River City Ransom NES Virtual Console Review

Cult-Classic 2-player NES Brawler RCR, Nintendo Wii Virtual Console

Nov 12, 2009 Bradley Kairis

One of the best 2-player NES games of all time is available on the Nintendo Wii Virtual Console for 500 Nintendo points. Fans of 2D brawlers should check this one out.

River City Ransom offers old-school NES Brawling at it's finest. Even though Double Dragon outshined it in popularity, in retrospect, many gamers consider River City Ransom the superior title due to well-integrated character advancement elements and a charming sense of humor.

Originally released for the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES), the title has been made available for the Nintendo Wii via download through the Virtual Console shop. River City Ransom is known as Downtown Nekketsu Monogatari in Japan, and Street Gangs in Europe.

For those who don't know, the Nintendo Wii Virtual console allows gamers to buy old Nintendo games and download them straight to their Wii Console. Games are bought with Nintendo Points, which are added through Nintendo Wii Points Cards - available at just about any retail store. River City Ransom costs 500 Wii Points, the equivalent of $5.

River City Ransom Controls

River City Ransom manages to squeeze quite a bit out of just two buttons and a D-pad, allowing players to punch, kick, jump, run, pick up weapons, attack with weapons, throw weapons, pick up enemies, attack with enemies, and throw enemies.

It may seem odd to say, but River City Ransom actually features a small degree of physics. When running, throwing a weapon will deal far more damage. Also, when running and holding up while jumping, the character will perform a very high jump - useful for reaching high locations and for avoiding enemies.

These small nuances and attention to detail helped craft River City Ransom into the status of a cult-classic co-op brawler.

One of the Best Old Nintendo Games on Nintendo Virtual Console

River City is being held ransom (hence the game's title) by various gangs vying for violent supremacy. The leader of the most notorious gang, Slick, kidnaps the main character's girlfriend, forcing Alex and Ryan to put a stop to the mob madness once and for all.

While RCR makes for a perfectly fine single-player experience, it truly excels in co-op play. Players may be disappointed to know that both players can, in fact, hurt and kill one another, but this forces cooperation and adds significantly to the difficulty. Without "friendly fire," bosses and gangs wouldn't stand a chance, since the difficulty does not scale with an added player.

Perhaps the most memorable and enjoyable aspects of River City Ransom come from the game's humor. The cartoon-style goofy violence, on top of occasionally oddball phrases emitted from enemies such as "Barf!" make for a hilarious good time, especially with players accidentally whacking each other with a lead pipe, or smacking one another with a thrown rock. And, when regaining health and raising stats in restaurants, the player's character orders food and snarfs it in a single bite - plate and all!

Techniques, Food, Stats - River City Ransom's RPG Elements

Featuring an in-depth character progression system that's still pretty impressive to this day, players can customize their characters by learning new techniques from books and raising various stats through food and clothing items.

The degree to which players can enhance their stats is staggering for an NES title, and strategic players can combine various enhancers to maximize power potential. Learning the technique Dragon Feet and equipping Cowboy Boots, for example, unleashes a barrage of deadly, rapid-fire kicks. Or, reading numerous "Isis Scrolls" from a secret shop can maximize the player's Throw stat, making it possible to kill weaker bosses in a single rock throw.

River City Ransom Review conclusion - one of the Best Nintendo Games on Virtual Console

Even though River City Ransom can be beaten in a single night, with so many methods of character customization and techniques to learn, this 2-player co-op NES brawler offers a great deal of replayability and value, making it one of the best Nintendo Games on the Wii Virtual Console, and well worth the asking price of $5.

Interested in great Nintendo DS games? Then check out this overview of Scribblenauts for the Nintendo DS, or this article on the Top 5 Most Innovative Nintendo DS Games.

The copyright of the article River City Ransom NES Virtual Console Review in Video & Online Games is owned by Bradley Kairis. Permission to republish River City Ransom NES Virtual Console Review in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.

River City Ransom NES on Virtual Console	One of the Best Old Nintendo Games with 2-players	River City Ransom's Boxart in Japan
River City Ransom for Nintendo Wii 500 Points