whats better than this. guys bein dudes. spending a pretty sad summer with some good friends and doing odd jobs without any real advice for how the systems interact or what you're supposed to do feels good.
Playing The friends of Ringo Ishikawa is an extremely strange experience. It's a game that obviously is made with a small team, and even less money. Yet despite that, the ambitions of this game are extreme. It tries to do so many different things with it systems.
I think the thing Ringo Ishikawa does most of all is make the players want to root for this game. At least, I wanted to root for this game. Tackling a life sim genre is extremely difficult, and while pared down, it still holds itself together in such a way that one can applaud.
Some of the best moments in Ringo Ishikawa happen when nobody is talking. It happens when Ringo studies until midnight, and the player decides that Ringo wants to go out on his balcony to have a cigarette. It doesn't do anything to the gameplay to do this. No stats go up. Nothing changes. It just feels like the natural thing to do at that moment. When on the balcony, a fight breaks down between rival gangs below. Sure, you could join them to get some experience. Or you could just keep smoking the cigarette for awhile until one side wins. That's what The friends of Ringo Ishikawa is all about.
I think the thing Ringo Ishikawa does most of all is make the players want to root for this game. At least, I wanted to root for this game. Tackling a life sim genre is extremely difficult, and while pared down, it still holds itself together in such a way that one can applaud.
Some of the best moments in Ringo Ishikawa happen when nobody is talking. It happens when Ringo studies until midnight, and the player decides that Ringo wants to go out on his balcony to have a cigarette. It doesn't do anything to the gameplay to do this. No stats go up. Nothing changes. It just feels like the natural thing to do at that moment. When on the balcony, a fight breaks down between rival gangs below. Sure, you could join them to get some experience. Or you could just keep smoking the cigarette for awhile until one side wins. That's what The friends of Ringo Ishikawa is all about.
a true live your boring crap simulator 2020
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.
É fácil de perceber quando um jogo tem confiança em sua mensagem - não há limite de orçamento que o pare quando um desses aparece. The friends of Ringo Ishikawa te coloca na posição do dito cujo, delinquente adolescente e líder de uma gangue da escola, constantemente matando aula para badernar, beber e lutar nas ruas - seu antepassado de bom aluno e prodígio karateca um espectro saudoso para todos os adultos da história. Porém, é aí que o jogo começa, o passado de Ringo definido, o futuro em suas mãos, já que está no controle de Ringo em todos os momentos deste último semestre de escola: se ele vai brigar na rua, é porque você foi lá e brigou; se ele vai voltar aos eixos, é porque você decidiu ir às aulas e estudar, não através de uma decisão binária em um menu, e sim pelo ato maçante de todos os dias ir para a aula no horário certo e estudar, gastando o tempo em que o jogador - e Ringo - poderiam estar fazendo algo mais divertido e interessante. Este ato de forçar o jogador a viver a vida de Ringo e tomar junto dele as decisões fáceis e difíceis que devem ser tomadas todo dia no andar massacrante e irrefreável da rotina e do tempo o aproxima da personagem e também a humaniza, mostrando que apesar do seu exterior de rebelde insuportável e grosso, Ringo está lidando com a mesma gigantesca tarefa de existir que todos nós estamos.
E como o jogo se mantém interessante no meio disso tudo? Ele é bem escrito, embora sua história seja um pouco escassa, porém, quem carrega todo o espetáculo é o senso de atmosfera impressionante que um jogo tão visualmente simples consegue conjurar. Ringo Ishikawa não é o jogo que é pelos momentos em que você tenta se encaixar em uma rotina para fazer seus pontos de matemática ou de soco subirem, mas sim no momento quando você, inspirado pela trilha sonora e pelo farfalhar das folhas nas árvores, pelo humor melancólico da cidade e pelo peso da situação, decide, não se importando com otimizações gamificadas, parar por uns 30-40 minutos e apenas ficar sentado no banquinho da praça ou escorado no corrimão da ponte e contemplar, a cabeça vazia do Ringo marionete sendo preenchida pela do Ringo pessoa e a do jogador, sentindo e transmitindo a onda de emoção arrebatadora que você tenta conter e ocupar com todo momento da rotina. O meu Ringo gostava de tirar os domingos para ficar lendo o dia todo na praça, e essa memória ficará comigo muito mais do que qualquer level up que um jogo pode me proporcionar.
O tom do jogo é de desespero e de rebeldia, retratando o comportamento deste grupo de jovens delinquentes como a resposta que encontraram para uma sociedade conformada e sem propósito. A violência presente nele é também sem propósito e quase totalmente opcional, o jogo começando com uma luta que, para os personagens é um evento de escala épica, porém é logo depois saltada pelo jogo no meio de seu clímax, indicando sua postura diante de todo este conflito - essa violência é apenas uma crise desesperada e um grito de desespero diante do terror da conformidade durante toda sua duração. Todas as vezes que levava meu RIngo para brigar nas ruas sentia como se estivesse tentando afastar esses demônios da rotina e do futuro, sublimar o sofrimento em algo físico e violento.
Embora a obra não seja perfeita, ela é do tipo que inspira através de seu puro ardor, fazendo com quem jogue consiga sentir mais do que só o que está presente na tela, captar a essência e a ideia de um artista que queria dizer tanto através de um meio que, embora tenha grande potencial, sempre o limitará pela dificuldade de sua produção. The friends of Ringo Ishikawa poderia ser e ter muito mais - mais diálogo, mais opções, mais reatividade, mais atividades - mas o seu cerne é claro e incorruptível, e digno de um respeito muito maior do que sua estatura parece projetar.
E como o jogo se mantém interessante no meio disso tudo? Ele é bem escrito, embora sua história seja um pouco escassa, porém, quem carrega todo o espetáculo é o senso de atmosfera impressionante que um jogo tão visualmente simples consegue conjurar. Ringo Ishikawa não é o jogo que é pelos momentos em que você tenta se encaixar em uma rotina para fazer seus pontos de matemática ou de soco subirem, mas sim no momento quando você, inspirado pela trilha sonora e pelo farfalhar das folhas nas árvores, pelo humor melancólico da cidade e pelo peso da situação, decide, não se importando com otimizações gamificadas, parar por uns 30-40 minutos e apenas ficar sentado no banquinho da praça ou escorado no corrimão da ponte e contemplar, a cabeça vazia do Ringo marionete sendo preenchida pela do Ringo pessoa e a do jogador, sentindo e transmitindo a onda de emoção arrebatadora que você tenta conter e ocupar com todo momento da rotina. O meu Ringo gostava de tirar os domingos para ficar lendo o dia todo na praça, e essa memória ficará comigo muito mais do que qualquer level up que um jogo pode me proporcionar.
O tom do jogo é de desespero e de rebeldia, retratando o comportamento deste grupo de jovens delinquentes como a resposta que encontraram para uma sociedade conformada e sem propósito. A violência presente nele é também sem propósito e quase totalmente opcional, o jogo começando com uma luta que, para os personagens é um evento de escala épica, porém é logo depois saltada pelo jogo no meio de seu clímax, indicando sua postura diante de todo este conflito - essa violência é apenas uma crise desesperada e um grito de desespero diante do terror da conformidade durante toda sua duração. Todas as vezes que levava meu RIngo para brigar nas ruas sentia como se estivesse tentando afastar esses demônios da rotina e do futuro, sublimar o sofrimento em algo físico e violento.
Embora a obra não seja perfeita, ela é do tipo que inspira através de seu puro ardor, fazendo com quem jogue consiga sentir mais do que só o que está presente na tela, captar a essência e a ideia de um artista que queria dizer tanto através de um meio que, embora tenha grande potencial, sempre o limitará pela dificuldade de sua produção. The friends of Ringo Ishikawa poderia ser e ter muito mais - mais diálogo, mais opções, mais reatividade, mais atividades - mas o seu cerne é claro e incorruptível, e digno de um respeito muito maior do que sua estatura parece projetar.
The Friends of Ringo Ishikawa is a relatively short yet re-playable game about how far friendships can be stretched, how many beatings a man can take, and how we stack the deck against ourselves and pretend not to notice.
This game pushes Ringo into a poverty-induced whirlpool of violence and crime, as the only way to afford food in the early game (apart from when your friend, seemingly at random, shells out for you) is by either beating the yen right out of other dudes’ pockets, or by opportunistically scavenging coins from the unconscious forms of fallen gang members who you just watched get pounded into the dirt. In this way, you become a wild animal, a crow picking at scraps upon city pavements, consuming barely substantial crumbs one fingerful at a time.
Ringo doesn’t have parents. Nobody in the adult world seems especially interested in taking care of him, beyond coaches who, you’ve guessed it, train him to be a better fighter. Ringo’s teacher will present him with lump sums of yen every week if he gets good grades, and he will verbally encourage Ringo, yet this too implicitly rewards those who fight and scavenge on the street; to focus on school and to study effectively at home, Ringo must surely have a full belly, and in order to achieve a full belly, he must roam the city in search of other gang members to steal from. In the early game, I found myself caught in a cycle in which I lost multiple fights in a row, wasted a lot of days recovering in bed, and was always starving. I expected to receive a game over, but it didn't come. Ringo Ishikawa always got back up, no matter how I failed him, no matter how very hungry he claimed to be.
When I was a teenager, I didn’t get into fights. I didn’t smoke. I didn’t drink. I certainly wasn’t left to fend for myself, without parents, money, or food—not for any extended period of time, anyway. However, when I was about sixteen or seventeen, I went through a phase where I struggled to eat. Looking at food made me feel sick. Looking at myself made me feel sick. I replaced breakfast with extra time in bed, which helped ease the sleepless nights. I was recurrently dehydrated. I could eat lunch only on days where I could successfully separate my mind from my mouth and my organs. I had a much easier time with evening meals, though I don’t know why, and not always.
I was hungry a lot. Hungry, and empty.
I remember feeling like I was self-destructing. I often hoped that somebody might jump me on the way home in the dark, like getting into a fight might fix everything, but I wasn’t an initiator, and for whatever reason nobody initiated against me. I had become a ghost, I thought. One night, during the winter, I was looking out at the river that sliced the town in two. I thought about jumping into it from the bridge above. I hoped the shock of the cold might be enough to make me panic and drown. If not, at least it would make me feel something. Suddenly, a man I didn’t know appeared behind me, and said something about it being a nice night. This startled me. I was crying. Silently, I think, though I couldn’t be certain. I tentatively agreed with him. It was a nice night. Freezing cold, crystal clear. I…
Ringo Ishikawa is not a ghost. I don’t believe that he can become depressed. I don’t know if he can starve to death, though I don’t think he can. He can initiate fights and have fights initiated against him. No matter how bad his previous day was, he will sit down at a school bench, if instructed, and read classic literature for you—literature that was, and still is, too intimidating for me to read, regardless of the fullness of my stomach and the health of my bank account, and in spite of my degrees in writing and literature.
All that to say, this game did and did not make me feel like a teenager again.
This game pushes Ringo into a poverty-induced whirlpool of violence and crime, as the only way to afford food in the early game (apart from when your friend, seemingly at random, shells out for you) is by either beating the yen right out of other dudes’ pockets, or by opportunistically scavenging coins from the unconscious forms of fallen gang members who you just watched get pounded into the dirt. In this way, you become a wild animal, a crow picking at scraps upon city pavements, consuming barely substantial crumbs one fingerful at a time.
Ringo doesn’t have parents. Nobody in the adult world seems especially interested in taking care of him, beyond coaches who, you’ve guessed it, train him to be a better fighter. Ringo’s teacher will present him with lump sums of yen every week if he gets good grades, and he will verbally encourage Ringo, yet this too implicitly rewards those who fight and scavenge on the street; to focus on school and to study effectively at home, Ringo must surely have a full belly, and in order to achieve a full belly, he must roam the city in search of other gang members to steal from. In the early game, I found myself caught in a cycle in which I lost multiple fights in a row, wasted a lot of days recovering in bed, and was always starving. I expected to receive a game over, but it didn't come. Ringo Ishikawa always got back up, no matter how I failed him, no matter how very hungry he claimed to be.
When I was a teenager, I didn’t get into fights. I didn’t smoke. I didn’t drink. I certainly wasn’t left to fend for myself, without parents, money, or food—not for any extended period of time, anyway. However, when I was about sixteen or seventeen, I went through a phase where I struggled to eat. Looking at food made me feel sick. Looking at myself made me feel sick. I replaced breakfast with extra time in bed, which helped ease the sleepless nights. I was recurrently dehydrated. I could eat lunch only on days where I could successfully separate my mind from my mouth and my organs. I had a much easier time with evening meals, though I don’t know why, and not always.
I was hungry a lot. Hungry, and empty.
I remember feeling like I was self-destructing. I often hoped that somebody might jump me on the way home in the dark, like getting into a fight might fix everything, but I wasn’t an initiator, and for whatever reason nobody initiated against me. I had become a ghost, I thought. One night, during the winter, I was looking out at the river that sliced the town in two. I thought about jumping into it from the bridge above. I hoped the shock of the cold might be enough to make me panic and drown. If not, at least it would make me feel something. Suddenly, a man I didn’t know appeared behind me, and said something about it being a nice night. This startled me. I was crying. Silently, I think, though I couldn’t be certain. I tentatively agreed with him. It was a nice night. Freezing cold, crystal clear. I…
Ringo Ishikawa is not a ghost. I don’t believe that he can become depressed. I don’t know if he can starve to death, though I don’t think he can. He can initiate fights and have fights initiated against him. No matter how bad his previous day was, he will sit down at a school bench, if instructed, and read classic literature for you—literature that was, and still is, too intimidating for me to read, regardless of the fullness of my stomach and the health of my bank account, and in spite of my degrees in writing and literature.
All that to say, this game did and did not make me feel like a teenager again.
The friends of Ringo Ishikawa is a very humble attempt at a life sim ala Shenmue with RPG and beat em up elements, and for that, it's interesting. Not just a humble life sim, but a humble game as a whole. The sprites are limited, with most characters using the same assets, as if they were all done using an in-game character creator, and the music is all royalty free lo-fi beats.
The early hours are great, you get to soak in its melancholic atmosphere and it tells you very little, confident to let the player figure out its systems, though this is an issue with school clubs since it doesn't tell you that you need to be there before the scheduled time.
This is where the problems begin, people will tell you that the story will be different for everyone, and that's not really true, it's always the same. There's only some events you can miss (easily), some of them with no acknowledgement, like missing an important looking duel from a rival.
The story structure seems to be that events trigger when you're at a specific place around a certain time, rather than being tied to an objective or having a limited number of days. Some eat up a whole day which may fuck up your plans. As the game goes on, they get more and more scarce, and it took me two whole in-game weeks for each of the last two to trigger, in that time I had already done most of the side-content, not because I went out of my way to do it, there's just very little to do in this game, so I was stuck just wandering at every hour and place to try to trigger them. The story is sort of a character study and has some kinda poignant scenes, like the ending, but considering how much of a time investment this game is (21 hours for me, like half of them with nothing), it doesn't feel worth it.
I get you're supposed to feel empty and with no purpose, but the player doesn't start that way, and you get very little acknowledgement for the things you do acomplish. What happens if you read all the books in the library? Two of them (at random) give you stat boosts and an achievement but that's it, not even a comment about the books (they're "about nothing") or from Nami. What happens if you beat all the rival schools? Nothing, just an achievement. What happens if you just don't eat and starve every day? Nothing I can notice either, it doesn't seem to affect your health or stats. It's rare that I wish a game had branching stories and multiple endings, but it'd improve the game a lot, since the basis for a lot of stuff is already there, as it is, it just wastes your time.
Combat is also nothing, focused mostly on having big stats. Even blocking isn't manual, you just hold a button and if your stat is high, you have a bigger chance of blocking. Special moves you unlock in dojos from time you waste training, do less damage than normal attacks. Every encounter is the same, there aren't any bosses with unique moves or anything of the sort.
There's lots of weird bugs too, one time I got trapped at school at night, or Ringo just stopped wanting to sleep.
Normally I don't like giving scores, but I really think that the praise this game has here is undeserved, as someone that legitimately wanted to give it a chance. It just has too many problems. At the end of the day, I can only recommend it to die hards of life sims that want to see a modest, indie attempt at one. Keep an eye out for the dev though, I feel like he could do something truly great one day if he keeps at it.
The early hours are great, you get to soak in its melancholic atmosphere and it tells you very little, confident to let the player figure out its systems, though this is an issue with school clubs since it doesn't tell you that you need to be there before the scheduled time.
This is where the problems begin, people will tell you that the story will be different for everyone, and that's not really true, it's always the same. There's only some events you can miss (easily), some of them with no acknowledgement, like missing an important looking duel from a rival.
The story structure seems to be that events trigger when you're at a specific place around a certain time, rather than being tied to an objective or having a limited number of days. Some eat up a whole day which may fuck up your plans. As the game goes on, they get more and more scarce, and it took me two whole in-game weeks for each of the last two to trigger, in that time I had already done most of the side-content, not because I went out of my way to do it, there's just very little to do in this game, so I was stuck just wandering at every hour and place to try to trigger them. The story is sort of a character study and has some kinda poignant scenes, like the ending, but considering how much of a time investment this game is (21 hours for me, like half of them with nothing), it doesn't feel worth it.
I get you're supposed to feel empty and with no purpose, but the player doesn't start that way, and you get very little acknowledgement for the things you do acomplish. What happens if you read all the books in the library? Two of them (at random) give you stat boosts and an achievement but that's it, not even a comment about the books (they're "about nothing") or from Nami. What happens if you beat all the rival schools? Nothing, just an achievement. What happens if you just don't eat and starve every day? Nothing I can notice either, it doesn't seem to affect your health or stats. It's rare that I wish a game had branching stories and multiple endings, but it'd improve the game a lot, since the basis for a lot of stuff is already there, as it is, it just wastes your time.
Combat is also nothing, focused mostly on having big stats. Even blocking isn't manual, you just hold a button and if your stat is high, you have a bigger chance of blocking. Special moves you unlock in dojos from time you waste training, do less damage than normal attacks. Every encounter is the same, there aren't any bosses with unique moves or anything of the sort.
There's lots of weird bugs too, one time I got trapped at school at night, or Ringo just stopped wanting to sleep.
Normally I don't like giving scores, but I really think that the praise this game has here is undeserved, as someone that legitimately wanted to give it a chance. It just has too many problems. At the end of the day, I can only recommend it to die hards of life sims that want to see a modest, indie attempt at one. Keep an eye out for the dev though, I feel like he could do something truly great one day if he keeps at it.
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.
"stop killing people"
um..
im literally neurodivergent & also a minor?? lol..
um..
im literally neurodivergent & also a minor?? lol..
Russian literature game.
It's a hardcore game that goes far beyond DISCO ELYSIUM when it comes to literary elements.(maybe) ...I was stunned by the ending. I felt like going out on the balcony and smoking a cigarette. I’m not smoker.
Anyway, what kind of game is this, where you are a kuniokun on the surface but a Gogol/Dostoevsky on the inside? lol
There's a term on the Japanese internet called "おそロシア = OsoRussia" , and I've seen a glimpse of the horror of Russia in this game.
It's a hard game to recommend. But it's definitely a game you won't forget.
A pun on Russia and the word 'horrible'. The term is used to joke about horrible events in Russia and its amazing culture and character.
It's a hardcore game that goes far beyond DISCO ELYSIUM when it comes to literary elements.(maybe) ...I was stunned by the ending. I felt like going out on the balcony and smoking a cigarette. I’m not smoker.
Anyway, what kind of game is this, where you are a kuniokun on the surface but a Gogol/Dostoevsky on the inside? lol
There's a term on the Japanese internet called "おそロシア = OsoRussia" , and I've seen a glimpse of the horror of Russia in this game.
It's a hard game to recommend. But it's definitely a game you won't forget.
A pun on Russia and the word 'horrible'. The term is used to joke about horrible events in Russia and its amazing culture and character.
I can fix him!!
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.
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.
An indie masterpiece I didn't click with.
Ringo Ishikawa is an intentionally directionless game. It provides a wide-open, beat-em up sandbox for you to explore. You have a plethora of choices available to you, different paths and minigames and stats to improve, different ways you can change the course of Ringo's life. But ultimately, those choices are so numerous they become... meaningless. Ringo still doesn't have a firm path that awaits him outside of high school. His friendships are still fracturing, all their prospects are grim, and its likely that they're about to enter some meaningless, dead-end lives.
The fact I didn't enjoy this game isn't the fault of the game itself. The game is designed to be melancholy and empty. That's a feature, not a bug. You have to find a joy in that feeling, that routine and aesthetic. Because this game is ALL aesthetic, full of secret ways to interact with the world. I fully believe its actually a perfectly crafted game, successful in everything its going for. I'm sure their follow-up game, Arrest of a Stone Buddha, is similarly brutal. Its just not something I could make myself devote a full playthrough towards.
I googled the ending and just. Goddamn. Gutting. Fuck, man.
Ringo Ishikawa is an intentionally directionless game. It provides a wide-open, beat-em up sandbox for you to explore. You have a plethora of choices available to you, different paths and minigames and stats to improve, different ways you can change the course of Ringo's life. But ultimately, those choices are so numerous they become... meaningless. Ringo still doesn't have a firm path that awaits him outside of high school. His friendships are still fracturing, all their prospects are grim, and its likely that they're about to enter some meaningless, dead-end lives.
The fact I didn't enjoy this game isn't the fault of the game itself. The game is designed to be melancholy and empty. That's a feature, not a bug. You have to find a joy in that feeling, that routine and aesthetic. Because this game is ALL aesthetic, full of secret ways to interact with the world. I fully believe its actually a perfectly crafted game, successful in everything its going for. I'm sure their follow-up game, Arrest of a Stone Buddha, is similarly brutal. Its just not something I could make myself devote a full playthrough towards.
I googled the ending and just. Goddamn. Gutting. Fuck, man.
Had to drop this, unfortunately. I can see why people would like it but it's just not for me.
The best hunkerin you'll find outside of a goblin bunker. If you want to play this game you better be ready to chill and you better be ready for shockingly good writing. Be ready to slap, be ready to explore. Be ready to not be sure what you're doing a lot of the time. Thus is the life of Ringo Ishikawa.
Es emocionante pensar que se trata de un juego similar a la franquicia de Persona, con mecánicas de Beat'em up/RPG (como River City Ransom de NES), sin embargo no lo es. Se trata más bien de una experiencia contemplativa en donde se acentúa la soledad y las inseguridades de una edad vulnerable como lo es la adolescencia.
thought this was gonna be some kind of Kunio-kun beat them up tribute but ended up being one of the most modest and reasonating experiences about growing up struggles
anyway, shikata ga nai
anyway, shikata ga nai
Fuckin loved it. Actual freedom. Go to school or don't, get a job or don't, fight in the street or don't.
One of those games you can just live in, sitting in the cafe reading a book to cool music, or hanging on the balcony with a cigarette watching a couple of lads having a scrap.
Feels like it was made for me, and the ending was like a gutpunch in extreme slow motion. I think about it often.
One of those games you can just live in, sitting in the cafe reading a book to cool music, or hanging on the balcony with a cigarette watching a couple of lads having a scrap.
Feels like it was made for me, and the ending was like a gutpunch in extreme slow motion. I think about it often.
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.
The friends of Ringo Ishikawa is a difficult game to explain, and a somewhat tough game to recommend to people. On the surface, it's a pretty basic looking indie game with obvious influences from River City Ransom and a hand deep in the pockets of "Yankii" Japanese delinquent lifestyles. But to say the game is more than that would be an understatement.
You are given no direction on how to play the game. Much like real life, you are left to your own devices to figure it out. At first, I felt a bit conflicted with this design choice, but as I continued to play, I grew to admire it. Should I hit the gym and work on my fighting skills? Maybe pick up a book and see what I can learn. Should I get my act together and actually go to class for once? All of these questions are left up to you, and I wouldn't have it any other way.
Gameplay consists of doing various tasks, training your skills, fighting people, and growing as a person. You can talk to people, play games with them, get a part-time job, attend school, fight rival schools, etc. It's all about time management and what you want to do with your life.
Combat is pretty simple, consisting of punches, kicks, guards, and grapples. You can improve your fighting repertoire by training under various masters, but the general flow of combat changes little. Fights rarely feel different from one another regardless of who you are up against, which might make some players more willing to skip conflict altogether out of repetition.
The story and characters are also dependent on what you choose to do with your time during Ringo Ishikawa's final year of high school, and as a result, your playthrough will more than likely be different than everyone else's. This adds to replayability, but also helps the immersion into Ringo's world.
The music and presentation are top-notch. The spritework is like an evolution of River City Ransom's style, blending detailed backgrounds with simple, yet well-animated characters. The music is an easy 10/10 for me. This is exactly my kind of music, and it fits the style and subject matter of the game to a T.
My complaints with the game are few and do not stop this game from being great. The repetition of your routine may make the game feel like it's not moving forward. The combat, while fun to me, is understandably simple and could feed into the repetition for some. There are also instances where story events will eat an entire day's worth of time, leaving you with little to do for that day. This can be a little annoying when you planned to do something that is only available on specific days of the week, like Judo practice. Lastly, some of the characters (in my experience) do not receive as much focus as I would have liked, but this could be a result of my own playstyle rather than the game's fault.
If you are still unsure of giving this game a shot, let me put it straight—it's worth your time. It may be a bit tough to get a hang of, but you'll find your groove in time and wish it never ends.
You are given no direction on how to play the game. Much like real life, you are left to your own devices to figure it out. At first, I felt a bit conflicted with this design choice, but as I continued to play, I grew to admire it. Should I hit the gym and work on my fighting skills? Maybe pick up a book and see what I can learn. Should I get my act together and actually go to class for once? All of these questions are left up to you, and I wouldn't have it any other way.
Gameplay consists of doing various tasks, training your skills, fighting people, and growing as a person. You can talk to people, play games with them, get a part-time job, attend school, fight rival schools, etc. It's all about time management and what you want to do with your life.
Combat is pretty simple, consisting of punches, kicks, guards, and grapples. You can improve your fighting repertoire by training under various masters, but the general flow of combat changes little. Fights rarely feel different from one another regardless of who you are up against, which might make some players more willing to skip conflict altogether out of repetition.
The story and characters are also dependent on what you choose to do with your time during Ringo Ishikawa's final year of high school, and as a result, your playthrough will more than likely be different than everyone else's. This adds to replayability, but also helps the immersion into Ringo's world.
The music and presentation are top-notch. The spritework is like an evolution of River City Ransom's style, blending detailed backgrounds with simple, yet well-animated characters. The music is an easy 10/10 for me. This is exactly my kind of music, and it fits the style and subject matter of the game to a T.
My complaints with the game are few and do not stop this game from being great. The repetition of your routine may make the game feel like it's not moving forward. The combat, while fun to me, is understandably simple and could feed into the repetition for some. There are also instances where story events will eat an entire day's worth of time, leaving you with little to do for that day. This can be a little annoying when you planned to do something that is only available on specific days of the week, like Judo practice. Lastly, some of the characters (in my experience) do not receive as much focus as I would have liked, but this could be a result of my own playstyle rather than the game's fault.
If you are still unsure of giving this game a shot, let me put it straight—it's worth your time. It may be a bit tough to get a hang of, but you'll find your groove in time and wish it never ends.
have you ever wanted roleplay as one of those losers from your high school who skipped class to go smoke at the edge of the property? me neither.
if for some reason you do tho I guess there's this game
if for some reason you do tho I guess there's this game
While I had a good run, It's kinda hard to recommend The Friends of Ringo Ishikawa.
The first couple of hours were fun but after that, I didn't really have anything to do. I can only smoke and listen to melancholic music for so long before getting bored. I wish some in-game events didn't have such specific requirements, maybe that would help to fill these gaps the game has. But hey, maybe that's the way it's supposed to be, considering how it all fits at the end.
I'm looking forward to checking out the upcoming game from yeo "Fading Afternoon", and see how he can improve this formula.
The first couple of hours were fun but after that, I didn't really have anything to do. I can only smoke and listen to melancholic music for so long before getting bored. I wish some in-game events didn't have such specific requirements, maybe that would help to fill these gaps the game has. But hey, maybe that's the way it's supposed to be, considering how it all fits at the end.
I'm looking forward to checking out the upcoming game from yeo "Fading Afternoon", and see how he can improve this formula.
This review contains spoilers
my ringo was a very good student. i almost one-hundred-percent-ed all of his grades. not that he was a total nerd. he punched up some dudes when needed to, as well went out and got drunk with his friends, read some books, watched TV . . . but i really wanted to change his life. getting him out of this gang mentality. they said it was too late for him. i didn’t want to believe this. in a game with life-sim mechanics, with such emphasis on it, rewarding your boring activities with long (or lack of) animations -- studying, training, eating, sleeping --, i thought this daily activities thing was not only something for “immersion” or a cool and different gimmick. i thought my agency would change ringo’s life, like if i was a ventriloquist, playing with my puppet. i was wrong. ringo ishikawa is ringo ishikawa. ringo ishikawa is smart and ringo ishikawa can be dedicated. ringo ishikawa is sensible and ringo ishikawa is friendly. ringo ishikawa is a gangster and a monster. ringo ishikawa has a lot of friends but ringo ishikawa is still a child: the truth is, none of those characters really know what they want to do with their lives. growing up with some arduous conditions, being smashed by the system and not being able to getting out of the type of living they chose -- at least now, as teenagers and young adults --, even if they do, they just self sabotage and go back to it -- for being the best choice or for not believing which choice is better. when they start to realize what is really happening, they just go and follow their own goals. ringo hasn't realized it yet. in the end, he’s still a gangster. he is still loyal to his friends. when the title drops at the end and ringo is fighting alone, is a statement that the friends of ringo ishikawa have found their own way, and ringo must find his, too.
the friends of ringo ishikawa (2018) is more of a novel than any AAA game many times its size and made with many more times its budget
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.
Do NOT pass the Russian boy the game engine, they'll just start makin the fatalist takes on long-established genre tags
I spent a lot of this game reading, I wasn't reading anything really, Ringo was reading. Mostly books I'd never read, the kind I feel intimidated by, books that would go over my head. It felt like it gave me a little purpose with a routine, earning money to buy books and spending time to read the books. I didn't think there'd be a reward for it, I just did it, it became a nice little habit to find a scenic spot in town and just watch Ringo sit back and tear through Ulysses or something. Feels a bit stupid looking back on it but some in-game days I spent doing nothing but this. It came to an end, unceremoniously, ran out of books. Not much to show for, doing that didn't amount to anything tangible for Ringo or for me but it was some peace of mind in a way.
I had the freedom to do so much in this game, make Ringo be anything he could be, and I chose to create a basic routine anyone could do in real life, probably to greater benefit, not even sure why. Before the game came to an end I didn't really find a new main activity or routine to replace this with. Some little distractions, getting drunk, smoking, squatting, trying and failing to reenact that one cool shot from Blue Spring, small stuff. I just went on and on and on and on and on and on and on.
I blew through the game in like a day, the next day felt a bit emptier without loading up Ringo Ishikawa and continuing his daily life.
Sorry to sound corny but there's this one line in Texhnolyze I keep thinking about, "True freedom can't lean on anything. It's transient, lonely, arduous. You can't hope for any security or reward beyond it". That's how it felt, very beautiful, I'm still thinking about it.
I had the freedom to do so much in this game, make Ringo be anything he could be, and I chose to create a basic routine anyone could do in real life, probably to greater benefit, not even sure why. Before the game came to an end I didn't really find a new main activity or routine to replace this with. Some little distractions, getting drunk, smoking, squatting, trying and failing to reenact that one cool shot from Blue Spring, small stuff. I just went on and on and on and on and on and on and on.
I blew through the game in like a day, the next day felt a bit emptier without loading up Ringo Ishikawa and continuing his daily life.
Sorry to sound corny but there's this one line in Texhnolyze I keep thinking about, "True freedom can't lean on anything. It's transient, lonely, arduous. You can't hope for any security or reward beyond it". That's how it felt, very beautiful, I'm still thinking about it.
This review contains spoilers
pain.
one of the most memorable game experiences i've ever had. the nature of the gameplay format here almost ensures a different playthrough for everyone in content and focus. i had misgivings about the beat em up elements and combat overall but it kinda slipped into the background.
incredible life simulator elements with countless options while not falling into the trap of centering everything on the main character like elsewhere. outside of some of the earlier tutorials and scattered events that trigger in various times/places you can do whatever you want without restriction.
absolutely loved getting to know the scattered characters (not just the ones in the gang) throughout my playthrough. lots of emotionally resonant moments to be found in even the most deceptively simple moments. reading around after finishing my run has shown me tons of things that i didn't see for myself and i'm already itching to play it again.
the rest of yeo's games have jumped to the top of my priority backlog.
one of the most memorable game experiences i've ever had. the nature of the gameplay format here almost ensures a different playthrough for everyone in content and focus. i had misgivings about the beat em up elements and combat overall but it kinda slipped into the background.
incredible life simulator elements with countless options while not falling into the trap of centering everything on the main character like elsewhere. outside of some of the earlier tutorials and scattered events that trigger in various times/places you can do whatever you want without restriction.
absolutely loved getting to know the scattered characters (not just the ones in the gang) throughout my playthrough. lots of emotionally resonant moments to be found in even the most deceptively simple moments. reading around after finishing my run has shown me tons of things that i didn't see for myself and i'm already itching to play it again.
the rest of yeo's games have jumped to the top of my priority backlog.
Platform: Switch
Hours: 9
man, this game is just so good. it's a social sim and a beat em up, but that's all in service to the writing and the art. it's a gorgeous game, and it's written like an actual novel. These characters speak like people, like real friends, guys who want to be tough, people who just want to give their life some kind of meaning. A couple of the lines in this game hit me so hard I put the controller down and stared at the words, the turn of phrase now locked in my skull, ready to be part of my life. This is a game that, if you get into the characters and their relationships, will make you think about your life. Your decisions. Your follow through. What you're even doing with the time you have every day. The social sim really drives this part home too. One time, I missed a tutoring session with a girl I'd wanted to get to know better, and the next day I spoke to her in the hallway. I said (something like) "Hey, sorry I missed our plans yesterday". She said "Oh that? Don't worry about it, I figured something out". And that was it. No second chances, no previous save to reload (the autosave is quite aggressive), no rewinding the relationship to make sure it works. I think I'll play this game again, someday when I'm feeling especially low, and let it destroy me.
Hours: 9
man, this game is just so good. it's a social sim and a beat em up, but that's all in service to the writing and the art. it's a gorgeous game, and it's written like an actual novel. These characters speak like people, like real friends, guys who want to be tough, people who just want to give their life some kind of meaning. A couple of the lines in this game hit me so hard I put the controller down and stared at the words, the turn of phrase now locked in my skull, ready to be part of my life. This is a game that, if you get into the characters and their relationships, will make you think about your life. Your decisions. Your follow through. What you're even doing with the time you have every day. The social sim really drives this part home too. One time, I missed a tutoring session with a girl I'd wanted to get to know better, and the next day I spoke to her in the hallway. I said (something like) "Hey, sorry I missed our plans yesterday". She said "Oh that? Don't worry about it, I figured something out". And that was it. No second chances, no previous save to reload (the autosave is quite aggressive), no rewinding the relationship to make sure it works. I think I'll play this game again, someday when I'm feeling especially low, and let it destroy me.