Many people may view the Yakuza franchise as a spiritual successor to the Shenmue series, and the connection is a logical one. Both are modern-day and fairly open-world series that originated as Sega-published titles, and both have a strong emphasis on martial arts action. Those who have played games in each franchise can spot key differences in the stories and gameplay priorities of these games, and in truth, Yakuza series is arguably influenced more by the NES classic River City Ransom, part of the Kunio-kun series, as they more closely mirror the Yakuza games’ vibe of “hot-blooded gangster action.”
River City Ransom, as it was called in English territories, was the story of Alex and Ryan, high school students and best friends, out to rescue Ryan’s girlfriend from the nefarious “Slick” by traveling across River City and defeating numerous themed gangs along the way. Similar to films like The Warriors or City of Violence, these young toughs could easily be the adolescent versions of Yakuza protagonist Kazuma Kiryu and his childhood friend Akira Nishikiyama.
Players could view statistics on a menu screen in River City Ransom, and purchase food and equipment to raise abilities like punching, kicking, and defense, or manuals to learn special attacks. Nearby weapons, including improvised weapons like trashcans, provided an advantage in River City Ransom, just as Kiryu can wield a bicycle as easily as a knife. Defeated enemies would utter things like “Barf,” and leave money for the player to collect. Yakuza fights are closer to brawlers like River City Ransom than Shenmue, which modeled its combat on the Virtua Fighter engine. Defeated enemies often give Kiryu money or an item as an apology, and eating food leads to experience point increases in most Yakuza games. Yakuza also features a few direct nods to River City Ransom, such as its Smile Burger fast food franchise, an homage to Merv’s Burger Joint from the NES classic, where a “smile” was listed on the menu and was always free of charge.
Yakuza Is The Grown Up Version Of River City Ransom
The Yakuza series, rather than a successor to Shenmue, could be accurately described as a “grown up” version of River City Ransom and other Kunio-kun titles. Though Yakuza and Kunio games feature the heroes dishing out savage-looking beatdowns with fists and weapons, there is a humorous tone to the exaggerated violence in both games. Yakuza saves the gravitas of real threat and consequence for its plot battles and cutscene encounters, where normal battles around the city end with enemies limping away, their pride as wounded as their bodies, but with no indication that anyone has sustained traumatic injuries.
Where Kunio seems like a young Kiryu, Ryo Hazuki’s story from Shenmue, seeking vengeance against the martial artist who murdered his father, fits more in the mold of Virtua Fighter and other fighting game series. The Kunio-kun series is probably less familiar to Western gamers, and prior to the recent Double Dragon & Kunio Kun: Retro Brawler Bundle, many early Kunio-kun titles never received an official North American release. Kunio games from the 16-bit era have still never been officially localized, something the spinoff game River City Girls poked fun at in its ending. Kunio games extend beyond the brawler genre, as many feature Kunio engaging in activities like soccer, hockey, and dodgeball, which mirrors the prevalence of mini-games in each Yakuza title.
While relating 3D open-world games like Shenmue and Yakuza is intuitive, the actual tone and content of the games might make it more appropriate to view Yakuza as the grown up, modern day version of River City Ransom, instead of a successor to Shenmue. The hot-blooded high school delinquents of River City Ransom have more in common with the brawling gangsters of Yakuza, and both lean closer to the aesthetics and conventions of Japanese gangster films than they do the martial arts films that inspired Shenmue. River City Ransom is a part of the NES Classics selection included with a Switch Online subscription, and for gamers interested in experiencing the closest thing to an 8-bit version of a Yakuza game, it is one of the NES titles that still holds up well today.