Software:The Friends of Ringo Ishikawa

From HandWiki
Short description: 2018 video game
The Friends of Ringo Ishikawa
Steam header
Designer(s)Yeo
EngineGameMaker Studio[1][2]
Platform(s)Windows, macOS, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One
ReleaseMay 17, 2018 (Win)[3]
October 17, 2018 (Mac)[4]
April 4, 2019 (Switch)[5]
April 14, 2021 (Xbox One)[6][7]
Genre(s)Beat 'em up
Mode(s)Single-player

The Friends of Ringo Ishikawa is a 2D side-scrolling beat 'em up developed by Yeo. It was released for Windows on May 17, 2018, ports for macOS, Nintendo Switch, and Xbox One followed later. The game forms a series called Existential Dilogy with the follow-up game Arrest of a Stone Buddha (2020).[8] Another similar game by the same developer, Fading Afternoon, was released in 2023.[9][10]

Plot

The game takes place in a small-town in Japan.[11] The player takes the role of a high school delinquent.[3]

Gameplay

The Friends of Ringo Ishikawa is a story driven beat 'em up using 16-bit-style pixel art.[11] The game has a freeform structure where the player can decide what to do between story sequences. These include going to school and studying, reading at the library, working out at the gym, or beating rival gang members for cash.[11] The game's combat system draws influence from Konami's Software:Kensei: Sacred Fist and Rockstar's Bully.[11]

Development

The Friends of Ringo Ishikawa was developed by one person from Moscow, Russia named Vadim Gilyazetdinov, better known by his handle Yeo.[12][2] All backgrounds in the game were made by Artem "Wedmak2" Belov and animations were made by Yeo's father who learned pixel art in his 60s especially for this occasion. The game started as a prototype developed for a local game jam in summer 2014.[13] The title is a reference to the 1973 film The Friends of Eddie Coyle.[14]

Release

The game was announced for PC release on April 18, 2018.[15] The Switch release was announced on October 10, 2018.[16]

Reception

Reception
Aggregate score
AggregatorScore
Metacritic64/100[17]
Review scores
PublicationScore
Destructoid5/10[3]
IGN7.5/10[18]
Nintendo Life6/10[19]
Digitally Downloaded4.5/5[20]

The Friends of Ringo Ishikawa received "mixed or average" reviews according to review aggregator Metacritic.[17]

Kohei Fujita of IGN Japan said that "The game's systems aren't well explained, which will catch many gamers off-guard at first, but its climax has a lasting impact that is worth experiencing."[18]

Dom Reseigh-Lincoln of Nintendo Life summarized: "[...] What looks like a traditional side-scrolling brawler is actually something far more intricate. It's more of a teenage simulator than anything, and with some really well-written dialogue [...] there's a really interesting story to be found."[19]

Matt S. of Digitally Downloaded called the it "the most surprisingly thoughtful game I have played in quite some time".[20]

Time Extension included the game on their top 25 "Best Beat 'Em Ups of All Time" list.[21]

References

  1. ↑ "Showcase - The Friends of Ringo Ishikawa". https://gamemaker.io/en/showcase/the-friends-of-ringo-ishikawa. 
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Hosking, Jeremy (30 May 2019). "The Incredible Real-Life Story Behind The Friends of Ringo Ishikawa". G/O Media. https://www.kotaku.co.uk/2019/05/30/the-incredible-real-life-story-behind-the-friends-of-ringo-ishikawa. 
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Glagowski, Peter (13 July 2019). "Review: The Friends of Ringo Ishikawa". Gamurs Group. https://www.destructoid.com/reviews/review-the-friends-of-ringo-ishikawa/. 
  4. ↑ Yeo (17 October 2018). "MacOS version is alive!". Valve Corporation. https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/846110/view/4041374038291269717. 
  5. ↑ Romano, Sal (28 March 2019). "The Friends of Ringo Ishikawa for Switch launches April 4". https://www.gematsu.com/2019/03/the-friends-of-ringo-ishikawa-for-switch-launches-april-4. 
  6. ↑ "The friends of Ringo Ishikawa". Microsoft. https://www.xbox.com/en-US/games/store/the-friends-of-ringo-ishikawa/9N8W09ZDVZSB. "Release date 4/14/2021" 
  7. ↑ Romano, Sal (14 April 2021). "The Friends of Ringo Ishikawa now available for Xbox One". https://www.gematsu.com/2021/04/the-friends-of-ringo-ishikawa-now-available-for-xbox-one. 
  8. ↑ L., Harvard (26 May 2020). "Review: Arrest of a Stone Buddha (Nintendo Switch)". Archived from the original on 28 May 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20200528063309/https://www.digitallydownloaded.net/2020/05/review-arrest-of-stone-buddha-nintendo.html. 
  9. ↑ Romano, Sal (6 July 2021). "The Friends of Ringo Ishikawa developer Yeo announces Fading Afternoon for PC". https://www.gematsu.com/2021/07/the-friends-of-ringo-ishikawa-developer-yeo-announces-fading-afternoon-for-pc. 
  10. ↑ Yeo. "FAQ". http://fading-afternoon.by-yeo.ru/faq/. 
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 11.3 Byford, Sam (19 June 2019). "The Friends of Ringo Ishikawa is a free-form 2D brawler with a unique sense of melancholy". Vox Media. https://www.theverge.com/2019/6/19/18691106/the-friends-of-ringo-ishikawa-review-interview-yeo. 
  12. ↑ "高校生不良ACT『The friends of Ringo Ishikawa』「キャラを描く人が見つからなかった時、名乗り出たのは58歳の父でした」【注目インディーミニ問答】" (in Japanese). 19 May 2018. https://www.gamespark.jp/article/2018/05/19/80905.html. 
  13. ↑ @shin_yeo (26 June 2024). "Remembered that the starting prototype for Ringo was "Freedom of a Fool", which I made in summer 2014 for 1 week local game jam.". X Corp.. https://x.com/shin_yeo/status/1805727210055286926. 
  14. ↑ @shin_yeo (26 June 2024). "The title is homage to this (if you didn't know): [poster of The Friends of Eddie Coyle"]. X Corp.. https://x.com/shin_yeo/status/1805912408071831840. 
  15. ↑ yeonoblues (18 April 2018). "The friends of Ringo Ishikawa". Google. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vh8AqnRmMoY. 
  16. ↑ Romano, Sal (10 October 2018). "Open-world beat 'em up The Friends of Ringo Ishikawa coming to Switch". https://www.gematsu.com/2018/10/open-world-beat-em-up-the-friends-of-ringo-ishikawa-coming-to-switch. 
  17. ↑ 17.0 17.1 "The friends of Ringo Ishikawa for Switch Reviews". Fandom. https://www.metacritic.com/game/the-friends-of-ringo-ishikawa/critic-reviews/?platform=nintendo-switch. 
  18. ↑ 18.0 18.1 藤田, 幸平 (18 April 2019). "The friends of Ringo Ishikawa - レビュー" (in Japanese). Ziff Davis. https://jp.ign.com/the-friends-of-ringo-ishikawa/34948/review/the-friends-of-ringo-ishikawa. 
  19. ↑ 19.0 19.1 Reseigh-Lincoln, Dom (22 April 2019). "The Friends of Ringo Ishikawa Review (Switch eShop)". Hookshot Media. https://www.nintendolife.com/reviews/switch-eshop/friends_of_ringo_ishikawa. 
  20. ↑ 20.0 20.1 S., Matt (11 April 2019). "Review: The Friends of Ringo Ishikawa (Nintendo Switch)". Archived from the original on 12 April 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190412172206/http://www.digitallydownloaded.net/2019/04/review-friends-of-ringo-ishikawa.html. 
  21. ↑ Banks, George (14 February 2023). "Best Beat 'Em Ups Of All Time". Hookshot Media. https://www.timeextension.com/guides/best-beat-em-ups-of-all-time. 



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