River City Ransom (Nintendo, 1989)

River City Ransom is about two guys, Alex and Ryan that must fight their way around town in order to save Ryan's girlfriend from the paws of the evil gang members. You have a stats screen for your player with things like stamina, will power, kick etc. you collect money from gang members by beating the crap out of them and then you go into town to get a burger or buy combat boots to increase your skills. There are some special moves that you learn by reading a book bought at the library. There is even a secret shop hidden somewhere in the game. You can collect weapons classic weapons like chains, brass knuckle, crate but there is some innovations like the tire that you can throw and if you're in 2 player mode you can have a lot of fun doing acrobatics with a tire ;)

Controls: 5/5
Since it is a nes game, the controls are very simple (A kick, B punch, A+B jump, tapping forward twice to run). Unlike many nes titles, river city characters respond very well and you never fall into a pit unless you are very clumsy.

Graphics: 5/5
Simple, things look like what they represent and stay simple so the screen don't flicker. Colors are bright and the text is clean and readable.


Replay: 5/5
River city ransom along with bubble bobble is the nes game I replay the most, very fun to play with a friend you never get tired of messing around town with Alex and Ryan.


Story: 4/5
While not the most original (beat guys save girl) type, it implements rpg elements and much humor. I reccomend to read the dying quotes of the bad guys or the storyline dialogs, you'll have probably a smile or two.


Sound: 5/5
Music is awesome for a nes game, you'll surprise yourself humming river city's music from time to time. Sound effects are complete and fit with the action.

Difficulty: 4/5
Pretty easy once you get the touch, especially if you have the dragon feet or stone hands moves, but there is challenge nonetheless.

A must have for any NES fan/collector


=8-)
by LoBoToMy

I really love this game!! i bought it because i remember playing it back in the late 80's when it first came out and it was always fun!! i am still very happy with it! its fun and easy to play!

Games like this are few and far in between. While similar games in the genre such as Double Dragon may have gained more coverage, this is an exellent classic that shouldn't be missed. It takes the side scrolling fighter and add two things that keep it highly interesting, a pinch of humor and an RPG like stats system. The game has a HUGE replay value, and can easily allow you to waste countless hours in two player mode with a friend. I definatley reccomend you give this one a try.

The game came in a fast and worked fine. The game was realitively dirty but became clean after a good cleaning.

This game took a while to start up. I was about to give up on it when the game started. I was so excited when it did. Once I got started playing the game, I was hooked just like I was in the 90's. I so happy I won this item. Well worth it.

This was one of my very first purchases on ebay. I was very sceptible etc but I was very pleased with the product. It was received exactly as described and was delivered promptly. Thanks for an excellent buying experience.

For such an old game, and a hard one to find at that, I was extremely surprised at the quality and condition of the cartridge. If I hadn't known any better, I would've thought it had just come off the line within the week. I will buy again, I'm an avid collector of NES games, especially in this kind of shape.

Like i stated before in ff1 this game took what it had and made a legend out of it. To this day i havent found any game that even matches this one. I like the way you can interact with other parts of the game and upgrade. It doesnet cram a bunch of nosense in it. Just simple and very entertaining. Still wish it could have had a sequal or two.

This game is not only a great beat 'em up, but it also has a lot of RPG elements to it. If you have the choice of this or Double Dragon, go for this.

Thi game rocks! It brings me back to the old days! If you do not have this it is one that you need to add to your collection!

River City Ransom is by far one of the most epic beat 'em up games ever created. This masterpiece takes an already entertaining genre and combines with the custom playing style of an RPG. I could go on for a while with all of the great things about the game... Thats how good it is. The only downside to this game is the password code system. They are a novel long and a pain to input.

This was a game me and my brother use to play when we were kids. It was our favorite game to play because he got to play both players on the screen at the same time. This was rare. We were never able to be it. I decided to buy it from ebay to give it another try as adults. The game was still very fun and this time we were able to finish the game. This was the all time best interactive fighting game of all time for Nintendo.

THIS IS A GREAT GAME FOR THE NES SYSTEM. IT IS A GREAT FIGHTING GAME, THAT YOU OR ANOTHER PLAYER CAN PLAY AT ONCE IF YOU LIKE FIGHTING GAMES THIS ONE IS UP THERE IT CAN BE PURCHASED FOR AROUND 10 DOLLARS AND IT IS WELL WORTH THE MONEY. AS A COLLECTOR GAME THIS ONE SHOULD ALWAYS HOLD ITS VALUE BECAUSE IT IS SUCH A POPULAR TITLE.

Great side scrolling 'beat'em up' style fighting game for Nintendo.
One of the tougher games to come by nowadays.
Don't forget to stop for food :)

I LOVE THIS GAME!!! Excellent, Excellent and very fun. I love all of it!! Very funny at times!! I bought this game because it was in my neighborhood and it was pretty cheap and it is a verrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrry fun game!!!!

Love this game it is very entertaining, I play if for hours with my wife. You can think of this game as a mix between Zelda and Battletoads, the graphics aren't great. This game is quite funny as well, You can pickup brass knuckles and chains a beat each other up just for fun. Anyone can play it, though it can get confusing on how you progress to the next boss.
Passwords make it possible to continue where you left off.
Overall I think its one of those great classics that never got the notice it deserved.