The friends of Ringo Ishikawa

Good game. Hold a button down to study. Or just sit in class and look out the window. Or don't even go to school at all. School sucks anyways. Everybody's talking about graduation. Who cares. Become a legend.

This is one strange game. You have likely not played anything like it before. The best way to describe would be existential exploration. It drops you into the role of Ringo Ishikawa with no exposition and no guidance. You are now living a slice of his life and you go day to day.
The game is low stakes and, despite the beat 'em up aesthetic and mechanics, it is surprisingly chill. It is aided in this by the lo-fi soundtrack. The game has a feeling of living. The tone waxes and wanes with it having a somewhat forlorn quality to it all. Kind of what you'd expect from playing an 80s street tough that's closing a chapter in his life with no real direction.
I like the game. I dropped it once and then came back to it and almost dropped it again, but after quiting and coming back to it later in the night, it finally clicked. Like I said, the game is very directionless and you have to learn your way around the world. It's different and I like it.
It isn't without fault, though. The game's controls can be okay 90-95% of the time, but frequently enough they just bug the hell out and your character does stuff you do not want it to do. It's frustrating.
Otherwise, I absolutely recommend this game. Just don't go in expecting a traditional game. It's something else and one you need to be ready to experience.

Finished in one go from beggining to end. I dont know what things I have missed in my playtrought but despite the game pretending it is not story heavy game at the beggining, it is and it clicks together only in the very end.
The most bitter part is the name of the game. The friends of Ringo Ishikawa. What a name.
And one more thing to add into this - it is the games like this why I loved games ever since I laid my hands on my first games. The games that will suck you into the world and make you think about your own life, about what is and what could be and how to explore all of those unique places and world both in games and outside of it.
Truly a masterpiece, thanks devs for making this.

The friends of Ringo Ishikawa is a game that made me love fighting games again. Intricate and tight combat with a whole arsenal of awesome fighting moves to choose from, beautiful music, crisp detailed visuals. I'd played through the game once before on my PC and decided to download it onto my Steam Deck. The experience was even better than I could have hoped.
The soundtrack is awesome, the music sets the tone for a variety of scenes, places and scenarios. It's clear a lot of thought was put into pairing the music with each scene. In some cases the music is even timed to compliment the story. Which is not something you'd find in most fighters. This game is so much more, from the different story elements and characters to the side quests and mini games. After 18 hours on my second play through I still have so much more I want to do.
If you haven't played this yet, then you should. If you have played it then you should play it again... I mean, are you a real gamer if you haven't gotten all the achievements yet? I'm gearing up for my third play through to see if I can help Ringo find love.
What did I dislike? Nothing,
What would I change? I'd ask Yeo to make a second Friends of RIngo game (I already have on Twitter).
Will you have fun? Undoubtedly.

got this to just larp and beat up people walked away very happy with the journey i loved this game so much and really enjoyed it
i cant wait to see what yeo brings next hopefully another 2d beat em up but im open to anything

It's a very strange type of game, there are some principles, but you don't really know what they are because the game keeps them obscured. All in all it has a lot of potential, but I'm not sure how far the devs will take it. For my money I would make this game kind of like punch club in the sense of putting in a workout tree, and expanding the story to let the player build up that way.

Perhaps someday I will properly write out a full review or even an essay for The Friends of Ringo Ishikawa; however, as I am writing this it is 9 in the morning and I have just stayed up all night playing and completing the game in one sitting, that on its own should speak to the quality of this game.
The Friends of Ringo Ishikawa is a wonderfully moody and melancholy game with fun combat. a great gameplay loop, and a brilliantly sharp and down to earth writing style which made each character feel so real and alive. On top of the writing and gameplay, The Friends of Ringo Ishikawa contains some of the most beautiful, well animated, and satisfying pixel art I've seen, not to mention a great soundtrack.
I think if I had one complaint it would be that the game left me yearning for more, its just so short and the ending comes so abruptly, I think its well done and suits the narrative but there's a part of me that cant help but wish I got to see more from the characters and setting.
The Friends of Ringo Ishikawa is not for everyone but for those who will like it, they'll surely love it as I did
Final Score: 8/10 but a 10/10 in my heart, I think The Friends of Ringo Ishikawa is a game that will stick with me for a long time