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Friday, June 3, 2011

River City Ransom


Today, I decided to revisit another favorite game from my childhood, River City Ransom. This game was released in 1989 in Japan and 1990 in the US, both being on the NES.  I still remember going to rent video games at the local Kroger and frequently coming home with River City Ransom. 

What makes the game so special you might ask? I say what other game allows you to walk around and beat the crap out of people and then run into town and eat a sandwich?


You play as either Alex or Ryan (or can play both via two player), who are on a mission to beat up the local gangs and recover Alex’s girlfriend; who is being held hostage by some guy named Slick. Judging by the story itself, River City Ransom sounds kinda lame, but it is actually a ridiculously awesome and extremely addictive game. If you give it a chance, I guarantee that you will enjoy it.


Unlike many beat’em ups of that time, River City Ransom blends RPG elements into the mix. You have certain “stats” such as Weapon and Agility that can be increased to improve your character’s attributes. By eating the vast arrays of foods, reading books, and listening to music purchased at various malls, you can help your character become stronger or learn new abilities. Who would've thought by reading a book entitled "Acro Circus" could make you become an instant front flip expert?


All items can be purchased with money that drops from gang members that you beat up. The only downside to this system is that you don’t really know how things will affect you until you buy them. There are no descriptions that tell you what you are actually getting except for actual name of the item.

Some things kinda suck and are a waste of time while others can help you tremendously. It doesn’t take too long to figure out what works best though and money is pretty easy to come by, so it’s not a huge issue regardless.


River City Ransom can be beaten in less than an hour and it relatively simple. First time players are likely to get raped a few times though, especially towards the end. Luckily, any time you die, you are ported back to the nearest shopping center with full health but with only half of the money you had before you died. In addition, you get to keep all of your abilities learned from books that you previously purchased, so not much is lost in the end.



River City Ransom does have a save feature, but it is ridiculously unreliable. It makes the most sense to start and complete the game in the same sitting due to it being so short and the password feature really being terrible.



Despite the length and ease of difficulty, River City Ransom has a pretty high replay value. After completing the game, I’ve found it’s fun to play again building an extremely powerful character or one that has unique techniques (beating the game with just the Acro Circus and Javelin Man?).

Speed runs are also pretty fun too. I remember one summer years ago where I would make an effort to beat the game at least once a day, and I got down to completing it pretty fast. Don’t forget that you can play with another person via two player. It actually works surprisingly well unlike many other games from that time.


What else can I say? This game was fun back in the day and still makes me happy now. It is pretty freaking cool; go check it out.

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