A stint on PC through Steam and a rather acclaimed release on Nintendo Switch have previously covered the bases for The friends of Ringo Ishikawa. Now though it’s time to hit Xbox!
Available to purchase and download right now on Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S, The friends of Ringo Ishikawa comes to Microsoft’s mighty boxes following a 2019 drop on Switch which came a year after the PC debut.
Priced up at £12.49, The friends of Ringo Ishikawa on Xbox will have you joining the life of the titular Ringo Ishikawa, the leader of a highschool gang who is looking to hit graduation. And you’ll be looking to take your best mates along for the ride with you.
A beat ’em up that just so happens to come with some high school simulation elements, The friends of Ringo Ishikawa covers a ton of bases. In fact, it could be seen as a simple Yakuza and as you explore this open world will find the likes of mini-games, combat scenarios, day/night cycles and more. There is certainly a host of ideas included.
This isn’t a game about gang culture though and even though you’ll play through life as the leader of a group, you won’t be looking to focus too much effort on your rivals; it’s more a case of getting on with life and enjoying the ride.
If you wish to see how The friends of Ringo Ishikawa plays out on Xbox One or Xbox Series X|S, just pop over to the Xbox Store and nail yourself a download. We’ll no doubt get some thoughts out there in the form of a review at some point too.
Game Description:
A highschool gang leader Ringo Ishikawa trying to live through his last autumn before graduation. With his best friends. You should play it if: 1) You’re fond of good stories with strong dialogues (especially about growing up) 2) You’re a fight games enthusiast (you’ll get your hands on some unique brawl mechanic and I promise you’ll be satisfied) 3) You’re into some yakuza-delinquent aesthetics Basically, the game is an existential open world beat’em up with some school sim elements. It has a little of everything: a town to explore, day-night cycle, npc on their schedule, battle grinding, school grinding, mini-games (ping-pong, billiard, video-poker, video-game console with one game…) and so on. But the main thing is the story I’m trying to tell. And I designed the game to make you feel this story. So it’s not about rival gangs, or taking over turfs, or anything. You just live there and feel. And that’s all.
