(Originally published to Glitchwave on 4/13/2024)
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[Image from glitchwave.com]
River City Ransom
Developer: Technos Japan
Publisher: Technos Japan
Genre(s): Beat 'em-Up
Platforms: NES
Release Date: April 25, 1989
Despite the tonal differences, River City Ransom’s premise is practically identical to that of Double Dragon, almost as if the beat ‘em up genre is stuck in a creative ghetto of story conflicts. Alex, a young man in his upperclassman high school years, is quite miffed when a gang of students from the rival River City High School abducts his girlfriend and holds her hostage. Alex obviously isn’t content with these vicious reprobates taking the love of his life to do god knows what with her, so he’s prepared to storm through hundreds of teenage goons to save her. A fellow CrossTown High School student named Ryan will assist Alex in this daunting, heroic escapade if a second player is available. Together, they’re like Billy and Jimmy if they chewed tobacco and etched crude tattoos into their arms with shiv. With the plain white T-shirt, jeans, and greased hair combo, the River City Ransom duo are akin to the blue-collar, salt-of-the-earth guys that would throw a beer can at you if you cut them off in traffic as opposed to righteous, Cobra Kai rejects from Double Dragon.
Since I couldn’t find someone to man the second controller on such short notice, I cannot speak on the dynamic of having both Alex and Ryan on the field. Logically, I would hope Ryan would still offer his aid to Alex even if someone weren’t manning his actions, for the path to Alex’s goal of saving his girlfriend is a gravelly one. The coarse stones that comprise this rocky road are the army of River City High boys who will risk their physical well-being in the interest of Cyndi’s captor “Slick,” for some reason. There isn’t anything fancy regarding Alex/Ryan’s combat that transcends the customary punching and kicking of melee fighting. Alex can pick up a weapon, ranging from chains, plywood boards, and brass knuckles, to other miscellaneous objects like trash cans scattered around the city. When Alex knocks a goon on his ass, he can hoist him over his head and smash him into his compadres to kill two birds with one stone. If that prospect sounds silly, it’s a segway into discussing one of River City Ransom’s greatest merits. Between the dirty thugs beating each other senselessly is an unexpectedly playful way of presenting it. River City Ransom has a buoyant expressiveness with its combat that surpasses the graphical capabilities of standard 8-bit pixel art. Slick’s cronies genuinely look like Alex knocks the wind out of them when stricken, which kind of looks like the face the blue fish makes when he gets a whiff of Spongebob’s rancid breath in the “Something Smells” episode. None of them need to express their pain with the interjections that pop up below the screen, most notably “BARF!,” but it's another nifty way of giving the combat a little more personality. Also, causing these street rats grievous injury is satisfying in other ways rather than seeing their exaggerated expressions. Landing a hit on any of the enemies tends to have inexact outcomes because the enemies often block Alex’s blows with swift, defensive maneuvers. Because enemy AI is surprisingly adept for the NES era, this forces the player to practice alternating between punching and kicking to the point of rapid proficiency.
Alex’s road to rescuing his girlfriend is as long as it is exhausting. Given that his journey begins at the entrance of his high school and all of his adversaries attend the high school in another district, he probably won’t be home in time for dinner. The breadth of the riverside cityscape in River City Ransom is arguably a greater point of innovation than its vibrant graphics. The trajectory between Alex’s school and the dastardly River City High barely deviates from a lengthy straightaway trek, with a few notable destinations off to the side such as a few parks. Still, one has to consider how video game levels were typically rendered during this simpler era of the medium. Progression for the majority of games on the NES was spliced into levels with no cohesion between the transitions. Any screen passed on River City Ransom’s map can be revisited at any point, albeit inconveniently on foot without any quicker traveling method. Correct me if I’m mistaken, but this cohesive world design in this type of urban environment is the closest an NES game has come to being a progenitor of the open-world genre that Grand Theft Auto would eventually serve as its definitive architect. Considering that Grand Theft Auto hadn’t laid out the schematics of the genre properly until three gaming generations onward, seeing an NES game provide the bare essentials of the ambitious genre’s core tenets competently is fairly impressive.
Across the narrow course to Alex’s goal are a few other more conspicuous destinations. After traversing through a slew of streets, Alex will stumble across a bustling city block filled with innocuous townsfolk instead of rampaging River City High boneheads. These lovely little metropolitan areas sandwiched in between the map are not only respite areas for Alex to briefly rest his weary head. If Alex is knocked unconscious after withstanding too many body blows, the last metropolitan area he visited will serve as a checkpoint. See, other NES developers? You don’t have to be so stingy with your game over penalties! To stave off even needing these sections as safety nets in the first place, they also provide a smattering of wares alongside the strip malls. Alex can sit down at a restaurant to order several food items to restore his health, and the eclectic choice of cuisines gives the impression that River City is the refined, foody brand of a modern metropolitan area. Alex certainly looks grateful for his home’s sophisticated palette, but I’m sure all of the restaurant employees wished that he wasn’t so eager to eat that he carelessly gulps down the plate along with the food. Besides consuming fuel for his body, these areas also offer Alex the option of providing sustenance for his mind at the library. Alex can check out a few books and read them at his own pace in the pause menu. Digesting the pages within will unlock fresh variations to Alex’s moves, including a speedier attack frequency and an airborne somersault to supplement the abysmal jumping controls.
However, the features included in these rest stops all cost a pretty penny, and that’s relevant to River City Ransom’s biggest issue. Obviously, I don’t expect these businesses to treat Alex like a charity case for the noble cause of saving a teenage girl from a band of hooligans. Still, the chump change that falls out of these hooligan’s pockets is the only source of income in the game. It comes in varying quantities, but never enough to cover the steep expenses with some of the necessary items. There is no other means of earning coinage in the game besides shaking it out of enemies. I forgot to mention that even if the player masterfully evades all damage, they’ll still have to shovel food into Alex’s mouth. Their caloric properties will also maximize his base stats such as health, offense, defense, speed, etc. The beefier thugs located near the perimeter of River City High that brutally tag team Alex before he has time to catch his breath aren’t the only reason not to neglect to upgrade his stats. In order to gain passage through the pearly gates of River City High, Alex has to defeat three major bosses beforehand. These bosses only show their faces if Alex has vanquished all of the lower-level grunts on the screen, so each moment of the game is a mix of guesswork and endurance. I also glossed over the fact that the total sum of Alex’s money is halved as a demerit for dying. With Alex unable to conserve his energy by avoiding combat because there might be a boss lurking in the grass, overwhelming Alex and knocking him unconscious is a constant. River City Ransom is ensnared in a catch-22 situation where the player needs to fight to eat, but fighting also necessitates the need to eat. Sometimes, the portion of food needed to remain healthy cannot be afforded because of constantly buying smaller ones to prevent the game from pickpocketing Alex’s wallet upon his demise. As admirable as integrating RPG elements into the beat ‘em up genre is, especially for the NES era, I can’t beam with excitement over the richer gameplay mechanics because their ambitions boil down to a painstaking grinding session to afford progression.
I thought I enjoyed River City Ransom for the punk rock scuzz that emits from its pores, which still holds truth. Beyond that, I’ve discovered that River City Ransom is still superior to Double Dragon and other NES beat ‘em ups of the same ilk because it showcases an evolution of the genre. River City Ransom is not a game content with offering short-term goals, bland presentation, or having the player simply infer that they’re getting stronger by beating the levels. River City Ransom expands on the base foundation of the beat ‘em up across every facet of the genre. It’s bigger and bolder, but that’s also to its detriment. Still, this isn't a case of River City Ransom shooting for something out of its league on a primitive piece of hardware. Reworking the currency system could’ve been a feasible task, and doing so probably would’ve made River City Ransom a household name alongside Nintendo’s titles in the history books. Still, even with a gigantic, glaring flaw, River City Ransom is still better than all of the practical beat 'em-ups on the NES.
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