River City Ransom (ダウンタウン熱血物語 Downtown Nekketsu Monogatari "Downtown Hot-Blooded Story" in Japan and Street Gangs in Europe) is a video game for the Nintendo Family Computer and the Nintendo Entertainment System from the now defunct Technos Japan Corporation, released in 1989.

The game is part of Technos's Nekketsu Kōha: Kunio-Kun series. In 2004, it received an enhanced remake for the Game Boy Advance by Atlus. The storyline was altered from the Japanese version. River City Ransom was directed by Mitsuhiro Yoshida (Super Dodge Ball) and Hiroyuki "Mokeke" Sekimoto (Double Dragon II) and scored by Kazuo Sawa .

In America and Europe, the plot follows high school students Alex and Ryan as they cross River City in an attempt to rescue River City High School and Ryan's girlfriend Cyndi from the clutches of a villain called "Slick". Along the way, they must do battle with gangs of students (with names such as "The Generic Dudes" or "The Frat Guys") and several minibosses.

River City Ransom has been described as a cross between a beat 'em up and a role-playing game. The game follows a more or less linear path from start to finish, and fights take place in the style of Double Dragon (another Technos hit), with the player moving Alex or Ryan around the screen using the directional pad, and pressing buttons to punch, kick, or jump. But the characters' effectiveness in battle is determined by several statistics and their knowledge of fighting techniques, which are augmented by purchasing items in malls throughout the city (using money recovered from defeated gang members).

The 2004 remake of the game on the Game Boy Advance boasted a number of new items, techniques, gangs, and other features, but also sacrificed some fan-favorite features from the original version, such as its two-player mode.

River City Ransom was not highly successful when initially released. However, due to its unique gameplay and sense of humor, it is today considered a cult classic.

External link

• Atlus USA's River City Ransom web site
• Seanbaby's River City Ransom page