere, seemingly randomly, yet unavoidably.
How do you explain what makes this game so special? I don't even think I understand it myself. All the things I said above probably sound like negative points against the game. But although there are many things that are like parts of this, there is also nothing like this, and it will stick with you, sinking into you brain for weeks after the credits roll.
Time is slipping away. You have made decisions that have you behind the 8 ball and with both your youth and the school closing in, what will you do? This game challenges you to bristle at every missed connection, every missed moment and what remaining opportunities are for you. I lost time to this game and I mean that. I invested time but this game often has you just watching your character progress, doing the menial task, it makes you think about how you use your own time. Your own time as a gamer is fleeting and the reflective nature of this game gets you to ponder what’s going on in your own life.
It does that through true emergent gameplay . The mechanics are barely told to you, progress is unclear. You need to read around to find the school schedule. You need to study the movement of your peer group. You need to create routines. There is no map, so you have to deepen your own relationship with the area to really feel like you are understanding. You can invest in books or a tv. You can invest in boxing or judo. You can skip classes to pick up a job or study . The thing is that how you get to these choices or how they occur feel idiosyncratic. You have to do things in certain ways to get these to happen. You have to happen upon chance encounters, this is a real world.
They take this into the brawling segments . There is a moment that I realized that I had a truce with a gang only because I never thought to fight them before. I hadn’t realized that starting a fight with them would cause a ruckus. There was a threat , a warning, a whole new story cutscene days later in my play after I started a random fight with them . This occurred strictly because I accidentally started a fight somewhere I never did before. It made me realize interactions were so subtle to convey connections. The gang members used to light my lighter . I didn’t think of that but it makes sense that they were peers, even if the game wouldn't tell you that explicitly.
That is how the stories unfold. You never know when the intermissions show up and derail your schedule. It feels like real human development. You lose dialogue options because of certain events, days later people ask about what happens. You feel heartened by what’s happening in your friends life. The moment I got into Kens house after the big incident that got him to stop boxing made me erupt in excitement. I made decisions in gameplay that were unneeded strictly because I was moved emotionally or wanted to see how things progressed. The Yuna conversations were the reason I invested so much in literature.
This game tells you nothing though. And a lot is waiting and watching time pass. The cryptic nature is a boon a weakness. It can feel like marvelous emergent design but sometimes a game that doesn’t want you to do anything . It’s thoroughly refreshing and accentuates wonderful writing with a poignant ending. I came for a brawler and mechanically it’s solid enough with options that open up based on your choices but this is a life sim , and if you want to see freedom in design and trusting that you can save the end of high school as a troubled gang leader? This will teach you about design and time. (Look up something very briefly, like 5 minutes for some basic mechanics, just to set sail and never look up anything again, it is vague enough that I must say that).
It does that through true emergent gameplay . The mechanics are barely told to you, progress is unclear. You need to read around to find the school schedule. You need to study the movement of your peer group. You need to create routines. There is no map, so you have to deepen your own relationship with the area to really feel like you are understanding. You can invest in books or a tv. You can invest in boxing or judo. You can skip classes to pick up a job or study . The thing is that how you get to these choices or how they occur feel idiosyncratic. You have to do things in certain ways to get these to happen. You have to happen upon chance encounters, this is a real world.
They take this into the brawling segments . There is a moment that I realized that I had a truce with a gang only because I never thought to fight them before. I hadn’t realized that starting a fight with them would cause a ruckus. There was a threat , a warning, a whole new story cutscene days later in my play after I started a random fight with them . This occurred strictly because I accidentally started a fight somewhere I never did before. It made me realize interactions were so subtle to convey connections. The gang members used to light my lighter . I didn’t think of that but it makes sense that they were peers, even if the game wouldn't tell you that explicitly.
That is how the stories unfold. You never know when the intermissions show up and derail your schedule. It feels like real human development. You lose dialogue options because of certain events, days later people ask about what happens. You feel heartened by what’s happening in your friends life. The moment I got into Kens house after the big incident that got him to stop boxing made me erupt in excitement. I made decisions in gameplay that were unneeded strictly because I was moved emotionally or wanted to see how things progressed. The Yuna conversations were the reason I invested so much in literature.
This game tells you nothing though. And a lot is waiting and watching time pass. The cryptic nature is a boon a weakness. It can feel like marvelous emergent design but sometimes a game that doesn’t want you to do anything . It’s thoroughly refreshing and accentuates wonderful writing with a poignant ending. I came for a brawler and mechanically it’s solid enough with options that open up based on your choices but this is a life sim , and if you want to see freedom in design and trusting that you can save the end of high school as a troubled gang leader? This will teach you about design and time. (Look up something very briefly, like 5 minutes for some basic mechanics, just to set sail and never look up anything again, it is vague enough that I must say that).
Gioco molto carino, a tratti anche ben scritto ma comunque molto approssimativo, veramente roccioso e ripetitivo. È una bella idea, incontra un po' yakuza e i vari persona, ma rimane comunque l'abbozzo di ciò che dovrebbe essere un gioco così. Like per la ost
Es increíble como un juego que estuve a punto de quitar a los 15 minutos de empezarlo me haya podido acabar gustando tanto.
Con apariencia de beat'em up, motivo por el que lo compré (spoiler: no tiene apenas nada de ese género) se esconde un ensayo sobre la vida desde el punto de vista de su desarrollador, yeo. Un juego en el que puedes hacer muchas cosas que tienen un impacto en el prota, Ringo, pero no en el jugador, y cuyo fuerte es el avance en las relaciones del propio Ringo y sus amigos, chavales de 16-17 años que por algún motivo tienen conversaciones filosóficas que parecerían ultra maduras hasta para personas en su treintena (el guion y los diálogos son una cosa maravillosa, hasta el punto de querer repetir las mismas actividades una y otra vez simplemente por ver qué charla nueva te vas a encontrar). Con una jugabilidad que no es nada del otro mundo, y a la vez bastante críptica, los diferentes eventos con cinemáticas que vas viendo, van en ascenso, y culminan en un final muy existencialista y potentísimo y que para mí justifica el tiempo invertido, no es para todo el mundo, es un hit or miss de manual, pero como primera experiencia en una obra de este tipo solo puedo decir que es un sobresaliente de los pies a la cabeza. Ah, y las referencias a libros y películas, así como la banda sonora, son exquisitas, me he quedado con ganas de jugar las otras dos propuestas de yeo, algo que haré pronto seguramente.
Top tier track: Prehistory theme
Con apariencia de beat'em up, motivo por el que lo compré (spoiler: no tiene apenas nada de ese género) se esconde un ensayo sobre la vida desde el punto de vista de su desarrollador, yeo. Un juego en el que puedes hacer muchas cosas que tienen un impacto en el prota, Ringo, pero no en el jugador, y cuyo fuerte es el avance en las relaciones del propio Ringo y sus amigos, chavales de 16-17 años que por algún motivo tienen conversaciones filosóficas que parecerían ultra maduras hasta para personas en su treintena (el guion y los diálogos son una cosa maravillosa, hasta el punto de querer repetir las mismas actividades una y otra vez simplemente por ver qué charla nueva te vas a encontrar). Con una jugabilidad que no es nada del otro mundo, y a la vez bastante críptica, los diferentes eventos con cinemáticas que vas viendo, van en ascenso, y culminan en un final muy existencialista y potentísimo y que para mí justifica el tiempo invertido, no es para todo el mundo, es un hit or miss de manual, pero como primera experiencia en una obra de este tipo solo puedo decir que es un sobresaliente de los pies a la cabeza. Ah, y las referencias a libros y películas, así como la banda sonora, son exquisitas, me he quedado con ganas de jugar las otras dos propuestas de yeo, algo que haré pronto seguramente.
Top tier track: Prehistory theme
As one comment succinctly put it: "The 'friends' of Ringo Ishikawa"
Deeply satisfying game, with one of the most gloriously well-realised storyline experiences I have had.
I was right there, battling ennui and refusing to grow up.
Great music, fun fighting and just incredible pixel scenery - every day in this game made me want to take up smoking.
Deeply satisfying game, with one of the most gloriously well-realised storyline experiences I have had.
I was right there, battling ennui and refusing to grow up.
Great music, fun fighting and just incredible pixel scenery - every day in this game made me want to take up smoking.
everytime I remember this game the biggest smile in the world comes to my face
This is the most authentic game I've ever played. The way it sets up all of the characters through casual dialogue, introduces the player to the open world by showing Ringo making his way through the different screens in short cutscenes and then leaving the player to explore, the way it lets you do so many things while not forcing you to do anything... it's much more of an experience to live through than a game to beat.
I wasted my first run having Ringo sit in his room and study all day — I would not advise you to do this. Instead, explore; Have some fun. Go and have Ringo read a book, watch a cool movie, learn a new fighting style. Get into the feel of living out the last days of high school before graduation. With your best friends.
I wasted my first run having Ringo sit in his room and study all day — I would not advise you to do this. Instead, explore; Have some fun. Go and have Ringo read a book, watch a cool movie, learn a new fighting style. Get into the feel of living out the last days of high school before graduation. With your best friends.
This will either completely alienate you, or be right up your alley. I fall into the former.
Absolutely not for me, though I respect the game for doing some interesting, uncommon stuff. I thought it was going to be a beat 'em up inspired by River City Ransom but nope. I was actually enjoying the vibes, and vibing particularly hard with the music, but naaaaaah... shame.
Absolutely not for me, though I respect the game for doing some interesting, uncommon stuff. I thought it was going to be a beat 'em up inspired by River City Ransom but nope. I was actually enjoying the vibes, and vibing particularly hard with the music, but naaaaaah... shame.
You can Put your hands in your pockets and let a cigarette hang from your mouth
ideia boa, execução daora
palmas em especial pras músicas e pro visual em pixel art, mt bom mesmo, ambos
gameplay não é ruim mas tbm não é ótima, dá pra tankar
a história parece ser meio paradona, leve, contemplativa, isso não é ruim, parece ser justamente a proposta do jogo
n to na vibe agora mas um dia com certeza vou zerar, enquanto isso, fica a recomendação pra quem curte jogo de não fazer muita coisa ala stardew valley (sim, senti semelhança K), japão e seus deliquentes, e pixel art bem feita :)
palmas em especial pras músicas e pro visual em pixel art, mt bom mesmo, ambos
gameplay não é ruim mas tbm não é ótima, dá pra tankar
a história parece ser meio paradona, leve, contemplativa, isso não é ruim, parece ser justamente a proposta do jogo
n to na vibe agora mas um dia com certeza vou zerar, enquanto isso, fica a recomendação pra quem curte jogo de não fazer muita coisa ala stardew valley (sim, senti semelhança K), japão e seus deliquentes, e pixel art bem feita :)
Picked up this game when it came out on a whim, and it took me around three and a half years to stop getting filtered by the mechanics - But when I did I found something truly special. The mechanics are still kinda ass but their obfuscation and how you have to make your own little schedules and keep track of stuff work wonders for immersion, and definitely strengthen the idea of how you spend your time the game goes for.
Play it if you want something poignant and unique. It'll take a bit of getting used to, but it's worth it long term.
Play it if you want something poignant and unique. It'll take a bit of getting used to, but it's worth it long term.
Quotidianly beautiful, a small-scale tragedy. Could stand to be a couple hours shorter, but its combination of brawling, life simulation, mood, and charming (if sometimes roughly translated) character writing is highly effective.
You're gonna carry that weight
Original review: This game gets one very important aspect right: it knows what it means to be a delinquent. Everything else follows. Ringo doesn’t have constraints on how he spends his time, but he also doesn’t have much in the way of direction. You can fuck up relationships, get a job and lose it, spend your time getting better at pool or fighting. Ultimately, the plot revolves around Ringo’s titular friends. Slightly unlike it’s semi-namesake in The Friends of Eddie Coyle, Ringo does actually seems to have real friends. The trouble is, he doesn’t know how to embrace them, fit them into his life, or move on together with them. All the same, when the plot moves, it’s because Ringo and his friends are involved in the world. Ringo reacts in his limited capacity, leading to a lonely end.
Replay: An interesting game to replay. Knowing my way around the town, as Ringo already would but players do not the first time out, made a huge difference. By the end of the replay, I had maximum health and Ringo's full moveset, which seemed like the apex of the game mechanically. I could finally understand some of Yeo's frustration that his combat isn't particularly well regarded, but, well, it is locked behind hours of working in Ringo's open schedule. Even at their best, though, collision in fights and multiple object interaction doesn't work terrifically well. It does lend to a chaotic feel, but that's almost incidental. There's a ton that I like about the game aside from that, from the art to the choice of royalty-free chill beats to beat faces to, and Yeo's writing works for an overly-dramatic teenager whose friends get into real trouble. The ending lines up very well with the title and Yeo's various inspirations. As I've said elsewhere, this is more Night in the Woods than Persona 3-4-5, and it's the better game for it.
Replay: An interesting game to replay. Knowing my way around the town, as Ringo already would but players do not the first time out, made a huge difference. By the end of the replay, I had maximum health and Ringo's full moveset, which seemed like the apex of the game mechanically. I could finally understand some of Yeo's frustration that his combat isn't particularly well regarded, but, well, it is locked behind hours of working in Ringo's open schedule. Even at their best, though, collision in fights and multiple object interaction doesn't work terrifically well. It does lend to a chaotic feel, but that's almost incidental. There's a ton that I like about the game aside from that, from the art to the choice of royalty-free chill beats to beat faces to, and Yeo's writing works for an overly-dramatic teenager whose friends get into real trouble. The ending lines up very well with the title and Yeo's various inspirations. As I've said elsewhere, this is more Night in the Woods than Persona 3-4-5, and it's the better game for it.
Port on PS Vita.