Company: American Technos
Year Released: 1989

Ah, River City Ransom.  The game I definitely used to rent the most from Blockbuster.  I finally found it in about 1991 at Fred Meyer's for $15 brand new.  I of course snapped it up, and I've been playing it ever since.  This is the game that my friend Drew and I like to play when we hang out (aside from Skate or Die).  I think we both remember how much we enjoyed this game when we were younger... alright, enough gushing, on with the review.

Plot:  "I hold your city captive & Ryan's girlfriend hostage.  With my gangs of students & evil bosses, nobody can stop me now.  Meet my demands - or else! . . .  P.S. Alex & Ryan if you interfere, you'll be in for the fight of your lives! . . .  SLICK"  This Slick sounds like one jive soul bro.  Like one bad mother... SHUT YOUR MOUTH!!!  Basically, it's bust some heads and get Ryan's girl back.  Nothing new and different, but for an action game, it works fine. 
Score: 3

Graphics:  The graphics that American Technos use for all of their NES games are basically the same - all of the characters are stubby, blockheaded people with big eyes.  You're either going to love the graphics or hate them.  Personally, I love 'em.  They're not the best I've seen on the Nintendo, but you can't go wrong with them.  The palette colors are nice, and everything seems to mesh well.
Score: 4

Music: When I call upon myself to remember video game music, River City Ransom is one of the first ones to answer.  Although certain tracks are a little sappier than others (Sherman Park and when you meet Roxy, Slick's girl), the overworld theme, the status screen theme, and the boss theme are probably three of the best musical scores for an action game.  They're upbeat, and they keep the game moving right along.  Also, the sound effects take nothing away from the music.  If anything, they add to them.  When you whack an enemy over the head with a stick, a lead pipe, or a garbage can, you hear a lovely "thunk!"  Garbage cans, boxes... it's so much like modern-day wrestling, it's surreal.  Good work, American Technos!
Score: 5

Play Control:  No problems in this department either.  The running is easy to negotiate, jumps are fairly simple, and of course, the button crushing madness is top-notch.  Special techniques don't require excessive button pushing, just cash.  The buttons are standard for fighters, B for kick, A for punch, B&A for jump.  Works just fine for me.
Score: 5

Password/Save System:  Well, this is where the game gets a drop in points.  It's good that a game like this has a password system, but the system itself can be a bit confusing the first few times using it.  It's 3 rows, 11 characters per row, and they're either uppercase letters, lowercase letters, or numbers.  There are also apostrophes that need to be inserted every once in a while.  The letters are fairly distinct, but if you screw up one character, it's time to start a new game.  There's a fairly high margin of error with so many letters.
Score: 3

Difficulty:  As some fighters can be, this game is not horribly frustrating, because you have unlimited lives.  When you die, you only go as far back as the last mall, where you can build up your cash reserves and buy those needed food items, along with those edible plates and cups... but you do lose half of your money when you die, so be careful if you're saving up for a technique.  The only differences between the normal setting and advanced setting are that the enemies are tougher to defeat, and they hit you harder.  The difficulties are perfect for this game.
Score: 5

Length:  This game will take you a couple hours to beat if you're not in a hurry.  Probably a little longer for the advanced setting.  It's a good length for a fighter, and since there's no time limit, and no forced path (you can go back and forth between screens - sometimes you have to), you don't have to worry about rushing to the next stage.  No complaints from me.
Score: 5

Fun Factor/Replay Value:  As you can probably tell from the foreword, I love this game!  This is probably one of the most entertaining games I have ever played.  The combination of the technically sound game with the silly graphics and the great music make this game a near perfect package!  I still think that the devourment of the plates and cups has to be one of the absurdly funniest things ever put in a Nintendo game!  The enemies have character, and the diversity of "plundah" usable to hit enemies with is outstanding.  The ability to build up your character's power RPG-style is definitely one of the things that sets this game apart from the rest of the NES fighters.  Way to go, American Technos!!!
Score: 5

Total score: 35 of 40 points
Percentage: 88% (Classic)