Impressions and General Tips

[Gaiden]

First off, I gotta say I was very impressed with this game. Lots of nice touches from slacking in class, looking out the window to smokin' a butt with your boys after a beatdown. It's a high school-life simulator like a Persona game mixed with classic River City Ransom combat. But best of all is definitely the story events tucked away as the school days go on. It's probably going to take some time for everyone to pitch in and figure out all of its secrets. So here's what I got:

Early tips - in the beginning it's hard not to get the crap beaten out of you without your crew so grab your gang before heading out. Goro is on the roof, Masaru usually in front of the school - sometimes on the roof. Shiro is often in the first classroom - floor 3. He can sometimes be found on floor 2 as well. The "green" and "white" shirt gangs are neutral so you can go for an easy victory if you group up with them. Always be looting bodies. Getting knocked out is risky because you lose quite a bit of time and it can sometimes throw off your routine. Also, don't study too late into the early morning hours or you will be forced to sleep very late into the next day - possibly missing school and/or your training regime at various gyms.

Sleep - develop good habits - or don't. But getting a full nights rest will restore all your health, priming you for tomorrow's gang wars. I liked going to bed by 1 am - getting up at 7 gives you time to run to the gym for some reps before class starts.

Money - You can pilfer off of other gang fights - so sit back, light up, and watch the other punks duke it out before taking their money. You can also work part time at the video store. Look at the flier outside your apartment and then work M, W, F at noon for a quick 4k. If you miss your shift twice you're fired though so be careful at least in the beginning when money is tight. A great place to grind in the evenings is by the bar. Cycle screens until the mobs appear and then just pick off the stragglers. Bait kicking tends to work really well until you learn some new moves.

Training:

Gym - I don't know if you need the 30k or not to join the gym. After talking to the owner enough he just let me start training - never took my money so maybe a bug. Each session gives you +25 HP. Life maxes out at 999. You can also train at the park doing pull ups and squats. 3 HP per exercise first but eventually scales to 9 HP as you get stronger.

Mechanic - Not sure if this is triggered by enough days going by or not but if you get beat up in the forest, the mechanic will save you and you can then train with him. 4 moves.

Boxing Arena - After a certain event, becomes available to train. 4 moves.

School Gymnasium - Again, not sure what triggers but possibly after you've learned all of the other movesets from the other trainers - mid to late game. Teaches a bunch of rad moves to grapple opponents.

Academics - Two classes per day (see schedule on first floor). During class, actively writing the whole time nets you the largest increase in the "know" stat for that subject. Hold the "punch" button - don't slack and stare out the window - although that's cool too on some days.
If you read all of the books in the library you can gain the speed reading ability which allows for a larger bonus. This also increases you stat bonus during home study from the initial 1% to 2%. Often, a day of total home study will net you far more "know" stats than attending school, ironically. Tests are Saturdays. If you pass with A's and B's, you can get a scholarship of 10k. I was getting A's and B's by about 50% "knowledge" of all subject matter. Straight A's will allow you to do research papers (2) for an additional 10k per paper - but they take a long time to complete.

Food - This one is a bit of mystery still to me. Two burgers will get you sated. Three will get you nice and full. Not sure how it effects combat but I'm guessing it might act similarly to vitality/defense - you might be able to take more hits. I spent most of my playthrough starving and chain-smoking and didn't die. However, I did lose weight... no surpise.

Hobbies - You can buy and read books from the store. Not sure if they increase stats but reading them all nets you an achievement. Speed reading helps a lot with this. You can read while sitting - park bench, cafe, burger joint, etc. Buying a TV lets you buy movies from the store. Watching certain movies will teach you special moves. Watching with friends is more fun - in between smoke breaks on the patio. You can also buy a Famicom and play one game - although I couldn't finish playing it so not sure if any stat gains. You can buy a ping pong table from the coach in the gymnasium in the mornings. It will be on the roof the following day where you can play a sweet mini game with your friends. You can play pool at the bar and also poker on the machine for cash. You can also amusingly drink until the screen is blurry and then go for some drunken brawls.

Unsolved Mysteries - I really wanted a girlfriend. I never got one. But it may be possible? Aiko seems like a winner. The mysterious "light blue" dudes that chill under the bridge. Always happy to light me up but never saw them fight. I did destroy them late game - for science - but no repercussions that I'm aware of. That cool karate kid impersonator outside my apartment with the bandana - he must have a story? The two silent chicks in homeroom that won't give me the time of day. The golden chain. And probably loads more secrets just waiting to be unearthed.

There's some really great dialogue and a pretty deep story if you give this game a chance. It's a bit of a slow start but it really picks up steam toward the end and you'll find yourself generally caring about the characters and their life choices. There are some extremely cool moments - some of the best I've seen in a beat 'em up. What other game can you beat the snot out of rival gangs, have a comrade light up your cigarette for you, and then thug-walk to the cafe for some ramen? And that ending... you'll have to see for yourself!

[Zar Shef]

чтож,моё руководство теряет всякий смысл существовать

well,my guide not nead at all now

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[stray_stoat]

Originally posted by Rabbit Purple:

чтож,моё руководство теряет всякий смысл существовать

well,my guide not nead at all now

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Наоборот. Руководство там, где ему положено быть — в руководствах (а не в обсуждениях, куда мало кто смотрит).

[Zar Shef]

Originally posted by stray_stoat:

Originally posted by Rabbit Purple:

чтож,моё руководство теряет всякий смысл существовать

well,my guide not nead at all now

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Наоборот. Руководство там, где ему положено быть — в руководствах (а не в обсуждениях, куда мало кто смотрит).

Спасибо :)

[Zar Shef]

И,Разраб,это отличный способ отомстить моим "5 копейкам" :D

[shin-yeo]

Я не хотел тебя обидеть ни в коем случае. Для меня вообще чудо, что кто-то пишет комменты и обсуждает, и все прочее. Я очень ценю, если кто-то вообще написал хоть два слова, потратил время свое. А ты за целое руководство взялся. С моей стороны только респект и ничего более.

Но у тебя там есть некоторые неточности. Например, что сигареты хилят. И еще некоторые. А это (по сути) руководство ушло куда-то вниз, потонуло и я его временно поднял, чтобы люди увидели и оценили. А так, я думаю, сообщество само должно решать, какие гайды ему по душе, а какие нет. Комментированием например.

Вот. Я боялся как раз, что могу тебя обидеть, словно это такой шаг "смотрите как надо". Ты не обижайся, пожалуйста, я тебя обидеть совсем не хотел.

[Zar Shef]

Originally posted by shin-yeo:

Я не хотел тебя обидеть ни в коем случае. Для меня вообще чудо, что кто-то пишет комменты и обсуждает, и все прочее. Я очень ценю, если кто-то вообще написал хоть два слова, потратил время свое. А ты за целое руководство взялся. С моей стороны только респект и ничего более.

Но у тебя там есть некоторые неточности. Например, что сигареты хилят. И еще некоторые. А это (по сути) руководство ушло куда-то вниз, потонуло и я его временно поднял, чтобы люди увидели и оценили. А так, я думаю, сообщество само должно решать, какие гайды ему по душе, а какие нет. Комментированием например.

Вот. Я боялся как раз, что могу тебя обидеть, словно это такой шаг "смотрите как надо". Ты не обижайся, пожалуйста, я тебя обидеть совсем не хотел.

Та на что там обижаться?На то что тебе помогли лучше чем я? :D
Кстати,опять спалил мне механику,спасибо!

[Billeh]

MY DUDE! Shiro tries to hook you up with a double date.

[Gaiden]

Originally posted by BillHN:

MY DUDE! Shiro tries to hook you up with a double date.

"Tries" being the key word. ;)

[DonnieLove]

I'm waiting for the day when I can get in the ring. Okay, I know that's probably never going to happen but still. It's right there, and a Ringo can dream.

Speaking of unsolved mysteries: did you stumble across the coach out and about yet? I'm sort of hoping that the conversation you have with him is a hint for a future mini-game or something. Again, a Ringo can dream.

[DonnieLove]

Originally posted by Gaiden:

Originally posted by BillHN:

MY DUDE! Shiro tries to hook you up with a double date.

"Tries" being the key word. ;)

I think she was a bit hasty to cut it off personally, considering I mastered boxing in less than two weeks. Don't see things through to the end, she says. No concept of commitment, she says. Lady, Ringo's a prodigy.

[shin-yeo]

> I'm waiting for the day when I can get in the ring.

I have actually planned it also. And I even got all animations done for it. But it's another complicated mechanic which can't be done half-assed (cause I'm a huge boxing fan and even still practicing it on a week basis). And it would delayed the release for a weeks so I dropped it. And as I have a boxing game in my plans I don't really know if I will add it here or not.

[DonnieLove]

I'm not going to lie. The boxing gym segment reminded me very much of a cross between Ippo and old-school Punch Out. I even imagine that Ringo's running to stay in shape, ala the old Punch Out intro segment. Boxing in a Japanese environment in SNES graphics was not a thing I realized I needed. Thank you for showing us the way. :P

[Gaiden]

Originally posted by DonnieLove:

Speaking of unsolved mysteries: did you stumble across the coach out and about yet? I'm sort of hoping that the conversation you have with him is a hint for a future mini-game or something. Again, a Ringo can dream.

Yeah, I did! That's the beauty of this game. There's so much potential for added events and the character interactions feel very real. Even if nothing more is planned, I could very well see Ringo becoming a game series. "The Enemies of Ringo Ishikawa" - a sequel where Ringo flunks out but decides to join the Yakuza. "The Women of Ringo Ishikawa" - a dating sim where Ringo has a charisma meter and beating rival gang bosses impresses the ladies, haha.

A player can dream, ha.

[DonnieLove]

I'd follow a story about the blond friend, to be honest. I feel like he's most likely the one slated to join the yakuza. Or the boxer. It'd make perfect sense that you'd have to start over after all of his downtime with the broken hand and he even comments on having thought about it in one of the sidebar convos.

But yeah, I feel like this universe needs to be explored more. I get the whole "Ringo's story's finished" mindset. It had a very fitting ending in my eyes, though I understand it isn't for everyone. Still, the world though. I feel like the dev has more stories in mind already. I just... really hope it follows with the retro feel. I don't know why, I just find it extremely fitting.

On secrets: Has anyone figured out how to stop getting kicked out of the school gymnasium? I've learned all moves from the mechanic, boxing, even movies, and still get tossed out as soon as a given class starts. I'm clearly doing something wrong, and it's going to drive me bonkers.

[Gaiden]

Totally agree.

For the last trainer in the gym - I think it's actually the Judo class - not Karate. So M, W, F in the afternoon. I'm not totally sure about the timing but later in the game once I had learned everything else, there was a side-convo with the instructor wearing the lighter blue outfit. I was going at around 14:00 or so after class and I was able to train before being kicked out for the Karate class at 18:00. You could give that a shot.