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River City Saga: Three Kingdoms Next

River City Saga: Three Kingdoms Next Game Cover
41%Game Brain Score
humor, graphics
story, gameplay
67% User Score Based on 12 reviews

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River City Saga: Three Kingdoms Next Game Cover

About

River City Saga: Three Kingdoms Next is a single player and multiplayer arcade hack and slash game with fantasy, comedy, anime and historical themes. It was developed by Arc System Works and was released on November 6, 2024. It received mostly positive reviews from players.

In this second part of River City Saga: Three Kingdoms, our beloved hot-blooded high-schooler from River City, Kunio (Guan Yu) charges his way through to the apex chapter of the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, the Battle of Wuzhang Plains. Experience a comedic twist on the classic tale, featuring a cast of over 100 characters!

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River City Saga: Three Kingdoms Next screenshot
River City Saga: Three Kingdoms Next screenshot
River City Saga: Three Kingdoms Next screenshot
River City Saga: Three Kingdoms Next screenshot
River City Saga: Three Kingdoms Next screenshot
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67%
Audience ScoreBased on 12 reviews
humor4 positive mentions
gameplay3 negative mentions
  • Improved combat system with more combo potential and fewer restrictions, making fights more engaging and dynamic.
  • Humorous and clever writing that blends historical setting with quirky, modern, and slapstick elements, enhancing the story's entertainment value.
  • Good multiplayer experience and fast travel system that makes navigation convenient and replay easier.
  • Game suffers from significant bugs including controller issues, NPC interaction failures, and frequent loading screen freezes that can break saves.
  • Lack of extra game modes and side quests reduces replayability and exploration compared to the first game.
  • Presentation inconsistencies such as limited character portraits, downgraded cutscene quality, and excessive text without skip options can detract from the experience.
  • story
    9 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The story is engaging and cleverly written, with humorous self-awareness that adds charm, especially as it becomes more absurd towards the end. However, the pacing can feel slow and the lack of side quests or additional modes reduces replayability compared to the first game. Overall, it continues the established narrative but misses some open-world and variety elements fans appreciated previously.

    • “The story is cool and felt engaging throughout most of it.”
    • “Throughout the story, I felt there was some clever and funny writing that subtly reminded the player that everyone is only acting in a play and aren't actually these Chinese warlords.”
    • “This gets more blatant later on as Sima Yi comes into the picture, since he's played by Tobioka, a character who's entirely centered around technology and robots, which is good fun as it lets the story go off the rails in how ridiculous it is towards the end.”
    • “The progress to the storyline is boring.”
    • “This unfortunately killed a lot of replayability, as once you're done with all the story content there's nothing left to do.”
    • “I miss the job boards from the first game and helping out random strangers now and then - there's a lack of side quests so far; it's missing the open world feeling of the first one as well.”
  • gameplay
    5 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The gameplay focuses on core mechanics and story depth rather than additional modes, blending humor and classic 2D beat 'em up/RPG elements. While the skill point system received some criticism, players generally find it accessible with manageable difficulty that requires minimal grinding.

    • “Players familiar with River City's 2D beat 'em up/RPG gameplay will have no issue finding their footing in Next.”
    • “Yet, River City's depiction on the classic novel takes artistic liberties of its own by injecting humour and comical gameplay elements into the mix.”
    • “It would've been a great opportunity to build on it with the sequel's combat improvements, though the devs opted to not include any extra modes in order to focus on core gameplay and being able to pack more into the story.”
    • “One gameplay change I didn't like was the skill point system.”
    • “I didn't feel like I had to grind much for a tough fight when I remembered certain mechanics (tactics and Red Hare), and when I forgot about those, I really only needed one level to get through it.”
  • humor
    4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The humor in the game is clever and subtle, often breaking the fourth wall with modern references woven into the story. While the dialogue remains consistently funny, some players miss the more overt comedic options featured in the previous installment. Overall, the witty writing enhances both single-player and multiplayer experiences.

    • “Throughout the story, I felt there was some clever and funny writing that subtly reminded the player that everyone is only acting in a play and aren't actually these Chinese warlords.”
    • “You'll sometimes see someone casually mention modern technology (such as their phones) in a conversation with either no one batting an eye or a funny in-character explanation that tries to make sense of it.”
    • “More combo potential, the dialogue is consistently funny, and it has a great multiplayer experience.”
  • replayability
    2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    Replayability is limited due to the lack of content beyond the main story, but the inclusion of harder versions of each stage provides additional challenges for experienced players and extends game longevity.

    • “Besides completing the regular chapters, the game also offers harder versions of each stage for experienced players to test their skills or get more mileage in terms of replay value.”
    • “This unfortunately killed a lot of replayability, as once you're done all the story content there's nothing left to do.”
  • graphics
    2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The graphics feature impressive artwork, but many new and returning characters lack a diverse range of portraits compared to the first game. Additionally, the removal of unique boss battle visuals in favor of standard dialogue portraits is seen as a disappointing downgrade.

  • music
    2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The music features superb presentation with fantastic new remixes, though some users feel the soundtrack relies too heavily on reused tracks from the first game.

    • “The new remixes are fantastic, though they're very far in-between as it feels like the first game's soundtrack is being reused far too much for my liking.”
    • “The music and presentation of Next is superb.”
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Frequently Asked Questions

River City Saga: Three Kingdoms Next is a arcade hack and slash game with fantasy, comedy, anime and historical themes.

River City Saga: Three Kingdoms Next is available on Nintendo Switch, PC, PlayStation 4, Steam Deck and others.

River City Saga: Three Kingdoms Next was released on November 6, 2024.

River City Saga: Three Kingdoms Next was developed by Arc System Works.

River City Saga: Three Kingdoms Next has received mostly positive reviews from players. Most players liked River City Saga: Three Kingdoms Next for its humor but disliked it for its story.

River City Saga: Three Kingdoms Next is a single player game with multiplayer and local co-op support.

Similar games include River City Ransom: Underground, River City Saga: Three Kingdoms, Earthlock: Festival of Magic, Dark Deity, Bravely Default 2 and others.