If you’re curious to be taught much more about River Metropolis Women 2 and what’s on the horizon for the sequel in addition to the crew at WayForward, you have come to the best place!
Nintendo Life: Are you able to inform us about your roles on River Metropolis Women 2 and slightly about your historical past at WayForward?
Bannon Rudis: I directed River Metropolis Women 2 and helped with animation, stage design, and a bunch of different stuff. I began there about six years in the past proper as I used to be wrapping up my first sport exterior of the corporate. My first WayForward sport was The Mummy Demastered. That is the place I shadowed the director of that sport and realized the ropes.
Adam Tierney: I oversee bizdev and publishing at WayForward. On River Metropolis Women 2, I wrote the dialog script once more and helped with the cinematics planning.
Was a River Metropolis Women sequel one thing you had been occupied with earlier than the primary sport was launched? Have been any story and gameplay concepts already locked in place years in the past?
Adam: We positively held some issues again from the primary sport for RCG2, particularly the inclusion of villains Ken, Sabu, Ryuji, and Ryuichi. We didn’t wish to deplete all the most important character debuts within the first sport. And naturally, the plot of RCG2 is a reasonably direct follow-up to the occasions of the primary sport (and of River Metropolis Women Zero, the Tremendous Famicom sport that impressed ours).
Bannon: The stuff I wished to deliver was a extra open world and 4 gamers for the sequel.
We positively held some issues again from the primary sport… We didn’t wish to deplete all the most important character debuts.
Are you able to inform us a bit in regards to the new character crossovers in River Metropolis 2? (E.g. Marian from Double Dragon) How did you determine on these explicit characters? And are there plans for some other new characters sooner or later?
Bannon: Marian had been the damsel in misery within the Double Dragon sequence for about 4 many years. She had sufficient of that function and shaped herself into a troublesome boxer that makes use of grappling strikes. The second new character is from my first sport I ever launched referred to as River Metropolis Ransom Underground. She’s based mostly on my real-life pal of the identical identify. Her sassy perspective relies on my pal, however my pal doesn’t have candy dance struggle strikes like her online game counterpart.
How precisely have you ever expanded upon the fight within the unique sport?
Bannon: I attempted to verify gamers may very well be as inventive as attainable with their combos. I discovered myself making new combos on the fly continuously when testing out the fight. No matter labored within the first sport, I amped it up much more. If one thing wasn’t working to its full potential, I made certain to repair it and make it an integral a part of the participant’s arsenal.
Are you able to inform us a bit extra in regards to the new on-line co-op mode?
Bannon: This was fairly the problem since we needed to redo all the engine once more to make the sport work on-line. The factor that may actually stand out amongst different on-line brawlers is the truth that the degrees are fairly large, vertically and horizontally. This was intentional to permit gamers to separate off and never should share the identical digicam. Each gamers can go off in their very own nook to struggle their very own group of enemies as a substitute of everybody bunching up collectively.
The primary sport’s composer Megan McDuffee is again, are you able to inform us slightly about her strategy to the sequel’s soundtrack and the way WayForward performed an element on this course of?
Bannon: I labored with Megan instantly on what sort of music I wished. I gave her notes and samples however nonetheless very a lot it was all Megan creating this music herself. She’s a genius at these things and I might positively depend on her to know easy methods to make catchy music. The primary focus with the lyrical songs although was to convey the emotions and motivations of the bosses of that exact space they reside in.
Adam: We had been so lucky to attach with Megan for the music on the sequence, and up to now she’s labored on all three RCG video games so far. As unimaginable as her soundtrack was for the primary sport, I feel gamers will likely be stunned simply how way more diversified and complicated this second soundtrack is by comparability.
Who helped out with the cutscenes this time round?
Adam: On the primary sport, we labored with Eric Huang to storyboard our cinematics and Studio Yotta to animate them. On River Metropolis Women Zero, the intro was achieved by David Liu and his studio emptycel. With RCG2, our intro was storyboarded by Mariel Cartwright of Future Membership, however animated internally this time at WayForward (directed by Kay Yu, who’s additionally the pixel animation lead on the RCG video games). And the entire manga cutscenes in all three video games had been illustrated by Rem, who’s been our lead illustrator and character designer from the start.
Any plans for post-release updates or DLC? Might we maybe see a 3rd River Metropolis Women sport sooner or later?
Bannon: Method too early to inform. I’ve concepts however nothing is official as of but in any respect. Hopefully gamers are considering us increasing this additional as a result of I personally would like to.
Adam: We might’ve beloved to have produced some DLC for the primary sport, however on the time it made sense to only roll instantly onto the sequel. Hopefully this time, we will add just a few extra options to the sport through DLC, though that each one relies on how properly the sport itself does when it comes to early gross sales first.
We might’ve beloved to have produced some DLC for the primary sport, however on the time it made sense to only roll instantly onto the sequel. Hopefully this time, we will add just a few extra options to the sport through DLC
The Restricted Run Video games bodily launch of River Metropolis Women 2 has utterly bought out, any probability of a restock?
Adam: I do know Restricted Run will typically have convention- and event-exclusive variations of their bodily releases, and we truly illustrated a brand-new RCG2 cowl for that potential model. So hopefully that’s on the horizon. A restock past that chance can be as much as LRG, although.
What’s subsequent for WayForward?
Adam: Plenty of superior video games in growth proper now, together with a number of based mostly on established movie and sport manufacturers, though most of these are nonetheless secret in the intervening time. We’re launching LUNARK, our cinematic pixel platformer developed by Canari Video games, in early 2023. Verify that one out when it releases on PC and consoles, and be looking out within the coming months for some main titles coming from WayForward in 2023 and 2024!
Any closing phrases to the Nintendo Life group about River Metropolis Women 2?
Bannon: Try the sport. There’s a lot to search out in it. It’s going to maintain you and your folks busy for whereas with all of the little hidden secrets and techniques scattered about. Good luck!
Adam: One of many massive attracts to working with this model was the truth that it takes place in a particular metropolis that we might develop and develop additional with every new sport. I’m so excited with how River Metropolis has grown and advanced for the reason that first sport, and might’t wait to see participant response to our newest additions.
Due to Bannon and Adam for taking the day out of their busy schedules to reply our questions. Nintendo Life needs WayForward all one of the best for the 12 months forward!
Have you ever tried out River Metropolis Women 2 on the Swap but? Enthusiastic about what’s subsequent for WayForward? Remark beneath.