River City Ransom EX

"The best just got better."

River City Ransom EX

The original River City Ransom came out on the NES back when the side scrolling beat em up market was a bloated pig, which explains why it's sleeper hit even though its probably the best beat em up to this day. It combines great action with some rpg elements just to make it different and deeper than any other beat em up out there. The game also went on to other systems, with different upgrades to how the game was played, but they never came out to the US. Now the GBA and the US will receive the best of all versions. The game is about Alex and Ryan, two pals/rivals who live in River City, which is now taken over by gangs. Slick, the baddest man in town is in control, and has taken hostage of Alex's girlfriend. Now its up to Alex and Ryan to go and clean up River City, ala Buford Pusser in Walking Tall. . I have played the Japanese version of this game for many hours, and since I am quite sure that it will be true to the US version, it's time to review!

Graphics: 8

The graphics have their own style and charm, giving the somewhat mediocre graphics a more pleasing look to it all, and therefore raising the score. Characters in the game are heavily influenced by the anime/manga style, and it is one of the trademark looks of Technos, the developer of the game. The graphics are heavily updated for the GBA, as your character has a lot more variations of punches and kicks, each animated so that it makes it kicking random enemy ass fun to watch. Characters have exaggerated expressions to getting punched, kicked, barrel rolling through the air, and getting socked with trash cans. Backgrounds have been updated since their 8 color renditions and now look a lot better and realistic. The only downside is, that if the style doesn't win you over you will probably think that the game just looks mediocre. I'm on the side that the style adds to the score.

Music/sound: 7
The music is updated from the NES track, which had about 1 great 20 second looped midi. Thankfully the main song that is played sounds like it is using instruments than just a midi. It sounds a little bit different, but the music will probably grate on you at some point. The sound effects are just adequate. The only thing to note is that most of the annoying music for the NES has been updated/changed so that they are no longer so dreadful. There are no simulated voices or low quality speaking, keeping true to the original.

Control: 9
Ahh, now this is how developers should create beat em ups! All you need is a control pad, a kick button and a punch button. That's it. When weapons and bodies are on the floor, you press either of them to pick it up. Press the punch button to whack people in the face with the weapon or fallen enemy, or press the kick button to throw the person or the weapon. To block, just punch or kick when your enemy is trying to hit you. Seriously, there isn't a need for a separate button for each and every thing you character can do, since 2 buttons do everything that you want to do. Having 2 buttons makes playing the game a lot more fun since it's more accessible and you don't need to do any finger gymnastics to keep on slugging. For those NES veterans out there, there have been MANY tweaks from the original, gone are the 2 hit combos your character could only do, now there are A LOT of different punches and kicks, since now you can charge up your attacks which will send the enemy flying. You can press another button while charging up to do some sort of power move, like a Dragon punch from Street Fighter 2. You tap the direction you want to go twice to run. Going through the menus though, that's a different story. Sometimes there is some lag when you are navigating through them, which is annoying when you are trying to eat a Fish Merv on the go.

Gameplay: 9
RCR EX can be best described as a beat em up with rpg elements. Your character goes into two different types of sections: Gang territory or Strip Malls. Strip malls have shops in there where you can get things to increase your stats. Some of them are your Punch stat, Kick stat, Weapons stat and Throwing stat. The higher your stat is in an area, the more efficient your attack will be. If you decide to be Alex, you will have the ''Mach Kick'' skill, which if you keep tapping A, he will unleash a move where he kicks quickly for about 5 times. You would probably want to increase his kicking skill in the beginning so you will be able to mow down gang members faster. Food in this game will increase your stats, along with reading comic books and playing with toys. You can also equip items, but you will only be able to equip a few things at a time. You must buy them though, and that's where the enemies come in. If you want to be strong enough for Slick, you have to fight enemies so you can increase your stats. Gangsters will drop money after you knock them out, which means you have to go collect their unidentifiable bouncing change. Battles take place everywhere in this game, so you are almost in constant danger of some sort. Guys in pink suits come after you with brass knuckles and tires or maybe its just a guy in a teal suit with a chain, it doesn't matter, just kick him in the face and then throw him into a group of his pals. Battles can get hectic since there are guys coming in from behind you and in front of you, carrying weapons and of course, their fists. Buying techniques in the game will help you dispatch enemies along with looking cooler and making fighting a deeper experience. Even if your stats are at max though, the game won't be easy as the different gangs in the game have different intelligence levels and more killer instinct. For example, the ''Generic Dudes'' (yes that is the gang name) will go down in one punch in the beginning, but the Mob members will take a beating and dish out a lot of damage while retreating for weapons or gang members, which means that you have to have some skill to play this game or the gangs will just eat you alive. Both elements of the game play are done quite well, since many people and fans of the original RCR have been awaiting another installment for about 15 years! In the EX version, you can either have a pal to join you as either Alex or Ryan. If you are playing alone, you have the option to go it alone or have a computer controlled character to play as Alex or Ryan, which makes the odds of survival towards your favor .After you beat the game, you will get a ''Reputation'' meter, which, if your reputation is high enough, gang leaders / members will join your cause, and join you in the beat down of the unwanted gangs in River City .There are multiple difficulty settings, contrast settings, and many other customizable aspects, making it easier for those of you who can't hack it in normal difficulty, or those of you who get bored in normal difficulty. Simply put this is probably the most well though out beat em up ever, and anyone who likes lots of action with different styles of play should definitely get this game. NES veterans, there are enough changes to warrant a purchase, although the game's areas are laid out just about the same.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 04/10/04