So, get this, a month or so ago me and a friend got into playing the original double dragon trilogy together. None of the games were good, but we got, and still do, get tons of ironic enjoyment from riffing on the game. we even watched the damn movie! So suffice to say when I saw river city ransom was by the same people as double dragon and takes place in the same world as double dragon, I needed to play it. What I got was not great but leagues better than the double dragon games. The games controls are pretty tight for an nes game and the combat is simple, but effective. The game is also pretty damn charming, the artstyle, dialouge, and the fact that each area has a random gang are all very nice touches that elevate the game. However, the game is very unforgiving, enemies can drain your health very fast and it doesn't help that the game takes half of your money every time you die, making it way harder to by upgrades. The fact you can also skip over areas which include bosses which are mandatory to beat in order to complete the game is also strange, especially since half of the time I can't even get some of them to spawn. It's a decent time, although frustrating, but it's better than double dragon at least! But at the beginning of double dragon 2 you immediately see your girlfriend get shot up and die so... maybe not..

Retro Yearly List #16 [1990: River City Ransom]

For the first beat 'em' up game in my personal list, I've chosen what is considered a hidden gem.

RCR offers a different approach for the genre, adding elements of RPG and almost an open-world experience, since you can walk through the screens back and forth and skip the enemies if you want, but you wanna beat them to collect coins and upgrade your character, otherwise, you will have a hard time beating the bosses, that's the overall system of progressing here, and I kind of like it, but there is a chance you will get stuck with all options you have.

Some bosses are optional but there are a mandatory few to reach the end, they look all pretty much the same, there is no big difference between their attack patterns, in fact, all enemies in the game use just punches, kicks, and weapons to hit you, so there is no diversity on this point.

I liked both the graphics and the music, which are really catchy, with a little great reference towards the end.

The game offers several options of items to purchase which will give you different abilities, which are just buffed versions of the basic attacks. You will also increase your HP and your status by purchasing them, but the game does not provide details of what you are getting until you do, this can be annoying if you don't know the game, I used a little guide for it and it helped me a lot to not making bad deals.

Difficulty is ok if you know what to do, since you can overpower your character with the right items and farm points. But in any case, if you die you just respawn at the next already visited mall, with half of your cash.

Overall, it's a beautiful game with an innovative approach and a good blend of different genres.

And by the way, wtf are these passwords?
BARF!

RCR was the first NES game that I fell in love with that didn't have Mario in the title, and I still think it's one of the best games for the system. The inclusion of RPG elements elevates its approachable beat 'em up mechanics greatly, and it's surprisingly fair in its approach to difficulty, unlike most NES games. If you don't enjoy beat 'em ups or 8-bit games, it probably won't change your mind, but in terms of games that I just love to pick up and play through every now and then, RCR is near the top of the list. I just wish the co-op ran at a better framerate.

River City Ransom is one badass motherfucker of an NES title. It’s a notable beat 'em-up in the NES library developed by the same studio that created Double Dragon, so one can plainly see from Technos Japan’s pedigree that they’re hardly amateurs when it comes to crafting solid 8-bit beat ‘em ups. Still, considering that Double Dragon was already one of this developer’s recognizable IPs with plenty of credibility, wouldn’t River City Ransom prove to be redundant? Well, River City Ransom warrants a place in the NES library because it deviates entirely from Double Dragon in tone. Double Dragon is incredibly dated to the decade when it was released. It exudes that boisterously positive, rocking out, shredding-a-Flying V energy that permeated over the media of the 1980s. On the other hand, River City Ransom is a grittier, street-level beat 'em-up with a bluntness to it that Double Dragon doesn’t have. Basically, if Double Dragon is the stadium-filling hard rock of Ratt or Whitesnake, River City Ransom is the punk rock of Black Flag or Agnostic Front. I don’t think I’ve detailed my music taste in any of my reviews but just to be clear, I much, MUCH prefer the latter to the former. Like the abrasive punk rock I’ve compared River City Ransom to, this NES beat ‘em up fulfills a particular niche that the popular Double Dragon doesn’t.

Despite the tonal differences, River City Ransom’s premise is practically identical to that of Double Dragon, almost as if the beat ‘em up genre is stuck in a creative ghetto of story conflicts. Alex, a young man in his upperclassman high school years, is quite miffed when a gang of students from the rival River City High School abducts his girlfriend and holds her hostage. Alex obviously isn’t content with these vicious reprobates taking the love of his life to do god knows what with her, so he’s prepared to storm through hundreds of teenage goons to save her. A fellow CrossTown High School student named Ryan will assist Alex in this daunting, heroic escapade if a second player is available. Together, they’re like Billy and Jimmy if they chewed tobacco and etched crude tattoos into their arms with shiv. With the plain white T-shirt, jeans, and greased hair combo, the River City Ransom duo are akin to the blue-collar, salt-of-the-earth guys that would throw a beer can at you if you cut them off in traffic as opposed to righteous, Cobra Kai rejects from Double Dragon.

Since I couldn’t find someone to man the second controller on such short notice, I cannot speak on the dynamic of having both Alex and Ryan on the field. Logically, I would hope Ryan would still offer his aid to Alex even if someone weren’t manning his actions, for the path to Alex’s goal of saving his girlfriend is a gravelly one. The coarse stones that comprise this rocky road are the army of River City High boys who will risk their physical well-being in the interest of Cyndi’s captor “Slick,” for some reason. There isn’t anything fancy regarding Alex/Ryan’s combat that transcends the customary punching and kicking of melee fighting. Alex can pick up a weapon, ranging from chains, plywood boards, and brass knuckles, to other miscellaneous objects like trash cans scattered around the city. When Alex knocks a goon on his ass, he can hoist him over his head and smash him into his compadres to kill two birds with one stone. If that prospect sounds silly, it’s a segway into discussing one of River City Ransom’s greatest merits. Between the dirty thugs beating each other senselessly is an unexpectedly playful way of presenting it. River City Ransom has a buoyant expressiveness with its combat that surpasses the graphical capabilities of standard 8-bit pixel art. Slick’s cronies genuinely look like Alex knocks the wind out of them when stricken, which kind of looks like the face the blue fish makes when he gets a whiff of Spongebob’s rancid breath in the “Something Smells” episode. None of them need to express their pain with the interjections that pop up below the screen, most notably “BARF!,” but it's another nifty way of giving the combat a little more personality. Also, causing these street rats grievous injury is satisfying in other ways rather than seeing their exaggerated expressions. Landing a hit on any of the enemies tends to have inexact outcomes because the enemies often block Alex’s blows with swift, defensive maneuvers. Because enemy AI is surprisingly adept for the NES era, this forces the player to practice alternating between punching and kicking to the point of rapid proficiency.

Alex’s road to rescuing his girlfriend is as long as it is exhausting. Given that his journey begins at the entrance of his high school and all of his adversaries attend the high school in another district, he probably won’t be home in time for dinner. The breadth of the riverside cityscape in River City Ransom is arguably a greater point of innovation than its vibrant graphics. The trajectory between Alex’s school and the dastardly River City High barely deviates from a lengthy straightaway trek, with a few notable destinations off to the side such as a few parks. Still, one has to consider how video game levels were typically rendered during this simpler era of the medium. Progression for the majority of games on the NES was spliced into levels with no cohesion between the transitions. Any screen passed on River City Ransom’s map can be revisited at any point, albeit inconveniently on foot without any quicker traveling method. Correct me if I’m mistaken, but this cohesive world design in this type of urban environment is the closest an NES game has come to being a progenitor of the open-world genre that Grand Theft Auto would eventually serve as its definitive architect. Considering that Grand Theft Auto hadn’t laid out the schematics of the genre properly until three gaming generations onward, seeing an NES game provide the bare essentials of the ambitious genre’s core tenets competently is fairly impressive.

Across the narrow course to Alex’s goal are a few other more conspicuous destinations. After traversing through a slew of streets, Alex will stumble across a bustling city block filled with innocuous townsfolk instead of rampaging River City High boneheads. These lovely little metropolitan areas sandwiched in between the map are not only respite areas for Alex to briefly rest his weary head. If Alex is knocked unconscious after withstanding too many body blows, the last metropolitan area he visited will serve as a checkpoint. See, other NES developers? You don’t have to be so stingy with your game over penalties! To stave off even needing these sections as safety nets in the first place, they also provide a smattering of wares alongside the strip malls. Alex can sit down at a restaurant to order several food items to restore his health, and the eclectic choice of cuisines gives the impression that River City is the refined, foody brand of a modern metropolitan area. Alex certainly looks grateful for his home’s sophisticated palette, but I’m sure all of the restaurant employees wished that he wasn’t so eager to eat that he carelessly gulps down the plate along with the food. Besides consuming fuel for his body, these areas also offer Alex the option of providing sustenance for his mind at the library. Alex can check out a few books and read them at his own pace in the pause menu. Digesting the pages within will unlock fresh variations to Alex’s moves, including a speedier attack frequency and an airborne somersault to supplement the abysmal jumping controls.

However, the features included in these rest stops all cost a pretty penny, and that’s relevant to River City Ransom’s biggest issue. Obviously, I don’t expect these businesses to treat Alex like a charity case for the noble cause of saving a teenage girl from a band of hooligans. Still, the chump change that falls out of these hooligan’s pockets is the only source of income in the game. It comes in varying quantities, but never enough to cover the steep expenses with some of the necessary items. There is no other means of earning coinage in the game besides shaking it out of enemies. I forgot to mention that even if the player masterfully evades all damage, they’ll still have to shovel food into Alex’s mouth. Their caloric properties will also maximize his base stats such as health, offense, defense, speed, etc. The beefier thugs located near the perimeter of River City High that brutally tag team Alex before he has time to catch his breath aren’t the only reason not to neglect to upgrade his stats. In order to gain passage through the pearly gates of River City High, Alex has to defeat three major bosses beforehand. These bosses only show their faces if Alex has vanquished all of the lower-level grunts on the screen, so each moment of the game is a mix of guesswork and endurance. I also glossed over the fact that the total sum of Alex’s money is halved as a demerit for dying. With Alex unable to conserve his energy by avoiding combat because there might be a boss lurking in the grass, overwhelming Alex and knocking him unconscious is a constant. River City Ransom is ensnared in a catch-22 situation where the player needs to fight to eat, but fighting also necessitates the need to eat. Sometimes, the portion of food needed to remain healthy cannot be afforded because of constantly buying smaller ones to prevent the game from pickpocketing Alex’s wallet upon his demise. As admirable as integrating RPG elements into the beat ‘em up genre is, especially for the NES era, I can’t beam with excitement over the richer gameplay mechanics because their ambitions boil down to a painstaking grinding session to afford progression.

I thought I enjoyed River City Ransom for the punk rock scuzz that emits from its pores, which still holds truth. Beyond that, I’ve discovered that River City Ransom is still superior to Double Dragon and other NES beat ‘em ups of the same ilk because it showcases an evolution of the genre. River City Ransom is not a game content with offering short-term goals, bland presentation, or having the player simply infer that they’re getting stronger by beating the levels. River City Ransom expands on the base foundation of the beat ‘em up across every facet of the genre. It’s bigger and bolder, but that’s also to its detriment. Still, this isn't a case of River City Ransom shooting for something out of its league on a primitive piece of hardware. Reworking the currency system could’ve been a feasible task, and doing so probably would’ve made River City Ransom a household name alongside Nintendo’s titles in the history books. Still, even with a gigantic, glaring flaw, River City Ransom is still better than all of the practical beat 'em-ups on the NES.

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Attribution: https://erockreviews.blogspot.com

After taking a brief detour into the realm of sports games with a dodgeball themed spin-off (because why not), the Kunio-Kun franchise would return back to its beat-’em-up origins with River City Ransom. As mentioned in my review of Super Dodgeball, the first game in the series, Renegade, while not a terrible game or first entry by any means, was pretty rough around the edges, and had plenty of annoying elements that kept it from being that good. So, it would make sense that for this new entry in the series, it would be a complete overhaul, changing many different elements from the original game, while also retaining the same style and same basic gameplay that had been established in that game. And unlike other sequels at the time, such as Zelda II and Castlevania II, which butchered this type of reconstructing, the reconstruction of this game makes it flourish with flying colors.

This is without a doubt the best game in the series so far, and a MASSIVE improvement over Renegade in just about every single aspect. There is no questioning why the formula made for this game would be reused for future titles in the series, as well as other unrelated games later down the line, because it works significantly well, standing out from plenty of other beat-’em-ups at the time. Of course, it isn’t perfect, but for what we got here, this may just be my new favorite beat-’em-up released for the NES.

The story is basically the exact same as Double Dragon (not surprising, considering its the same company), but I guess they make up for the copying by having alternates of the Double Dragon main characters as bosses, the graphics are pretty much the same as Super Dodgeball, but this time around, there is no sprite flickering to get in the way of all the nice animations and pretty colors (thank god for that), the music is very good, with some pretty enjoyable tracks to be found in there, the control is mostly solid for this type of game, but there are some parts of it that do irk me, which I will get into later, and the gameplay takes the beat-’em-up formula that was popular and possibly oversaturated at the time, and evolves it.

The game is primarily still your typical 2D side-scrolling beat-’em-up, where you take control of one of the uniquely named main characters, Alex and Ryan, travel through many different areas of the River City, beat up all of the goons that you run into on your way, pick up and use several weapons to your advantage along the way, and fight plenty of bosses that stand in your path. In comparison to other beat-’em-ups at the time, though, there is plenty that makes this game stand out from others. On the lesser side of the new stuff, this game carries the same personality that Super Dodgeball brought to the series, and amplified it even more, with plenty of animations and text boxes for the characters to give them plenty of personality, and thus, making them much more memorable, and making the game much more appealing.

This simple beat-’em-up gameplay, this time around, is now mixed with plenty of different new elements. First of all, rather then traveling from stage to stage, you travel through one big interconnected world, making the environments in the game (even if they are generic) feel more alive and memorable. In addition, there are plenty of RPG elements implemented into this game as well, with you being able to upgrade your stats via purchasing items at stores, and there are plenty of stats to upgrade as well. Not only does it give you a fighting chance against the foes you will face, but it definitely gives you a sense of growth and progression throughout the game, with this feeling amplified even more with additional moves that you can learn as well. It makes fighting enemies and bosses later down the road much more manageable and fun…… I mean, unless you are me, and you just use a weapon the entire time to cheese every single fight to win. That’s also an option.

And yet, of course, it can’t all be perfect. First of all, remember back when I covered Double Dragon II: The Revenge for NES, and I complained about the jumping mechanics being implemented into stages where you could potentially die because of it? Well, guess what? The shitty jumping mechanic returns in this game too! To be fair though, this time around, it is more so a minor annoyance rather then something that can straight up get you killed, but still, it is an annoyance nonetheless. Secondly, sometimes the enemy AI can be pretty bullshit, specifically whenever you enter a new screen, or the enemy comes in off screen. There were plenty of times where I would travel to a new location, or another enemy would come on screen, and before I could do anything, they would bash the shit out of me, and you can imagine how that can get aggravating.

Overall, while having some minor issues here and there, this is not only a fantastic beat-’em-up for the NES, but a fantastic way of reinventing the series after what had been established in both Renegade and Super Dodgeball. I would definitely recommend it for those who want to check the series out, as well as where it all started from. Don’t even bother playing Renegade, just stick to this one instead. Now… if only we can stay in the same genre for more than one game at a time, that would be great............. please?

Game #292

Despite taking the form of a beat-em-up, the River City Ransom experience is far closer to that of the prototypical JRPG. It has a kickass soundtrack, you grind to level up your stats... and if you know what you're doing, it's "press A to win". Seriously, you get access to a technique early on that triples the speed of your regular punches. Also, the button to punch is the same as the button to block, which means once you get your defence stat high enough you can just spam A to ATATATATATA your opponents to death and also guard against any counterattacks they send your way.

Despite how shallow and easy to break the combat is, it's also pretty satisfying, with the hit detection and moveset as good as can be expected for a NES game. And while some purists may dislike RPG elements in action games as replacing 'skill' with 'grinding', I rather like them here - they function as a customizable difficulty setting, where you decide how difficult you want your experience to be by how much you raise your stats. In fact, because the penalty for getting KO'ed is very mild, merely sending you back a few screens with a money penalty (and all stats intact!), the game actually subtly encourages the player to grind less and take more risks, and in doing so increase their skill level at the game.

Of course, its age means can get very janky at times. But this is still an excellent game that deserves lots of credit for its decent combat, sheer ambition in its hybrid genre and open world, and its meme moments (BARF!)

In River City Ransom, the characters Alex and Ryan have to save the latter's girlfriend from the evil clutches of Slick and his dastardly gangs, who're controlling large sections of the city. You have to take them on, beat their bosses, and ultimately face-off against the big bad. So far, it follows a pretty standard brawler template story (see: Double Dragon); where this game differs is the added emphasis on building your characters core stats (bit like an RPG). You read books, eat food, buy moves, and wear gear to enhance your abilities, which makes for a fresh and engaging experience.

Still my favorite NES game of all time. There's just no way to describe how this game made me feel the first time I rented it from Blockbuster Video (R.I.P.) back in the day. Here we had a home brawler but it also had rpg elements?! I can buy books and learn new moves AND permanently upgrade my stats with certain items!? When I finally figured out how to get into the high school gate I was well prepared to absolutely destroy the final battle, which made me feel quite accomplished. Very few games make me feel nostalgic, but this is the main one that does. I periodically fire it up and play through it just for fun.

This game has alot going it. A RPG 2d beat em up. It had a whole progression system. And i like the idea of it. Beating up enemies feels satisfying (atleast for a little while) also the game compared to double dragon (that i played right before this) the environments feels a bit less clunky to move around in. And sadly thats where the positives end. The games very repetitive having you go back to beat bosses you already beats many times to farm money to get upgraded,The platforming is horrible kept me from progressing at one point, its really easy to get lost (probably just because of limitations) and a few more issues im sure i forgot to mention. I decided to shelve the game for now as i played it for 2-3 hours and i wasnt enjoying my time. And while i respect the game it has for aged pretty poorly. Still worth a try just for how unique it was at the time (also for the fact that it probably kicks ass with multiplayer)

Still the best brawler I've ever played. The shift from single-screen fights to an open-world is a welcome change of pace. There's also the RPG-like progression mechanics which add some versatility to how you can go through the game. I also love the charm this game has like when I accidentally picked up an enemy and used him as a weapon, or the sign that says "Trash Pickup" with a trashcan that you pick up and throw at people. The world itself is pretty fun. I like the idea of an entire city overrun by teenage delinquents who are mostly pretty dumb and goofy. The fighting is also significantly smoother than in Renegade, and most brawlers that come after it if my memory serves me correctly. Not much else to say. Super fun game. 4/6