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February 2004 - Feature: Realize Games' River City Ransom 2
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TheRedEye
The Internet's Frank Cifaldi
The Internet's Frank Cifaldi


Joined: 26 Aug 2003
Posts: 4192
Location: Oakland, CA

PostPosted: Mon Mar 01, 2004 2:23 am    Post subject: February 2004 - Feature: Realize Games' River City Ransom 2 Reply with quote

sup.
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Kitsune
FURRY


Joined: 20 Nov 2003
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Location: Mexico

PostPosted: Mon Mar 01, 2004 2:30 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Someone should tell that guy that, since he had a design layed out and all, then he should've gone to Atlus and offered them his ideas for consideration as a true sequel to the game.

Oh well.
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Ancient Oldie



Joined: 28 Nov 2003
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PostPosted: Mon Mar 01, 2004 2:56 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Or at least sold the rights to the game title and made a decent profit.

Is he still designing the sequel by any chance?
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The Green Meanie



Joined: 01 Mar 2004
Posts: 218
Location: The New Wave

PostPosted: Mon Mar 01, 2004 3:15 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Hopefully Atlus' version will be decent.
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TheRedEye
The Internet's Frank Cifaldi
The Internet's Frank Cifaldi


Joined: 26 Aug 2003
Posts: 4192
Location: Oakland, CA

PostPosted: Mon Mar 01, 2004 3:34 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Ancient Oldie wrote:
Or at least sold the rights to the game title and made a decent profit.

Is he still designing the sequel by any chance?


No, it's dead. Which is why it's, you know, on this site.
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HayakawaKen



Joined: 01 Mar 2004
Posts: 2

PostPosted: Mon Mar 01, 2004 4:46 am    Post subject: Amazing.... Reply with quote

I work at an Electronics Botique, and over the Christmas season, this guy comes in, claiming that his friend owned the rights for RCR and was going to sue Atlas over them making RCR EX... I thought he was just BSing, but here you guys are posting the exact same story.. O_O who would have thought.. and we laughed and laughed at that guy too, if I ever run into him again, I'll definately apologzie :oops:
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merp
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PostPosted: Mon Mar 01, 2004 7:50 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

No TheRedEye?
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Richter Belmont



Joined: 16 Jan 2004
Posts: 285
Location: Murfreesboro, TN

PostPosted: Mon Mar 01, 2004 10:35 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Wow, RCR2! That would have been the greatST thing since sliced bread.

This may be a silly question, but I'm sure others are wondering the same thing, so I'm just going to go ahead and get it out of my system... any chance Casarjian would consider releasing what he had completed?
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TheRedEye
The Internet's Frank Cifaldi
The Internet's Frank Cifaldi


Joined: 26 Aug 2003
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PostPosted: Mon Mar 01, 2004 3:18 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

From what I understand, it wasn't playable yet.
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zillford
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Joined: 10 Sep 2003
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PostPosted: Mon Mar 01, 2004 4:45 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

HayakawaKen, where, by chance, was this EB located?


Oh, and Kitsune, the way Armen (also known as SECRECT CONTACT #2) described it, he did attempt some form of deal with Atlus. I guess they didn't want any part of it, feeling that their EX release would suffice. I don't mind not finishing the game, hell, I wouldn't have minded if Armen sold to Atlus and they promptly fired me. but I still cry thinking that there could have been a RCR2.

If you ever get a chance to chat with Armen (you can find him kicking around a couple of *gasp* furry cons) you'll cry too. For all his possible failings as a marketer, he truely seemed to have a great plan for how to make RCR2 more than a cheap knock-off.

I'm STILL happy to have recieved the opportunity to work on this, mainly because before this, I had never done any sprite work. what you see on the page amounts to literally my first few attempts at spriting. I feel that I've grown immensely as an artist for having dabbled in the restrictions of 80x80, and I hope that someday, somehow, I'll be able to sprite again.


Armen tells me that if he ever gets a break, and actually makes a 2D game, I'm at the top of his list for sprite work. so, who knows?



I saw some screens for RCR EX in the latest EGM, and I must say that at very least they don't seem to be butchering the classic. the art could have done with abit more than extra shading (like my/Armen's plan of having each gang be discernable by actual clothing, rather than just color). I'm just happy they gave the characters their original outfits rather than the bad 80's T and jeans combo. feh.

being one to wax nostalgic, I'd be delighted to answer any further queries to the best of my ability, prefacing any answers by saying that RedEye has done a wonderful job researching this, and any further info is not 'facts that he missed' but rather speculations me and Armen had kicked around at some point.


woo hoo, now I finally have somthing to show those #*$@ers at EB... I mean... oop...
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Ancient Oldie



Joined: 28 Nov 2003
Posts: 60

PostPosted: Mon Mar 01, 2004 9:18 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

It sucks that part two won't be released. How come Armen (or SECRET CONTACT #2) decided to stop development of the game? I'm pretty sure Atlus would seriously consider your groups proposition if you had a halfway playable game. They might at least buy the rights of the game back from him just so that he doesn't go and sell the title off to some other developers.

Hell, you think he would sell me the rights to the game?? Or put it up for sale on Ebay. It isn't going to do him any good now that part two isn't going to be released.

Finally, what combo's were you guys planning on implementing in the game?
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Kitsune
FURRY


Joined: 20 Nov 2003
Posts: 318
Location: Mexico

PostPosted: Mon Mar 01, 2004 10:09 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

zillford wrote:
If you ever get a chance to chat with Armen (you can find him kicking around a couple of *gasp* furry cons) you'll cry too. For all his possible failings as a marketer, he truely seemed to have a GRATE plan for how to make RCR2 more than a cheap knock-off.


Wahahahahaha! He's one of my own? Well that makes me feel all warm inside.

Maybe in the future, something else will come up, and your ideas will be taken into consideration for a sequel. We can only hope.
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Johnny Undaunted



Joined: 08 Sep 2003
Posts: 306

PostPosted: Tue Mar 02, 2004 1:06 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Man! Being the resident Kunio/Technos fan on this board, I'm ticked that the one day I'm away from home all day is the day that this was posted.

Anyway, I feel sorry for Zillford, Armen and the other developers that were working on this, but truth to be told, I couldn't had wanted it any other way. These are the original people (at least some of them) working on River City Ransom EX. I don't think anyone else could've given us a proper sequel (or in this case, a remake) to River City Ransom.

But still, I don't think Armen should've given up that easily. If the deal with Atlus didn't work out, he could've publish the game as Somewhere Else Ransom or something. It worked for Rage of the Dragons after all.

As some of you may or may not know, there was a River City Ransom sequel of sort for the Japanese Famicom. Kunio-kun no Jidaigeki was for a purpose, a RCR sequel, but with the characters acting out a school play.

Anyway, I'm getting a bit tired of waiting for RCREX, so I may as well import it firsthand as soon as it comes out this week (I'll still pick the domestic version, but I want to play it now).
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TheRedEye
The Internet's Frank Cifaldi
The Internet's Frank Cifaldi


Joined: 26 Aug 2003
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PostPosted: Tue Mar 02, 2004 1:37 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I haven't read the review yet, but I hear Famitsu gave Downtown Nekketsu Monogatari EX something abysmal like a 26.
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Ballz
Staff
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Joined: 03 Sep 2003
Posts: 610
Location: st. petersburg, florida

PostPosted: Tue Mar 02, 2004 1:56 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Indirect, implied, and probably coincidental reference to River City Ransom 2 in today's (March 2nd)Something Awful headliner.

Quote:
Now I'm well aware most kids will ignore my dire warnings and dismiss them as the ravings of an elderly 27-year old man who spends his spare time engaging in lengthy pantless conversations with his pets about why there should be a sequel to River City Ransom. I admit I'm not "hip" and "with it" and I lack the "radical" street smart lingo that you crazy teens "jive" to in these complex days of cellphones, hovercars, and formica tables. But I want to explain that I was once young and virile, convinced my body could overcome whatever noxious substances I threw into it.


In unrelated news to the RCR2 story, but related to Lowtax's speech about the "20 year speedbump," I can attest that I seem to be following his path. My stomach and gut began doing weird gurgling noises since mid-December, a few weeks shy of my 23rd birthday, and I have since gained about 7 pounds, putting me over 130 pounds for the first time in my life.

Which, you know, isn't scary yet. But still, it begins.

Oh yeah, great article, Frank.
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TheRedEye
The Internet's Frank Cifaldi
The Internet's Frank Cifaldi


Joined: 26 Aug 2003
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Location: Oakland, CA

PostPosted: Tue Mar 02, 2004 2:12 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

One hundred and thirty pounds? HEAVENS TO BETSY!
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Kitsune
FURRY


Joined: 20 Nov 2003
Posts: 318
Location: Mexico

PostPosted: Tue Mar 02, 2004 2:17 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Rage of the Dragons was awful. I'm glad that the Technos people decided NOT to have anything to do with the game. Yeah, Abubo looked great in pink, allright.

You heard me, I'm dissing a NeoGeo game! Amazing!

Kunio Kun no Jidaigeki was translated a couple of years ago... I didn't like it. There's even a Gameboy version, if you can sniff it out.

Edit:
Ballzy, I'm glad you're gaining weight. Although the opposite effect is happening to me - I'm losing weight. *brags* :)
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Johnny Undaunted



Joined: 08 Sep 2003
Posts: 306

PostPosted: Tue Mar 02, 2004 3:35 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

TheRedEye wrote:
I haven't read the review yet, but I hear Famitsu gave Downtown Nekketsu Monogatari EX something abysmal like a 26.


Bah! Famitsu's too overrated and too much of a sellout to even trust their reviews. I may just be saying that because they dissed a game I'm really looking forward to, but can you trust a magazine that gave good ratings to Saga Frontier just because they can't stand up to Square.

Anyway, Game Kommander an article about Super Double Dragon which talks about the unused plot and soundtrack in the game. Worth see for all Technos fans.
http://www.ne.jp/asahi/hzk/kommander/dd4.html

If you don't understand Japanese, I can give you the gist of it.
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zillford
FURRY


Joined: 10 Sep 2003
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PostPosted: Tue Mar 02, 2004 4:40 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

ok, lets see here... I'll go through these as best I can:

all info is either inferred, somthing I know for sure, or somthing that Armen mentioned to me while chatting. the factualness of the following is correct to the best of my knowledge.

OLDIE:

Armen told me that his attempts to requisite a publisher were met with lots of "If you can't show me figures on how well this type of game sold LAST year, then we can't take the risk". he, apparently, busted his ass, going to E3, and various other Expos, trying in vain to get some interest. it seems that "cult classic" isn't enough for them these days. I think any bites he might have had all wanted him to give up the rights, somthing he was not up for (as we could very well have been fucked over after selling).

I don't think he just 'gave up'. also, since all of the team was working for free, we had several gaps of time where one member couldn't be working. this was me at the start, but later became the programmers part. I seriously don't know what he plans to do with the copywrite now... I'll prolly ask him next time we talk.

as far as 'combos' go, I think each character was going to have a different fighting style (similar to the 4 character Kunio fighting game, "Blah-blah-blah-nekketsu-blah-somthing-japanese") only it would be much further realized thanks to the improved graphics and memory. Armen had also mentioned abit to me about the grapple system, and how each direction combined with the button would result in different throws (ostensibly for different outcomes, hitting people behind you, in front, more singular damage, etc.) with Ivan being the most grapple heavy, and roxy not doing much more than bitch-slapping (sadly, this animation never made it to my drawing board... I would have had fun doing that one).

I had also sugguested that we use the opposite shoulder button (R?) as a special attack button. as you wailed on chumps your characters outline would faintly glow yellow, and then red once the attack was 'charged'. hitting R or R and up(or down) would result in one of two different special attacks. one dealing high damage to a single foe, while the other would deal less damage, but would knock down all nearby enemies. Armen seemed to like this, but we'll never know if he would have incorperated it or not.


KITSUNE:

one of your own, you mean a Furry? yeah, seems LOTS of us are these days. :P

JOHNNY:

I had the same thoughts when Armen first pitched the idea to me. I thought, "come on, how can you do anything but a pale immitation of the joy that was RCR?". after discussing his vision, and the game for a long time, I truly feel that our product would have DEFINATELY topped a simple remake. there's really no telling how a sequel done with the same passion as the rest of the Kunio series would have stood up with ours, but I am confidant that it would have been enjoyable at least. I have almost zero interest in EX, and I hope that someday we see a true sequel on the GBA.

like I said, Atlus seemed to have no interest in the fact that we owned the copywrite, feeling that we would pose no threat to their remake. I guess they were right. as to the game not being finished at all, since he was busy getting in with Atari, and none of us were getting money, the project itself just sorta fell off. Armen tells me that if he ever gets a break, I'll be at the top of his list for 2D, but I'm not holding my breath.


yeah... that's good for now... tommorow I'll post alittle bit more of those ideas me and Armen were kicking around. none of these were confirmed, so be rest assured that anything I say in that post would have nessicarily sullied the game.

the one biggest acclaim I can give Armen about this game, is that he really clamped down on what we would keep the same. his number one priority was NOT pissing off rabid fans (as that was our only market). I feel that most first time designers would let their musings run wild, and the game would turn into a weak, disjointed, fanboyish mess. Armen was all about keeping that magical feel.
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zillford
FURRY


Joined: 10 Sep 2003
Posts: 14

PostPosted: Tue Mar 02, 2004 4:43 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Ballz wrote:
...reference to River City Ransom 2 in today's Something Awful headliner...


heh, speaking of, wouldn't the goons have fucking FLIPPED if they learned that RCR2 was being done by a bunch of us "creepy, animal fucking, godless, heathen" furries.

I would have giggled for hours...

but, naw, I love SA. I can take the poking fun, I mean, furries ARE sometimes really odd.
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