Kenka Bancho: Badass Rumble goes a beyond the honorifics Atlus kept in Persona 3. Their Badass Rumble localization is rife with Japanese slang like calling the player a yankii (think of a delinquent with a Grease style hairdo) before the game starts.


Kenka Bancho: Badass Rumble is in English, but the localization contains words not found in Webster’s dictionary. The game also has romanized Japanese text. Atlus gets everyone up to speed with the terms via Bancho 101, flash card-like lessons that pop up whenever the game needs to load a new area. Without the Bancho 101 bits the dialogue would cryptic for the average player.


“If you’re not a bancho, you’re a candy-ass shabazo!” — that’s an actual line. Unfortunately, there are any English voiceovers for it. The few bits of voiced dialogue in the build I have are in Japanese.


Atlus went to great lengths to preserve the Japanese flavor in Kenka Bancho, which is something readers here will likely appreciate. It fits too since Kenka Bancho: Badass Rumble is about being the top bancho in Japan. However, I wonder if this will affect Kenka Bancho: Badass Rumble’s mainstream appeal. The game’s RPG meets brawler system and troublemaker lead character gives Kenka Bancho: Badass Rumble the potential to be a River City Ransom for this generation.

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