Arc System Works has announced that River City: Rival Showdown, the 2016 3DS remake of classic RPG beat-'em-up River City Ransom, is heading to PS4, Switch, and PC in October. Of course, these versions won't feature the 3DS' stereoscopic 3D, but otherwise, you're getting all the same enhanced features as the 3DS version had.
According to Arc, River City: Rival Showdown is essentially River City Ransom "rebuilt from the ground up". It takes the classic beat-'em-up gameplay with RPG elements of the original and enhances it with better controls, sharper visuals, and online play, as well as a bonus 2D fighting mode. You can check out a trailer for River City: Rival Showdown on modern systems here.
Even if you've played the original River City Ransom to death, there should still be plenty here to interest you. New story events, "never-before-seen macho maneuvers", and improved visuals mean that this shouldn't just feel like a rehash of the 1989 title. What's more, there's also a brand new mode in the form of 2D fighter "Double Dragon Duel 2023", which features a "bountiful roster of hardened hitters", with even more unlockable characters awaiting you if you decide to look for them.
The River City series has been going strong since 1986, with its latest installment, River City Girls 2, having launched back in December last year. In Japan, the series is known as Kunio-kun, and includes games that weren't part of the River City series in the West, like Super Dodge Ball and Renegade.
More recent installments (those released outside of Japan, at any rate) have been mostly consistent across Japan and the West, although River City Girls 2, as well as its predecessor River City Girls, were developed by Western studio WayForward, albeit under Arc System Works' supervision. Rival Showdown is developed and published entirely by Arc System Works, though.
You'll be able to pick up River City: Rival Showdown when it launches on PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, and PC on October 12th.
