Take the characters from Super Spike V-ball and World Cup Soccer, give them weapons and gang names, = River City Ransom
The story is like so many games of it's time. You play as one of two characters who finds a ransom note about some downtown bully who kidnapped your girlfriend, and it's up to you, your fists, feet, and weapons found on the street, to get her back in time to finish her shopping (no joke). The weapons you find vary from rocks, chains, and even tires to name a few. As you guessed or already know, this beat'em up game plays just like "Double Dragon", but there is a twist. In addition to that kick, punch, block, throw fighting system, you also get a chance to level your character's stats up by eating different foods (you can even order "to go" in some places!). Every food type has different effects on your characters stats. Trying to figure out which food does what can be a painful trail and error experience, as well as a costly one. You get your funds by beating up baddies and stealing their spare change. Different gangs (there are at least 5) will give you different amounts of money. This ranges from $.50 to $5.00 (end-game bosses). You can also purchase (in addition to the eats) books that allow you to learn new moves. i.e. "Dragon Punch" let's you deliver three lightning fast punches in a row. Other books, will also increase your stats. The only exception to the shops is the Sauna. Be forewarned, yes you heal something like 30hp for cheap, but you will see some RCR butt cheeks.
RCR seems to be more light-hearted and humorous compared to it's beat-em up brethren. The gangs themselves are hilarious. They all have different gang names, and personal names. For instance, the "Cowboys" have names like "Bubba", "Duke", "Slim", "Jed", and "Bart". The "Internationals" include "Akbar", "Wang", "Fuji", and "Juan". There's also "The Mob" with "Vinny", "Lefty", and "Moose". Gang members also deliver comments when they attack you, or are hit by you. Some of these comments don't make a whole lot of sense, which, in my opinion, adds to the enjoyability of the game. A unique aspect of the gangs is their different personalities. The "Homeboys" seem to be slow moving and easier to kill than the "Squids". The Squids seem to offer the biggest challenge. They love to run at you from off screen and kick you when your down... and pick you up and throw you again and kick you again when your down...again (repeat till you die). If you can manage to defeat all the gang bosses, you can gain access to River City High, where the final showdown takes place.
This game is an overall hilarious, beat'em up gem that deserves your attention . It took me about 6 hours to complete, but even that seems a bit long. Though necessary to a degree, if you don't spend hours leveling up (like I did), it's probably a 3-4 hour game. The replay value is excellent, and RCR offers 2 player co-op. The only downfall is that there is no way to turn off "friendly fire" in co-op. Then again, this too can add enjoyment to your RCR experience, depending on the individual. Come on, who doesn't enjoy killing a team-mate who keeps stealing your rightly earned lunch money?
~SqDl
~hint~
*if you can find the hidden shop, you can boost your stats quickly, but for a price.