Nintendo 3DS Hidden Gem Getting Release on Modern Platforms
The Nintendo 3DS played host to a lot of great games during its time on the market, but many of them remain exclusive to the system. Arc System Works will rectify that later this year when an enhanced version of River City: Rival Showdown releases on Nintendo Switch, PS4, and PC. According to reporting from Gematsu, the game will be releasing on October 12th in Japan, though a North American release date has not been announced just yet. Since the 3DS version got a worldwide release, hopefully the same can be said for this version, as well!
The original version of River City: Rival Showdown released on 3DS in 2016. That year saw a number of high-profile games released on the system, including Kirby: Planet Robobot, and Pokemon Sun and Moon. As a result, River City: Rival Showdown might have fallen under the radar for a lot of 3DS users. That's not for lack of quality, though. River City: Rival Showdown is part of the long-running Kunio-Kun series, and received mostly positive reviews upon release; the game currently has a Metacritic score of 73. If the enhanced version does get released in North America, it will be interesting to see how the two versions compare critically.
River City: Rival Showdown is one of several 3DS ports that have been announced this year. Last month, Nintendo revealed that a new version of Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon will release on Nintendo Switch, while Capcom announced Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney Trilogy, a collection that includes two games first released on 3DS. While these ports won't feature the 3D capabilities of the original versions, they do feature improvements to make up for it, such as HD visuals. Remakes and remasters like these also give a much wider audience a chance to experience games that they wouldn't have been able to otherwise.
Unfortunately, the Nintendo 3DS eShop closed down earlier this year, making it impossible for users to make any new digital purchases. As a result, the only way that 3DS fans can still purchase games on the handheld is through physical copies on the secondary market. Now that the 3DS eShop has closed down, hopefully we'll see a lot more of the system's games getting remakes and remasters like this one!
Are you interested in checking out River City: Rival Showdown? What 3DS games do you want to see on other platforms? Let us know in the comments or share your thoughts directly on Twitter and at @Marcdachamp to talk all things gaming!