The friends of Ringo Ishikawa similar games & best alternatives

The friends of Ringo Ishikawa - Trailer
The friends of Ringo Ishikawa - the-friends-of-ringo-ishikawa_1.avif
The friends of Ringo Ishikawa - the-friends-of-ringo-ishikawa_2.avif
The friends of Ringo Ishikawa - the-friends-of-ringo-ishikawa_3.avif
The friends of Ringo Ishikawa - the-friends-of-ringo-ishikawa_4.avif
The friends of Ringo Ishikawa - the-friends-of-ringo-ishikawa_5.avif
The friends of Ringo Ishikawa - the-friends-of-ringo-ishikawa_6.avif

The friends of Ringo Ishikawa

PC (Microsoft Windows), Mac, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch • 2018

Should you play it?

A highschool gang leader Ringo Ishikawa trying to live through his last autumn before graduation. With his best friends.

What works

  • Deep, existential story and atmosphere
  • Open world with freedom of choice
  • Well-written characters and dialogue
  • Engaging combat with skill progression
  • Excellent chill lo-fi soundtrack

Things to keep in mind

  • Lack of tutorials or guidance
  • Some cryptic or vague mechanics
  • Single ending with abrupt conclusion
  • Minor bugs and control quirks
  • No map or navigation aid

What to play next

Top picks

Games that feels the closest overall

  • Long Gone Days

  • Heroines of Swords & Spells

  • Fading Afternoon

  • Echoes of the Plum Grove

  • Back to the Dawn

  • False Myth

More fantastical

Games that feels like The friends of Ringo Ishikawa but with more imaginative fiction

  • Ikenfell

  • Steven Universe: Save the Light

  • Treasure Hunter Claire

  • Succubus Affection

  • 8-Bit Adventures 2

  • Son of a Witch

Choose your own criteria ->

Similarity map

How to compare these games

Compare nearby games

Each card is a nearby game on the similarity map, compared with The friends of Ringo Ishikawa. Swipe sideways to move between games. Titles already listed in What to play next are left out.

  • Cover and title: open that game’s page.
  • What works / keep in mind: the same highlights as the desktop comparison panel.
  • Bars: the main motivational differences versus this game.
How to use the graph

Similarity map

Each dot is a game placed from its motivation profile relative to this page’s game. Direction shows which motivation differs most; distance along that axis shows how large the gap is.

  • Purple star: this page’s game at the centre — everything is relative to it.
  • Direction: each axis is a main motivational difference vs this game (e.g. more / less competitive).
  • Distance on an axis: how large that difference is (ring scales show +/− points).
  • Coloured chips: click to highlight games that mainly differ on that motivation; click again to reset.
  • Dotted line: link between this page’s game and the one selected for comparison.
  • Hover a dot to preview that game in the panel on the right; click to keep that comparison.
  • Scroll or double-click the chart to zoom.

How to read the map This is a polar difference map: direction = which motivation differs, and distance = how much (same units as the sidebar deltas).

Swipe to compare nearby games with The friends of Ringo Ishikawa. These titles are not in What to play next.

The friends of Ringo Ishikawa: Less representative of its motivational profile, with noticeable differences. Motivations that often define this kind of title include Cooperation, Fellowship, Intimacy, Leadership. Here, the score leans higher than usual among comparable games on Idle. It leans lower than usual among comparable games on Fantasy, Expression.

Last update: 21/08/2026