The River City / Kunio-Kun series is one of the few brawler franchises that still gets new releases in recent years, as franchises like Final Fight and Streets of Rage have fallen by the wayside. Whether it’s the RPG elements offering extra depth or the character designs and personality, the original River City Ransom was an enduring cult hit on the NES. Natsume and Arc System Works teamed up to remake the game for 3DS, and River City: Tokyo Rumble is still fun but some elements show their age.

The star of Tokyo Rumble is Kunio, a justice-seeking fighter who dispatches punks with fists, feet, and in my case enough German Suplexes to make Brock Lesnar cry gimmick infringement. As punks fall, they drop cash or items that can be sold to help build Kunio’s arsenal of skills and buy new clothes that provide buffs. Unlike the NES original, the co-op play is mandatory after a certain point. You have three partners to choose from and although they’re mostly useful, swapping between them involves returning to the opening area and talking to an NPC. The computer-controlled partners occasionally wouldn’t pick up item drops when they defeat an enemy, which is frustrating because the items disappear very quickly so a lot gets lost.

Tokyo Rumble tells a basic story, but it’s nice that Kunio does get called out when he talks like an ‘80s action star (referring to his teacher in school as “honey” repeatedly). The campaign doesn’t last very long; I rolled first credits in about five hours. An in-game job system helps you earn extra cash and item opportunities. Going for 100% completion doubled the game clock, but one job didn’t appear to be able to be finished because I couldn’t get a particular NPC to spawn in an area. A couple of side games (Dodgeball and Rumble) have local play (with an option for Download Play on one copy) for up to four players, though my testing did see a bit of lag especially in the Dodgeball mode.

The Dodgeball mode isn’t the only callback to old NES games –references to other franchises including Renegade and Double Dragon are abundant. Between these references and the remixes of classic sprites and music, Tokyo Rumble does a great job of respecting its history. The controls can be adjusted if you want to, but I had no issue with the default settings.

Mixing brawler and role-playing aspects is a common design choice, but River City: Tokyo Rumble veers far closer to the brawler side. It’ll be over quickly, but so was the original. A few little things keep this from being an all-time classic, but it’s a fun break from the heavy role-playing games the 3DS has had this year. This is one trip to the Far East worth hopping on.