Overall 9.2 Graphics 8.8 Sound 8.2 Addictive 9.2 Story 6.6 Depth 7.2 Difficulty 7.6
9.7
Oh the memories Smashbros64z
River City Ransom, one of my favorite games for the NES of all time all because it is so fun to play. The game itself is simple but in reality it is even cooler than at first glance.
Graphics: 10 out of 10
The graphics of the game are well beyond thorough and the 3d like imitation (although 2d sprites that just look 3d), the backgrounds are really nice to look at. Also, the sprites for Alex and Ryan are well awesome and the way the characters look when eating or buying things is a job well done by Japan Techno Corps. The graphics are plain great.
Sound: 10 out of 10
The entire soundtrack of the original NES game and sound effects for the punches, kicks, and others all sound really great. Also, the Double Dragon Theme is in the game for the semi-final boss (no spoiler except music, so not much of a spoiler) and the rest of the sound design is well done.
Addictiveness: 10 out of 10
Once you pick up this game, you would want to keep on playing it. Beating up bad guys and leveling up stats with awesome items makes the player have an awesome opinion of how good the game is. Self-explanatory for the rest.
Story: 9 out of 10
The game's story is simple: Ryan's girlfriend Cyndi is kidnapped by a random guy and it is up to Alex or Ryan (or both) to rescue her. For a simple story, it is great.
Depth: 9 out of 10
The game has a lot of depth with the shops having different items to use as your weapon. Yet, you can speed run the game quickly by just beating the bosses (not easy though) and just beat the game, OR you can go to the shops, buy burgers, sushi, soups, medicine, shoes, abilities, and others to enjoy the satisfaction of this game.
Difficulty: 9 out of 10
The game can be VERY hard at some times for 3 reasons. Number 1: some items take a lot of money to purchase and others are overpriced. Number 2: some enemies only give like 40 cents while others give over $1 (unless bosses) which makes you grind so much. The BIGGEST reason is that when you die, you lose HALF of the money you had making grinding at times pointless. Also, the advanced mode has an even more painful A.I., so landing hits is even more frustrating. Even then, this game is fun although you will get smoked at times.
Overall: 9.7 out of 10
I would really recommend this game for anyone to play. It is that fun so play it if you want to......
Graphics 10 Sound 10 Addictive 10 Story 9 Depth 9 Difficulty 9
Review Rating: 4/5
Submitted: 08-11-12
Review Replies: 1
9.2
This blows my day.... Boxia
River City Ransom was released in Japan by Technos Japan for the Famicom in april of 1989, but didn't see a North American release until january of the following year. In Japan the game was an installment in the kunio-kun series. In north america, the game underwent heavy graphical and story changes in order to appeal to a different audience. Anyways, let's take a look at the game .
Story: The game starts off with a bunch of white text against a blue background. The text is a ransom note from the most infamous gang leader in town, Slick. Aside from stating that he is holding the city hostage, he also states that he has captured the girlfriend of some guy named Alex and is holding her for ransom. So as Alex (who is aided by his brother in two-player mode), you must set out on a quest to rescue your girlfriend and save the city. The story is prety much that of Super Mario Bros, but with gangsters instead of goombas and some guy named Slick instead of Bowser. Now you might argue that the story of many other famous NES games could be compared to Mario Bros and that the fact is simply an inevitable consequence of memory limitations. I believe,however, that memory plays no role in story and that making a great story can be accomplished without sacrificing other parts of the game.
Graphics: The graphics are above average for a typical NES game. Quite a bit of detail is put into the buildings, floors, e.t.c. As for the characters, they also have some detail put into them, with different gang members wearing different clothing and sporting different faces. My only problem is that the perspective can be a little confusing. Since the game is dislayed from a semi-isometric perspective with the floor seeming 3D but actualy lying on a 2D surface, it can be very easy to run into something you thought was flat.
Addictiveness: Despite its difficulty (see below), i find my self coming back to play River City Ransom quite frequently. Beating up gang members with either your fists or an assortment of melee weapons is quite exiting! Even more exiting is beating up the bosses with powerups that you can purchase from shops and taking no damage. Makes you feel so AWESOME!
Sound: The NES is capable of producing awesome music despite being outdated by todays standards, and this game is no exception. Even though the games requires you to be on your on your toes at all times, it's very easy to stop what you're doing just to listen to the music. It all matches perfectly with the situation, be it fighting gangsters or having a gelato in a mall, the music's always appropriate. As for the sound effects, only a few are used so it can get very annoying having to listen to the same punching sound 8 million times.
Depth: There are a total of 5 malls throughout the game. These malls contain shops to purchase power-ups and items, restaurants where you can restore your health, and book shops where you can learn new moves. To buy something from these establishments, you need money which you can find on defeated gangsters. Aside from that, there are no secret areas or anything hidden.
Difficulty: When you start up this game, you better get ready for the time of your life. Even the weakest gangsters in this game can take of half of your health. Considering the fact that these gangsters always appear in groups of 4-10, so you'll be mashing that attack button at lightning speed hoping to fend at least a few of them off. As for the bosses, usually all you have to do is keep your distance and attack when possible, but if they catch you first, you're dead. The powerups you can get in the shops hardly help, as the gangsters can still tear through you like paper.
Overall: River City Ransom boasts great music, graphics, and it's addictive as heck. A good pick if your into beating up people. If your looking for an NES game with more to find, you'd probably enjoy something like Zelda instead.
Graphics 9 Sound 9 Addictive 10 Story 3 Depth 5 Difficulty 9
Review Rating: 4/5
Submitted: 01-12-14
Review Replies: 0
9
River City Ransom warmaker
River City Ransom is a story of a guy (or two brothers in multiplay) who has his girlfriend kidnapped and held hostage in a high school. You must fight your way through gangs of high schoolers to save her.
This game is flat out fun. It's an open ended game where you punch, kick, use and throw objects at people to defeat them. The battle system is just like Double Dragon. You don't earn experience but you earn money, which you use to buy power-ups in the form of food, clothes, music, and other consumables in the malls of River City. You can buy skills to increase your jump, your weapon attacks, your punches, kicks, and other bonuses. You build your strength, defense, and attack power through eating food.
River City Ransom is addicting because it's easy to play but tough to beat. The gangs get increasingly more difficult and boss battles are wide open. You fight on streets, in gyms, and in parks around the city. You can jump on benches, fences, and walls to gain advantages over your enemies. It has a nice plot, a good linear path to travel and do battle, fun places to shop and improve your skills, and good, difficult enemies.
Set the difficulty on hard and watch how much effort it takes to win.
Go save your girlfriend!
Graphics 8 Sound 7 Addictive 9 Story 7 Depth 8 Difficulty 8
Review Rating: 3.5/5
Submitted: 04-27-11
Review Replies: 0
9.9
BARF! ryansmith
River City Ransom is all of the fun of Double Dragon and other beat em up games, with a few twists.
First off, the game features shopping malls where your character can buy books to learn new skills, grab a burger to regain health, and even buy a spa treatment. Having this break in the action gives you a moment to collect yourself before moving on to tougher areas of the game, and infuses a bit of humor into the game.
The humor in the game also adds to its enjoyability. The onscreen subtitles from your enemies death will have you laughing out loud.
The one problem I have with this otherwise great game is the length. The game could have been a few stages longer and perhaps have a few extra hidden levels to complete to keep the playability high.
Graphics 9 Sound 8 Addictive 7 Story 9 Depth 7 Difficulty 7
Review Rating: 3.1/5
Submitted: 01-21-13
Review Replies: 0
10
Love the NES? Play one of its finest. endings
Oh my goodness. Rivery City Ransom. This is my favorite NES game ever. Today I ran into a friend who had never played this on the NES, and I felt deep pity for him. This is on par with Double Dragon, RCR is a beat-em up with various weapons, and even RPG elements like stats to raise and items to equip or use.
The plot is simple and told to you right in the intro of the game. Slick takes a girl, and the city. Who will stop his admittedly fairly quiet reign of tyranny?
To movie buffs, I would also break the game down like this:
Have you ever seen The Warriors? The classic movie about gangs fighting and running amok in New York? River City Ransom is like this.. if it was high-schoolers. These marshmallow bodied teen hoods, who dash about the entire town, no law enforcement to be seen, and you as a squatly-built high-schooler want to stop all this anarchy. Only the malls are safe from evil, and there you may buy items to strengthen your life and your skill set.
But you don't have to do so alone. Oh no. You can have a friend play along as a 2nd player, and together punch and kick them into submission, all while learning new techniques, buying and consuming food (and the dish it was served on), and maybe hugging a teddy bear when no one was looking. The music is somewhat catchy, but like the plot, its not the strong suit. You are here for the wacky fighting and weapons. Or for the free smile at Mervs if you are just lonely.
This game is a glorious free for all beat-em up, with various weapons, and vast number of different areas to traverse. There are hidden things to find, many bosses and gangs to overcome, and to make them BARF!! (the cry of defeat to many a hoodlum). If you enjoy the NES, do your nostalgia a favor, and play this game, preferably with a friend. Do it for River City, do it for fun.
Graphics 8 Sound 7 Addictive 10 Story 5 Depth 7 Difficulty 5
Review Rating: 3/5
Submitted: 06-28-14
Review Replies: 1
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