The River City / Kunio games have been on a roll lately, especially the spinoff series River City Girls and the River City Three Kingdoms games, just to give some examples. The series has continued to experiment with new ideas and when River City Saga Journey to the West was announced to be a roguelite beat ’em up, I was intrigued. I was not sure how well Arc System Works would pull this off, but I have to say that I was pleasantly surprised.
Despite being a beat ’em up, the roguelike/rougelite I would compare this to the most is actually Hades, since the structure is set up pretty much the same, just from a different viewing perspective. Indeed, Kunio’s jump has been replaced by the dash mechanic these games often make use of, among other small tweaks. It also happens that this may be the game I feel comes closest to Hades, albeit with some fumbles here and there that ultimately do not ruin the product for me.
Like the Three Kingdoms games, Journey to the West involves the River City cast acting out a drama that you play through, but this time all the character options are Kunio, just with different styles despite being different characters. There is a reason, but I will not go into it here, suffice to say though that the series trademark humour is not gone. It may not be to everyone’s liking, but longtime fans will enjoy it.
As you might expect with a River City / Kunio brawler, this game goes for the super deformed art style the series is known for, but with the modern flair from the Three Kingdoms games. Do not expect the game to play like the Three Kingdoms games, given that adjustments were made to function like a roguelike, as mentioned with the dash replacing the jump. What you have here is a series of stages with rounds of fighting, picking a reward option that can include a boon from Buddhist deities, each acted out by a recurring character from the series, and each can affect your run.
After a couple of rounds of fighting enemies, you will fight a midboss, then more rounds, a second midboss and after another couple of rounds, the stage boss. As you progress, more characters will be available to play as, although there is no multiplayer, and as mentioned, all of the pilgrim characters are acted out by Kunio. Each character has a unique playstyle, and you will want to experiment to see which fits you best, especially when you get access to stage rewards that alter your special attack, something that can drastically change how your run will play out.
River City Saga Journey To The West is not perfect, but it is a good roguelike brawler. I do dislike that every time you start a run after the first run, the game does not really acknowledge that and the story largely plays out the same. This is a bit disappointing compared to Hades and TMNT Splintered Fate, which showed a narrative progression, but the game does try to give some explanation at the end even if it is not exactly satisfying in this regard.
One thing I do need to state though, is that I am kind of getting tired of the medieval China setting the games have been using lately, which is derived from the classic works of Chinese literature.. I get that the River City Saga Journey To The West was probably easier to make due to being able to recycle assets, but even though this is set later than the Three Kingdoms games, I still would like to see something else from the River City series. I would not be upset with a Knights of Justice HD remaster, although I think Arc System Works can do more with the series.
Okay, rant over, back to the game.
River City Saga Journey To The West looks and sounds great due to relying on the work from the previous games, but Arc System Works did manage to do some neat thing at the same time, such as making your special attacks really shine if you choose certain options when you upgrade. Speaking of upgrades, like many roguelikes, River City Saga Journey To The West gives you quite the choice for upgrading abilities and boosts, especially since there are multiple different areas that must be upgraded separately. This includes sorcery options, which take the form of a variety of summons and transformations, as well as talismans you get from deities in a similar manner to Hades.
All of this definitely gives River City Saga Journey To The West a lot of replay value, but I will be honest when I say that once you finish your second run, you will not want to continue much beyond that. Don’t think you will get to the end of that run quickly though, as River City Saga Journey To The West packs quite the challenge and you will feel a deep sense of accomplishment after finally completing the run two times. I actually do not mind this all that much, as you will have to attempt the run so many times that multiple additional runs are not going to add much due to how challenging the game can be.
Is River City Saga Journey To The West the best roguelike beat ’em up? No, and it is not the best River City game either. But it is a welcome experiment, and while I am tired of the settings based on classic Chinese literature, I would like to see Arc System Works try this concept again in the future, but make the narrative progression feel more meaningful and give a real purpose to multiple runs, while smoothing out the rough edges and making the gameplay a bit more consistent and tightened up. I do like that Arc System Works tried something different, and more experiments like this with the River City games can only be a good thing. Still though, I would like that HD remaster of Knights of Justice.