River City Ransom

"The Best Game in the Kunio-Kun Series"

ABSTRACT: In Japan, Downtown Nekketsu Monogatari (Story), also know as River City Ransom in America and Street Gangs everywhere else, was the third Kunio-Kun game for the Famicom. The first two Kunio-Kun games for the Famicom were arcade ports. The first one, Nekketsu Kouha Kunio-Kun (known as Renegade everywhere else), was average, but the second one, Nekketsu Koukou Dodgeball-Bu (Super Dodge Ball) was great. Downtown Nekketsu Monogatari was not only the first original Kunio-Kun game for the FC, but it's also one of the best (if not, the best) game in the series.

STORY: You choose from one of two tough high school kids: Kunio or his rival Riki. Regardless, you must rescue Riki's girlfriend, Mami, from the Reihou Academy. Eventually you'll meet Kunio's chilhood friend, Hasebe, as well as bosses from scums like Sawaguchi, to Gouda, the gatekeeper, to the Hattori Twins, Ryuuichi & Ryuuji, to the mysterious final boss. The story wasn't very different in the American version, but some small details were changed.

GAMEPLAY: Since DNM wasn't based on an arcade game, the developers had more freedom to do what they wanted in a Famicom game. The controls were simple, B was for kicks, A for punch and B & A together were Jump, not to mention the ability to steal weapons from enemies. What made Downtown different from the original Kunio-Kun and Double Dragon was the ability to buy items. After defeating an enemy, he will turned into a certain amount of cash that could be used to buy items that could improve your stats, equipment for attacking power and food to regain energy. The enemies, while they were all pallete swaps of each other, they did had their own unique behavior, from the wimps of Senridai to the ferocious Tanibana killers. The tougher the gang, the more money they leave.

THE GOOD: Just about everything! The graphics were excellent for it's time (although, later Kunio-Kun games on the Famicom had more frames of animation), the music was catchy and the gameplay was simple and addictive at the same time. There's just alot to do in this game, it's hard to get tired of this.

THE BAD: There isn't much bad things to say about this game. The ending sucks. Apparenttly the programmers were planning to put an actual ending to the game as well as individual sprites for the main female characters, Hasebe & Mami (Roxy & Cindi in RCR), but the programmers seem to had run out of developing time. I wish they were more music too, the main theme can get a bit repetive and the music only changes when: A) Fighting bosses or B) When entering the park, a factory or Reihou Academy. They should had put a differeng BGM for each area. The game is a bit linear too and the only time you had to backtrack is after defeating Sawaguchi (Rocko), in which you had to return to the park to fight a boss. That's about it.

VERDICT: Despite a couple of flaws, Downtown is still the best Kunio-Kun game ever. Whether it's River City Ransom, Street Gangs or Downtown, you can't consider yourself a true Technos or even a true NES fan if you haven't play this game yet. I much rather play this over Kunio Tachi no Banka anytime.

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 05/02/00, Updated 05/02/00