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"School seized, girlfriend taken hostage. Call the cops? Nah, let me show off my kung fu skill."

There have always been too many games out there that are so repetitive that will make you roll your eyes and think, "why do I bother?" And then there are games that, even though you repeat the same process over and over, you never get sick of it. In fact, you long for more of the same thing. Guess which one River City Ransom belongs to?

In essence, all you ever do in River City Ransom is to fight off gangsters, fight the boss, buy things, level up, repeat. It should be boring. But this game is anything but. River City Ransom mixes RPG elements with the generic beat 'em up formula to give us an entertaining, addictive and most important of all, fun game that will last a long time (even though the actual game doesn't last that long).

Plot

Story is simple. Alex's and Ryan's school was taken over by someone called Slick just when the two of them were absent on the day. How convenient. What were they doing? I don't know. Wagging school? Smoking pots? Brawling at some other school?

Anyway, Ryan's girlfriend was taken hostage, just like everybody else. On top of that, Slick has employed the service of thugs around the neighbourhood to stop the two heroes should they intervene. So, instead of calling the cops an hour after running around like headless chicken (like everyone else should do), Alex and Ryan decided to take matters into their own hands and set out to rescue the girl, because you know what, Slick, you have just picked the wrong guys to mess with.

Wait, scratch that. Only Alex is going. For some reason, Alex is the default Player One. Odd choice. Maybe Ryan had a hangover from the party the night before, or he had a detention at school (not that it will stop him). -_-; Anyway....

The important point to note here is that regardless of whether you are Alex (1P) or Ryan (2P), you have to fight your way through the rough neighbourhood to rescue Ryan's girlfriend. Along the way, gangsters and other delinquents will try to impede you.

Story is as epic as it will get. If you think it is shallow, you will be right, because it is. But who are we to complain when, quoting David Couthard, fun is to be had "beating lumps of [crap] out of the little bastard[s]".

Gameplay

Control is very simple. You only have the D-pad and the A and B buttons. But you will be amazed at how versatile the control really is. Besides the standard punching and kicking, you can jump, block, jump kick and even create a combo by hitting a rebounded enemy against a wall repeatedly.

Tapping a direction twice will allow you to run. However, running into objects like a light pole or a wall will hurt you. But it is hilarious seeing your own demise, even at the expense of a little HP. Just don't do it too often. That said, if you are being dealt a deathly blow, or stupid enough to hit your head on the wall one too many time, you do not actually die. You are respawned in the shopping district. It becomes much simpler n two players mode, all that is needed is for the other player to traverse to another screen, and you will magically reappear.

There are some everyday items littered around the place that can be used as weapons. Things like baseball bats, crates, chains, rocks, knuckles, trash cans, and even car tires are at your disposals (did I just say 'everyday items'? Well, trash cans are :p). You can pick them up and use them as close combat weapons, or throw them at other people as a long range missile.

Indeed, you can even pick up a fallen enemy and hurl him into his friends. It is hilarious to see their eyes bug out as they get hit, or when they try to catch their breath after a belting. Sometimes you wonder who the real evil is, you or them.

In true beat 'em up style, you can fight multiple enemies at any one time in an area. Each one of them has a name, and each has his own 'death cry'. 'BARF!' seems to be the most popular quote amongst the underworld.

Enemies come in all sharps and sizes. Actually, they don't. They just come in one size. They are all of the same height, and probably the same weight too. What's different is their heads. Some might just be the typical gangster archetype, while others might wear sunglasses, have a different hairstyle, or different colour clothes.

Once you have defeated the enemy, he will drop a coin. And it is here that the game resembles an RPG. Coins collected can be spent at shops in the mall. Food stalls allow you to purchase food items that increase your stats such as stamina. There are also bookstores where you can buy and read books that will increase some other of your stats. One or two books might even teach you a new technique or two (our heroes got to study somehow!). There is even a bath house if you so inclined to see your hero's bare ass.

Once you are revitalised, you are back in action, whopping more bad-asses and bosses. The game implements a password save facility (a fairly advance feature at the time) that allows you to write down a password (there is no way you will remember it). The next time you play, just input the same password and you will start from where you left off.

The environment around town is incredibly detailed. It is not just a background. You can interact with it, like jumping on top of walls, or throwing people (and sometimes stupidly jumping in yourself) into the pits on the ground.

Graphics

River City Ransom is colourful, vibrant and incredibly detailed. All characters are in SD (super deformed) mode. Their facial expressions are just so funny to watch, ranging from eyes popping out when they get hit, to them trying to catch a breath after getting back up.

The environment is lush. The developers have spent a good deal of time creating different locations around the city, from the school ground, to the park, to the bridges and warehouses, and of course, the mall. Each has its own dazzling colour, and fits in perfectly.

To have such graphics back in the days of NES is remarkable.

Sound

Sound, on the other hand, is less impressive, but still just as strong. Different weapons produce different sound. You can hear the chains 'clinking', and the bats 'thudding'. Sound effects are not astonishing but appropriate.

Music tunes are not the best in town, but there are some catchy ones. However, they are somewhat short and repetitive after a while. That said, they are not intrusive, and the fast tempo music during boss fights will get your adrenaline pumping!

Replay value

Replay value is definitely high for this game. It is one game that you will never get bored of. Ever. There is a difficult setting that you can pick (and change at will during the game). Naturally, harder mode will have tougher enemies.

But the best fun is to be had in 2P mode. Together with the second player, you can create a totem pole by jumping on top of one another that otherwise would require the unwilling help of an enemy. Now you can do it all by yourselves. Plus, you are not carried back to the mall when your stamina runs out, but onto the next area as long as your partner moves to a new screen.

Of course, two players can clean out an area faster as well. However, you can deal damage to your partner if he is in your line of fire. There was a time when I challenged my friend to a duel once we cleared out the park. That was riotously fun.

Overall

River City Ransom is ridiculously fun and dangerously addictive. The graphics is plentiful and elegant (by yesteryear's standard). Control is simple, yet it has a lot of depth.

Bashing the hell out of everyone has never been so much fun. It can be brutal (chains, anyone?), but comical.

The mixture of RPG and beat 'em up meshed together to provide an excellent game that can be played repeatedly without feeling repetitive. It is a classic that has stood the test of times. With it being available on the Virtual Console on the Wii, there is no reason why it should not be in any game collection.

Good:

* Simple, yet deep gameplay
* Rich environment
* Humorous
* 2P mode
* Great stress reliever

Bad:

* Sound not as elegant
* Plot? What plot?

Score (out of 10)

Plot: 2
Gameplay: 9
Graphics: 8
Sound: 7
Replay: 9

Overall: 9

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 06/12/08

Game Release: River City Ransom (US, January 1990)