Video Game Review: River City Ransom Underground

Kickstarter.  Crowd-funding.  It sure is one novel concept.  You promise incentives, prizes, etc. to folks who would be interested in supporting a project.  This project can be anything, from paying off debt, to a new idea or invention.  It can even include video games that need the capital to be funded and created.  So, for the first review in, I don't know how long, I'll be covering one of the breakout hits of Kickstarter that made its way to consoles.  It's a combination of old school flavor with new school swing.  It's charming, it's challenging, and it's chock full of fun.  This is my review of River City Ransom Underground.

Before I go any further, my reviews are based on four things: Graphics, Sound, Control, and Fun Factor.  Yes, it's the GamePro approach.  To me, it's a pretty solid approach.  So, why not go with that, right?  Anyhoo, back to business.

River City Ransom Underground is a fan-made sequel to the cult classic, River City Ransom for the NES.  The developers, Technos Japan, made 3 great games focusing on the start of the "Beat 'Em Up" genre.  First there was Renegade which was the earliest arcade beat 'em up of record.  Then, they followed up with Double Dragon, which innovated and breathed life into the genre to a whole new level.  Then, when home consoles became reality, River City Ransom came through.  The difference between this and the first two was its depth.  It was incredibly difficult.  It used RPG elements to build up the characters strengths and abilities.  You could buy items to strengthen yourself, recharge your life, and learn different moves.  Unfortunately, as stated earlier, River City Ransom is only a cult classic, as not many have clamored to it, as they did Double Dragon or Final Fight.  This may have been the telling factor as why the sequels were only Japanese exclusives with a few spin-offs coming out in America (Super Dodge Ball and Crash and the Boys, for example)

River City Ransom's sequels did make it as far as the 32 to 64 bit console generation.  However, the quality was not of that which fans wanted.  So, when it came to any games afterward, they utilized the original style of the NES.  This was more than evident of the games that were made in America for handhelds.  However, as these games were received, there was no real direct follow-up that some fans really wanted.  So, a company known as Conatus Creative put it out there for fans to support a sequel that is closer to the story of River City Ransom's past. Through the power of crowd-funding, Conatus made the money they needed to make the preliminary game.  Then came the further stretch goals and sure enough, we had new outfits, more characters, and other extras, except for multi-platform play.  So, it's a Steam exclusive, it's a side-scrolling beat-em-up, and it's here to be reviewed by yours truly.  So, how does it hold up?  Let's find out.

For those new to my reviews, I use the GamePro style of reviewing, because honestly, it makes a lot of sense to me.  I have other reviews posted here if you're interested in my previous work.  That said, let's begin!

Graphics

On the graphics front, this game has one very interesting look that I took to just recently.  So, there's this phenomenon where some games, independently created or not, have a retro look to them.  They look like they've been animated and created for say, a Nintendo Entertainment System or a Sega Master System.   The games look 8-bit, and yet, they animate with more frames, detail, and depth.  It's a novel style that a lot more indie games are adopting and have been for a few years. For the case of this game, it looks like River City Ransom was definitely updated for a more fluid, more expressive look.  All it takes is some powerful technology to make older graphics look and feel new again.  Kudos to Conatus Creative.

 (Credit goes to Bannon Rudis)

Sound

First, let me start off by saying, yes, I know about the controversy.  Ok, so a few months after the release of the game, a ton of the games original tunes had to be removed, due to copyright claims made by one of the game's music developers.  Because of this, the entire soundtrack had to be modified.  I had a chance to hear both, and despite all this, the game sounds great.  The game uses what is called, "Chiptunes", to give us the music of the game as well as its sounds.  Chiptunes, like the 8-bit look, is something of a new spin with old school graphics and sound.  It uses something along the lines of 8-bit sound modulation to give us music.  Only this time, we have stronger, more sophisticated technology.  So,  now we have more musical bang for your buck.  The sounds are also very true to the original game, maintaining a very nostalgic sound.  Every grunt and groan is sure to be heard again.

Control

The controls are pretty simple.  You punch, you kick, and you jump like in the original.  However, this is the sequel.  And, the controller isn't just 2 buttons anymore.  This game can use both the keyboard or the controller, fitted for Steam or otherwise.  You now have buttons that grab, block, and even use a special move.  The game pretty much handles smoothly, even in the toughest of situations.  However, since each character has a ton of moves to do, make sure you know your buttons well.  Or if anything, modify your buttons to your liking to make doing moves easier.  Yup, you can map your buttons and configure them to your liking.

Fun Factor 

Let's start here with the story.  I'll be the first to admit: I don't quite know the story to River City Ransom.  In fact, since the game has a different title in Japan, and an even larger following, it's kind of hard to pin down a solid story to the uninitiated.  But, fear not! The story is pretty straightforward if you know the original game. 

Years have passed since River City was under siege by some of the scummiest gangs and their members.  Alex and Ryan were on a mission to save Ryan's girlfriend from "Slick", the deadly villain.  So, out of the high school class and onto the streets our heroes went as they successfully completed their mission.  All was well for years, until Slick's re-emergence...and a host of new gangs with new powers, more up-to-date than before and just as volatile.  Who do we call now? The new students of Alex and Ryan's high school, all varying in different styles, skills, and strengths.  But, let's not leave out our protagonists.  It's up to this crew to save River City this time. But, they must be careful, for Slick is not as easy as he was before...or any less volatile.

The game is rife with extras, call-backs, and content just for you.  There are moves you need to learn, specifically to make your fights easier.  That also requires you to level up.  So, fight, but with precaution.  All you get is one life.  Once dead, it's game over.  If you're actually fighting with a friend or 3, watch each other's backs, and watch them well.  If you do lose energy, and I mean a lot, look around town for a place or two to eat.  Just like the original, you can eat at different restaurants to recharge life.  Also, just like the original, you get money for beating up characters.  The more money you get, the more you can afford.  You also can take showers to heal yourself...as well as power yourself up.  You can find different hideouts, apartments, and even classrooms to save your progress as well as rest, if possible.  Lastly, as an added nuance, there are a ton of innocent bystanders that also walk on by you.  If you damage them enough, in comes the police and off you go.  Weird, huh? Beat up bad guys and the cops don't complain.  Do other crimes, and here they come running.  But, I digress.  As you learn other moves, you get a chance to practice them with the sensei that teaches you.  When I first did this, I found it a fun and very useful.  There is one caveat, though.  There are moves for each character in different training dojos.  Since dojos are spread all over town, it's going to be a journey to find the different dojos.  And you will find yourself knee deep in trouble every time you do.  I tried to level my character up by beating guys up for money, leveling up, saving and then possibly affording to get more moves.   I found myself dying on a number of occasions as it's a long way from your safe-house to the dojo.  A number of times.  That just explains how challenging the game can be on your own.  Thankfully you can do all this with partners.  And not just with one partner.  For the first time, as far as I can see, this game is 4 player.  That makes for one very interesting and frenetic pace.

Final Verdict:

River City Ransom Underground is a very ambitious title that breathes life into an old video game franchise with loads of passion behind it.  It's as tough as the original game and very heavy on co-op play.  The graphics are well-designed, the sound is solid (save for some copyright issues), the controls are good, and the game is fun as all get-out.  Just make sure you understand that this game is as tough as it is supposed to be.  If you are looking to make some progress in said game, you either a) need the experience of the previous games to guide you, b) a partner to help you through, or c) a combination of A. and B.  With that said, it's worth the 20 dollars on Steam.  My only wish is that it makes it to consoles.  But, sadly, that won't happen since it did not receive the funding to be distributed to multiple consoles.  But, the gamer in you shouldn't be deterred from something this good.  River City is counting on you.  Just make sure to hit the sauna whenever you can.