The Friends Of Ringo Ishikawa Offers Incredible Depth And Addicting Gameplay

By Sean Robbins (SeanBird) Host / Executive Producer of
The J-Pop Exchange

If you have enjoyed games such as Final Fight, River City Ransom or Scott Pilgrim Vs The World, you will definitely enjoy The Friends Of Ringo Ishikawa. In fact, this game offers significantly more depth and replay value than other games in its genre.

In this game you play as Ringo Ishikawa, a juvenile delinquent with a lot of promise; it is up to you to help unlock his true potential. You begin the game by getting off a train with your allies as you all head home for the day. It is within this sequence that you are introduced to the controls and many of the play mechanics of the game. The next day, you are called into your sempai's office and told that you are on thin-ice academically and that you need to vastly improve your study habits to graduate on time. This is where the real adventure begins.

From this point onward, you are given the responsibility to decide how to spend your day. The school day begins at 9am with a one hour break at 11am. Classes then resume at 12pm and you are dismissed from school at around 2:10pm. As was alluded to a moment ago, you can choose to not go to school, but there are repercussions for this. For instance, you will miss out on opportunities to mingle with fellow students, have your allies tag along with you, and improve your academic performance.

After school is dismissed, you typically do not have any other formal obligations, so you can decide how to spend the rest of your day. This can include going to your house to do homework to further improve yourself academically, going to restaurants and stores, or getting into fights.

When you do get into fights, it is definitely advisable to have your allies with you as they can assist you in battle. The controls within the fighting sequences are very tight and polished and the hit detection is very fair.

While the combat can be enjoyable, you will want to make sure to not neglect your studies. When you knock-out enemies during combat, you can pickpocket a small amount of money from them at times. However, the more noble and ethical path of being a good student can actually yield higher dividends. At the end of each school week on Saturday (there is no school on Sunday), you are given an examination. The more you improve your character's knowledge, the higher the odds you will receive good grades. These good grades will earn your character a scholarship. Before you know it, through scholarships, you can easily be earning $5000 per week for your character.

This money can be spent in many different ways; for instance, at markets or restaurants to feed your character, to purchase strength upgrades, to play mini-games at the bar, or to buy a TV or game system for your room.

Fans of fighting games will find a lot to love in The Friends Of Ringo Ishikawa, including a layer of depth and customization that makes this game a wonderfully addicting game play experience.

Review copy provided by Circle Ent.

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