Noteworthy: River City Ransom

River City Ransom stands alone in the Beat em up genre. Everyone who has played River CIty knows how much fun it can be. Not your common Beat em up, River City blends said genre with an RPG feel.

Released in the early 90's, River City was Developed by Japan Technos and Published by American Technos. The same company that brought you Renegade and Double Dragon. As you can tell, River City is similar to both games in every way. Same concept of beat em up. Save the damsel in distress. Beat up a bunch of punks that look the same.

However, what made this 2 player game so different from other Beat em ups was that it added the RPG feel. You get to buy combat skills and food for health with the money you acquire from beating up the baddies.

It has a simple plot, Alex and Ryan (The heroes), fight their way through the River City gangs to rescue Ryan's girlfriend Cyndi from the main head, Slick. You battle through 9 gangs filled with generic gang members, sub bosses, and bosses.

As fun as this game sounds, sadly, it didn't sell well. Sales were so low in the US that we never saw the sequel that was released on the Super Famicom.

What made this game so awesome? It had simple mechanics. The graphics weren't that great. Well, actually, they were. The music was pretty cool as well. People who to this day still play the game, can't help but wonder how this game didn't sell well. It's a fun game. Especially when played with another person. You get to help each other with added moves.

So go out and play it again. Or maybe even for the first time. You won't be disappointed in playing, what can be one of the most exciting, yet gone unnoticed Beat em up games of all time.

"I rocked River City even when the Super Nintendo came out.That River City Ransom just looked like Japanese midgets fighting... It was Hysterical" -Ish Chaidez-

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