River City Girls ending explained

[ProtoMekka]

River City Girls had an ending that really confused a lot of new people getting into the series, I am here to explain it. So basically we found out that Misako and Kyoko were not the actual girlfriends, this actually makes sense when you think about it. Yamada's backstory never stated that Kunio and Riki beat him up on the rooftop after rescuing Mami. This lead me to believe the story takes place BEFORE River City Ransom where Riki is dating Mami. That and Kunio taking interest Hasebe, like he said. This means Riki and Kunio are already dating Hasebe and Mami. Now the two girls Misako and Kyoko were actually dating Kunio and Riki at some point in the series but just got moved aside for Mami in the OG River City.

[ProtoMekka]

Originally posted by Coldshoes:

While the sprite animation was top notch the ending kida sucked for me. Double Dragon, Bad Dudes, hell, even the Simpsons (Nintendo Game) made you feel like you took on the whole world and won leaving you feeling like a total baddass.

Finding out you were just some pathetic emotional and embarrassing stupid bimbo who can't take the hint is just sad. Sadder than getting beaten up by to cheerleaders and preppy girls.

I miss this stlye of game I really do. Next time I hope they leave their weak ass Shamalyan twist endings at home. It wasn't even funny and diminished all characters involved.

I wouldn't say it like that, the Kunio Kun series isn't supposed to be serious or anything like that, its more comedic. Its mostly a joke on how Misako and Kyoko were Kunio and Riki's girlfriends for a game and for some reason they are now with Mami and Hasebe out of no where (Kind of like how it was for Shin Nekketsu Kōha: Kunio-tachi no Banka and Downtown Nekketsu Monotagari)

[waelan]

It's not that I didn't understand the ending, it's that I hate it. This entire game is a joke with a game written around it, and the joke isn't funny. It's running my desire to finish the game because what's the point. They don't win, and the joke isn't worth the effort. If the secret ending was actually winning the affection of the two boys, or a genuine revenge against the secret bosses prank, and the boy's attitude, it would have worked.

It was literally nothing more then a joke the dev's found funny, that most people didn't seem to, and unless they decide to dlc repair it, pretty much ruins the game, or at least tarnishes it.

[Professor Fairfield]

Fun fact: Adam Tierney and Bannon Rudis have started answering reader questions on the River City Mall Discord channel, and when asked about it, Adam said that his stance on the ending and the plot holes that it creates with the beginning is that it's up to players to interpret.

Anyway, this might go without saying, but a declaration of "it's a joke" isn't a magic spell that gains a writer unconditional leeway. Rather, it adds the judgment condition of whether or not it is funny. It's already been explained why the logic behind this in-joke isn't good; that is, Kunio and Hasebe were never before an item and Riki and Mami were only an item once, but even with bad logic they might still have pulled a more satisfying conclusion out of it.

I think that if one's intent is for a story to end with a fourth walk joke, to borrow terminology from TS Elliot it's better to go out with a bang than a whimper. The movie Blazing Saddles is the key thing I'd cite of the "bang" variety. It's final scenes begin with a relatively generic Wild West fistfight, then the actors break out of the set and start invading other parts of the movie studio, with more and more characters from disparate genres joining the fight. There's even less logic than in River City Girls for why this happens, but the payoff justifies it. Blazing Saddles treats the fourth wall breaking as an opportunity to crank its hijinx up to eleven, and it still manages to let Sherrif Bart finish his battle with Hedly Lamar and earn a happy ending.

River City Girls ends on a fourth wall joke that is more of a whimper. Somehow Hasebe explaining the odd nature of their world doesn't even make Misako and Kyoko do anything differently when they meet Kunio and Riki; as in the normal ending that's when they just stop doing anything. They get no closure. Hijinx does not ensue. Only credits ensue. It's not funny; it's actually kind of depressing. Given just how zany the world of the game was, going out with what amounts to "well; it's not real so we won't bother continuing" is a real letdown.

[Captain Slap a Dome]

While playing, the combat and the zany nature of all characters in this world (not to mention Misako and Kyoko's commentary about it) kept me entertained; I love beat-em-ups, but throw in a block button and a leveling system and I'm sold. The ending, however, left me laughing loud enough for my neighbors to hear, for roughly thirty whole seconds. The joke seemed to be on me...ten seconds later, I realized the joke was actually perfectly placed to coincide with Misako and Kyoko's thoughts about their place in their world, their imaginary world, and our real world...shortly put, they don't matter. They don't matter to River City, they don't matter to Riki and Kunio, and they don't matter to gamers. In other words, a beat-em-up doesn't require a happy ending, only a reason to make you keep punching. Replaying a game for the ending is a conscious and personal choice; playing again because the gameplay and psychotic characters draw you in, however, is visceral, and, thus, the best a game can do. An "expected" (and cliched) ending of "we saved person x" in a game that defies cliche would likely not sit well with the writers. All I care is that the controls feel responsive enough to keep me playing; whether they rescue their boyfriends remains inconsequential due to the saving grace that the game never takes itself too seriously, remaining fixed to it's roots of a city of violent people with no real reason to fight except for the fact that they're all in that crazy town together, so, let's fight!

[SilentStorm]

Apparently the ending in the japanese version is different, in that version, they indeed are the boyfriends of the main characters, it's just that the guys are cheating on Misako and Kyoko with the other two, making a joke of both pairs being their girlfriends in different games and that being the reason.

At least it seems that they do recognize the two main characters in that version, they just aren't exactly the most faithful of boyfriends, and if the joke is to explain what happened, it seems that they prefer the other two so either way, they either are crazy girls going after guys that don't even know them or they went out of their way to go after guys cheating on them that will eventually leave them.

Not...exactly a great ending for the girls in either case.

[cutecutecutebaby]

Perfect explanation: Delusional Disorder, Erotomanic type (delusions about another person being in love with the patient)
https://thriveworks.com/blog/delusional-disorder/

[polymath]

So, what exactly did I just beat (on GOG)? A dubiously canon game, set in a violent dream of a crazy stalker high school girl?

[sling_shot]

The game has multiple endings.

The first you get it by playing normally. You beat the Yakuza lady, kick her out the window, then the girls fall into a SPA where Ruki and Kunio are , and that's when you discover they have dated like once and the boys have moved on since.

The second ending you get it by entering the final boss room with the 2 heart pieces equipped, one of each you earn it by destroing all the 25 statues. Do that and you get a different boss. I don't remember what I did to get the first one. Anyway, you go in there, beat the boos and the ending is completely different. it starts as a joke boss fight, but then you beat it , find the boys at the SPA and they'll ask the girls out. From the looks of it, this is the actual true ending.

I think you get a third ending or a new boss by playing a Riki or Kunio. I'm yet to test it.