 S I N S binder When the NES Classic was released, one of the biggest criticisms was of course about the game selection. One of the loudest complaints being where the heck is River City ransom? Alright, so why this game? What's the big deal? Well, let's start with a little history. This game is known as Street Gangs in Pal regions and it was developed by Technos Japan, the same people behind the Double Dragon series as part of the Kaneo-kun series in Japan. It's the third game in the series, coming after Super Dodgeball and Nketsukawa Kuniyokun, known in North America as Renegade. Those games are decent enough, but River City Ransom stands alone in the NES library, because it's the rare NES action game that attempts something resembling an open world, and it pulls it off successfully. Okay, obviously it's not truly open world, it's still pretty linear, but still, it's a little bit like taking Double Dragon and putting it in a sandbox where you can wander around freely, beat up enemies, and collect money so you can buy food and items to buff up your character. And that's part of what makes this game stand out so much, the RPG elements, where you save up the money you find defeating enemies to buy new fighting techniques, like Stonehands or Dragonfeet, as well as the story and just the goofy personality this game exudes. I mean, just take one glance at some of the enemies you're beating up. Their faces are cartoonishly contorted like something out of a Tom and Jerry cartoon, and there's lots of different enemies you encounter throughout the game. I swear, one big reason this game hooked me is because I just wanted to see all the different expressions they came up with. And of course, there's the infamous BARF that's emitted once they're vanquished. As far as the combat goes, it's surprisingly advanced for an NES game and it holds up really well, and a big reason for that is how smart the enemy AI is. Enemies will block your attacks and force you to alternate between punches and kicks. I know that sounds simple, but for an NES beat them up, it's pretty nice because it makes you pay attention and use your head instead of just button mashing. I also love that there's a dash mechanic here, just press forward or back twice, and that speeds the game way up, which is fun, and even better is that enemies can do this too, and they are aggressive as hell, sprinting at you from all directions, and throwing all sorts of garbage they can get their hands on. It's a lot of fun. The thing is, though, River City Ransom doesn't have the best balancing. You'll move from one screen to the next, kicking ass left and right, and then you'll run into new enemies and they'll absolutely annihilate you. In other words, you gotta grind a bit to make sure your strength is up to par when you run into newer enemies. And I know some people hate that, but in this game, I didn't mind. Just because the core gameplay is pretty satisfying, and plus the sound design is well done, and it certainly helps that the music is some of the most recognizable in any NES game ever. The game has you playing as high school students Alex and Ryan, which means that, yes, this game is two-player co-op, another huge bonus this game has going for it. Ryan's girlfriend was kidnapped, and he and Alex have to cross the river and wander onto enemy turf to get her back, fighting notorious gangs such as the frat guys, the jocks, and the generic dudes. Those names should give you an idea of what kind of tone this game is going for. It's all very silly, self-aware, and not to be taken too seriously. One flaw I need to point out about this one is that it saves via a password system, and these passwords are ugly. This is some Legend of the Mystical Ninja level stuff here. That makes it doubly frustrating that it wasn't included on the NES classic, because you could just forget about passwords and utilize save states instead. So yeah, if you want to play the original cartridge of this one, take a picture of the screen with your phone. Don't be a sucker like we were when we were kids, writing this crap down and then hoping you can read your own writing later. River City Ransom has since received remakes on PC Engine CD-ROM, Game Boy Advance, and re-releases on every Nintendo Virtual Console, including the Nintendo Switch Online service, so at least the game is available there, and if you haven't played this one, it's definitely worth checking out. It's easily a top 20, or maybe even a top 15 NES game. And hey, if you dig this, the Kunio-kun series has plenty of other games you can dive into, and there's even River City Ransom Underground, a modern take on the game that you can find on all sorts of different modern platforms. But sticking with just River City Ransom, it's great. It's fun seeing all the different gangs, studying their attack patterns and adjusting your strategy, throwing trash cans around, leveling up Alex and Ryan with all sorts of new techniques. The dude even eats the plate when leveling up. I wonder if adjusting porcelain helps with stamina. And of course, it's a lot of fun to play with a second player. River City Ransom is easily one of the best NES games ever. And I want to thank you for watching, and I hope you have a great rest of your day.