River-n-White, Lord

River-n-White perhaps appears in more Video System games than any other Sonic Wings character, either as a playable character or in cameos. In the Sonic Wings series, the only game lacking River-n-White is Sonic Wings Assault; even then, he is mentioned by name in the Japanese instruction manual.

In the Sonic Wings series, River-n-White is presented as a old man with shaggy white hair and beard. He almost always wears a hat; however, his outfits differ from game to game. In the first three games, River-n-White wears an aviator's cap with goggles, and either a pilot's outfit or a white coat with a bow tie. However, in the later games, River-n-White wears a brown suit and hat, which he also dons in the SukuSuku Inufuku games. In Rabio Lepus, Metal Rabbit, Ojanko High School, and some cameos, River-n-White dresses as the king of Bunnyland in a white, full-body bunny suit with a crown. He wears a kimono in The Mahjong Touhaiden. He always wears a monocle when appearing as Lord River-n-White, but no eyewear when appearing as Taro Kitashirakawa.

River-n-White was an ace pilot in World War II.^[1] Besides being a pilot and a king, River-n-White is also the commander of Project Blue, and he is often shown giving orders to the others. Most of the other pilots seem to respect him, although Kowful-- who is often River-n-White's battle partner, sometimes even in single-player mode-- teases him about his age. River-n-White is strict with his granddaughter Kotomi Kitashirakawa when she flies as a pilot.

River-n-White appears under several different names throughout Video System's games. In Rabio Lepus and SukuSuku Inufuku, his name is Kitashirakawa Taro (北白川太郎). Throughout the Sonic Wings games, he is sometimes called River and sometimes White. According to the arcade and game manuals, however, his full name in every game is River-n-White. This English/Romanized name comes from a rearrangement of his Japanese family name, 北白川: 北 means "north" (N), 白 means "white," and 川 means "river."

Rabio Lepus[]

Rlking — Kitashirakawa Taro in Rabio Lepus.

River-n-White first appeared as Taro Kitashirakawa, the King of Bunnyland in Rabio Lepus. He and his granddaughters Kotomi and Princess Komomo Kitashirakawa are kidnapped by Yohmaoh and must be rescued by the mechanical rabbits Rabio and Lepus. The king is held captive in Yohmaoh's asteroid base.

In this first appearance, the king is portrayed as being extremely small compared to his granddaughters, in an almost chibi/SD style. Later in Sonic Wings, he is described as being five feet, ten inches tall, an average height for an adult man. He also seems to be a bit chubby in Rabio Lepus but trimmer in alter games.

The king wears a full-body white bunny suit with a golden crown with a red gemstone.

Rlsking — River-n-White as the king in Rabio Lepus Special.

Rabio Lepus Special[]

River-n-White reprises his role as the king of Bunnyland. His appearance is essentially the same, except he also wears a white cape over his shoulders. In the game manual artwork, the cape is held on with a carrot-shaped clasp.

Despite his continued comical appearance in-game, the artwork portrays the king looking more like he will later as River-n-White. However, he is still somewhat short, only reaching Komomo's shoulders.

Metal Rabbit[]

River-n-White again appears as the King of Bunnyland on an advertisement for the unreleased game Metal Rabbit, which was to share the setting of Rabio Lepus. The king appears very similar to how he will in Sonic Wings, although he still wears the full-body bunny suit.

Ojanko High School[]

Ohsriver — River-n-White as Principal Taro Kitashirakawa in Ojanko High School.

River-n-White appears as the high school's principal... still wearing his bunny suit. He does not wear a crown, however.

Sonic Wings[]

River-n-White is flying his last series of missions before his retirement (despite the fact that he fights and serves as commander in the later games in the series). He is sensible, although sometimes a bit confused as to the best course of action to take.

It is never revealed why the king of Bunnyland has come to Earth to serve as a fighter pilot. In fact, after the first boss battle in single-player mode, River-n-White returns home to his two granddaughters, Kotomi and Komomo Kitashirakawa. They don't believe for a minute that their grandfather is really a fighter pilot!

In two-player mode, River-n-White fights alongside William Sid Pride. He offers to help William find his kidnapped fiancee, and once she is rescued, River-n-White officiates at their wedding.

The Mahjong Touhaiden[]

Mt-river — **Lord River-n-White** in The Mahjong Touhaiden.

River-n-White appears as an opponent.

Sonic Wings 2[]

Lord2 — Lord River-n-White in Sonic Wings 2.

River-n-White appears during the mid-point sequence if the player uses Angela and Arthur; he congratulates the two on their bravery in the fight against the aliens. Because players complained about River-n-White not being a playable character in Sonic Wings 2, the developers put him back in for the next game.^[1]

Sonic Wings 3[]

Lord River-n-White in Sonic Wings 3.

In Sonic Wings 3, Lord River-n-White flies together with Kowful. The odd couple is for some reason aligned with Germany for the first and only time for either of them. The two have a playfully antagonistic relationship: Kowful calls River old, but River declares he was stronger than Kowful when he was younger. After the final boss battle, it is revealed that River was testing a virtual reality game for Kowful. He complains that the somersaults in the game weren't realistic enough, after which Kowful grabs him and swings him around by his feet.

In two-player mode, Kowful and River fight with Malcolm. More than once, Malcolm declares them (or at least Kowful) to be fools, while River-n-White finds both of his partners to be rude. Once they've defeated the final boss, one of Malcolm's partners (likely Kowful) mentions that Malcolm has been busy since Tao Taido, while the other comments that he isn't familiar with the game. Malcolm decides to educate them by showing them his "desperation technique," one of his more sparkly poses. When Kowful declares that the pose looks stupid, Malcolm is infuriated and attacks them with his Malcolm Flash.

Sonic Wings Special/Sonic Wings Limited[]

Swsriver — Lord River-n-White in Sonic Wings Special and Limited.

Swsking — Kitashirakawa Taro in Sonic Wings Special.

Lord River-n-White returns to piloting on his own in Sonic Wings Special and Limited, although he does share the cockpit with Alex's cat Pictus. Even though he is old, he says, he still must keep in shape by fighting. Although River-n-White is austere and serene most of the time, he does show a less dignified side in some of his endings. In two-player mode, he is paired with Whity the dolphin.

River-n-White also appears several times in his role as captain of Project Blue, including receiving radio transmissions with Glenda and meeting with other pilots at his desk. In Sonic Wings Special only, he also appears as the King of Bunnyland if the player defeats the Balbi with Kotomi in single-player mode.

One-Player Mode Endings:

Boss battle with Pandora or Gurabura: River-n-White relates his adventure to Alex and Pictus. Alex complains that he's heard the story many times before.
Boss battle with Lar or Do-ni Kai: After defeating the boss, River-n-White is again shown returning home to Kotomi and Komomo as in his ending in Sonic Wings.
Boss battle with Balbi or Osaru: Pictus plays with the controls of River-n-White's plane, causing it to crash.

Two-Player Mode Endings:

Boss battle Pandora or Gurabura: As with Angela's ending with Whity in Sonic Wings 2, Lord River-n-White tells Whity he should be in the circus; Whity shoots his plane down in anger.
Boss battle with Lar or Do-ni Kai: As with Chaika and Pooshika's ending with Whity in Sonic Wings 3, Lord River-n-White and Pictus spy on the dolphin to see how he is able to fly a plane. This time, Whity turns out to be Keith Bishop in a dolphin costume.
Boss battle with Balbi or Osaru: Whity introduces Lord River-n-White to his two siblings, Acty and Abanty. River-n-White assumes that they protect the ocean until Abanty corrects him by pointing out that they control it too! A rough translation of this scene is in the gallery below.

SukuSuku Inufuku[]

Ssiriver — Kitashirakawa Taro in SukuSuku Inufuku.

River-n-White appears as a "mysterious old man" going by his Japanese name, Kitashirakawa Taro. He is also called 犬福紳士 ("Inufuku Gentleman"). He occasionally appears to challenge the player with bonus quiz questions, then abruptly disappears. If the player successfully completes the game, River-n-White appears at the end wearing a costume similar to his King of Bunnyland suit; he is dressed as a winged Inufuku with a crown and halo (see gallery below).