Basically RIVER CITY RANSOM: ISHIN! - same general format as its predecessor, just in old-timey Japan. At this point, Technos was still the only company trying to make the belt-scrolling brawler anything other than a straightforward arcade quarter-muncher (even though it had been two whole years since RIVER CITY RANSOM!) and from a historical standpoint, that continues to baffle me. Anyway, their reach wayyyyyyy exceeded their grasp with this, which is massively expanded from the original with the inclusion of permanent customizable AI partners, a viewable world map (all of frickin' Japan!), levels/stat growth, gambling, etc., etc., etc. They went really big. Sadly, it's kind of a not-so-playable mess as a result. RCR was already a bit too open for its own good, and this basically quadruples down on that ethos, making it feel extra confusing and aimless. And all it really boils down to is tracking down the gangs and their bosses (that now move throughout the massive world independently) and getting rid of them one at a time in very simple, repetitive (yet chaotic and fun!) battles, so the quest and gameplay itself don't really warrant the scale. Also the performance is terrible because there's so much going on (again, AI companions, ffs), and the devs just cannot seem to figure out how to make areas connect together in ways that don't melt your brain. (Try to map this game, I dare you.)

If you feel like diving into an extremely freeform open-world action game on the NES and have a ton of patience, check it out. Not really what I would call cohesive or fun, though.

Game Review - by Spinner 8

Of the extremely little I’ve played of River City Ransom, I would say that Technos Samurai (editor's note: this is what people nicknamed the game back in the late 90s/early 2000s) is a lot like it. Except Technos Samurai is much more Japanese, and a whole hell of a lot more confusing. I played the game for a long time, and not only did I not know what I was doing, I forgot what I was supposed to have BEEN doing. If that makes sense, anyway. You pretty much just run around Japan, looking for enemies to fight.. And after you’ve cleared a screen of enemies, then you fight the boss of the enemies, who may or may not tell you something afterwards. But it’s fun, and you certainly do fight a lot, so who’s complaining? It’s Technos, so have fun and stuff.

(editor's note: this game has an official English translation in the Double Dragon & Kunio-kun Retro Brawler Bundle, great game too)