If you’re curious to learn more about River City Girls 2 and what’s coming for the sequel and the team at WayForward, you’ve come to the right place!
Nintendo Life: Can you tell us about your role in River City Girls 2 and a little bit about your history at WayForward?
Bannon Rudis: I directed River City Girls 2 and assisted with animation, level design, and more. I started there about six years ago, right when I was finishing my first game outside of the company. My first WayForward game was The mummy is destroyed. That’s where I watched the director of that game and learned the ropes.
Adam Tierney: I oversee bizdev and publish at WayForward. In River City Girls 2, I rewrote the script and helped plan the scenes.
Were you thinking of a River City Girls sequel before the first game was released? Are there any plot and gameplay ideas that were settled years ago?
Adam: We definitely retained a few things from the first game for RCG2, namely the inclusion of the villains Ken, Sabu, Ryuji, and Ryuichi. We don’t want to use up all the main characters that debuted in the first game. And of course, the plot of RCG2 is a fairly direct continuation of the events of the first game (and of Zero River City GirlSuper Famicom game inspired our game).
bannon: What I want to bring is a more open world and four players for the sequel.
We definitely kept a few things from the first game… We didn’t want to use up all the main characters that debuted.
Can you tell us a little bit about the new characters in River City 2? (Example: Marian in Double Dragon) How did you decide on these particular characters? And are there plans for any other new characters in the future?
bannon: Marian used to be the girl who crashed in Double Dragon series for about four decades. She had enough of that role and turned herself into a tough boxer using grappling moves. The second new character is from my first game I ever released called River City Underground Ransom. She is based on my real life friend of the same name. Her sassy attitude is based on my friend’s, but my friend doesn’t have the sweet fighting choreography of her video game counterpart.
How exactly did you expand when fighting in the original game?
bannon: I’ve tried to make sure players are as creative as possible with their combos. I found myself constantly creating new combos when experimenting with combat. Whatever works in the first game, I improve it even more. If something isn’t working at full capacity, I’ll make sure to fix it and make it an integral part of the player’s arsenal.
Can you tell us a little more about the new online co-op mode?
bannon: This was quite a challenge because we had to rework the entire engine to make the game work online. What will really stand out among other online brawlers is the fact that the levels are quite large, both vertically and horizontally. This is designed to allow players to separate and not have to share the same camera. Both players can go their separate ways to fight their own group of enemies instead of everyone gathering together.
First game composer Megan McDuffee is back, can you tell us a little bit about her approach to the sequel’s soundtrack and how WayForward played a role in the process?
bannon: I worked directly with Megan on the kind of music I wanted. I gave her notes and samples, but almost all of the music was created by Megan herself. She’s a genius in the field and I can definitely count on her for how to make catchy music. However, the main focus of lyrical songs is to convey the feelings and motivations of the bosses of the particular area in which they reside.
Adam: We’ve been very fortunate to connect with Megan on the series’ music, and she’s worked on all three RCG games to date to date. As amazing as her soundtrack in the first game is, I think players will be surprised how much more varied and complex this second soundtrack is compared to.
Who helped make the cutscenes this time?
Adam: In the first game, we worked with Eric Huang to script our footage and Studio Yotta to animate them. On River City Girls Zero, the introduction was made by David Liu and his studio. With RCG2, our introduction was scripted by Mariel Cartwright of the Future Club, but this time in-house animation at WayForward (directed by Kay Yu, who is also the pixel animation team lead on the games. play RCG). And all of the manga cutscenes in all three games were illustrated by Rem, who was our lead illustrator and character designer from the start.
Any plans for post-release updates or DLC? Maybe we could see a third River City Girls game in the future?
bannon: Way too early to tell. I have an idea but nothing is official yet. Hope players are interested in us expanding this further as I personally would love to.
Adam: We’d love to produce some DLC for the first game, but at that point it just makes sense to just move on to the sequel. Hopefully this time we can add a few more features to the game via DLC, though it all depends on how well the game itself performs in terms of early sales. first.
We’d love to produce some DLC for the first game, but at that point it just makes sense to just move on to the sequel. Hopefully this time we can add a few more features to the game through DLC
The limited physical release of River City Girls 2 has sold out, is there a chance to re-supply?
Adam: I know Limited Run will sometimes have event and conference-specific versions of their physical releases, and we actually demonstrated a brand new RCG2 cover for that potential release. So hopefully that’s on the horizon. However, replenishment beyond that capacity will be up to LRG.
What’s next for WayForward?
Adam: Lots of great games are in development right now, including some based on established game and movie franchises, although most of those are still a secret at the moment. . We are launching LUNARKour cinematic pixel platform developed by Canari Games, early 2023. Check it out when it releases on PC and consoles, and stay tuned in the coming months for some big titles coming from WayForward in 2023 and 2024!
Do you have any final words to the Nintendo Life community about River City Girls 2?
bannon: Check out the games. There’s a lot to find in there. It will keep you and your friends busy for a long time with all the little hidden secrets scattered around. Good luck!
Adam: One of the big draws about working with this franchise is that it takes place in a specific city that we can expand and grow further with each new game. I’m excited with how River City has grown and evolved since the first game and can’t wait to see player reaction to our latest additions.
Thank you to Bannon and Adam for taking the time out of their busy schedules to answer our questions. Nintendo Life wishes WayForward all the best in the coming year!
Have you tried River City Girls 2 on Switch yet? Excited about what’s next for WayForward? Comment below.
