River City: Rival Showdown is a new version of the classic game NES game River City Ransom, and was released for the 3DS back in 2016 and has now received new HD versions on modern systems. River City: Rival Showdown has been called a remaster, but that is a bit inaccurate to say, as this is a complete remake of the game, with new story elements, a day and night cycle, experience points and levelling systems and more. It is not all perfect, but what we do have is an incredible amount of fun.
River City: Rival Showdown stars series protagonist Kunio, and sees our favourite delinquent deal with gangs at rival schools who are out to assert their dominance. Kunio will spend three days uncovering secrets, rumours and hidden plots to learn about what is going down before a massive brawl on the fourth day. Given how much there is to do in the game, you might be worried that the timer will not let you do everything, but that is part of the game as well, with its many endings changing depending on your actions.
You will spend most of the game as Kunio running around River City with a clock at the top of the screen counting the time, with the days divided into Day, Evening, and Night, all of which see different events occurring at depending on the time of day. Do not worry if you do not see everything the first time you play the game, there is so much to do that you cannot manage to see it all, and this is a game that demands multiple playthroughs. River City is well realized here, with plenty of interesting locations as well as NPCs to talk to and gang members to fight.
River City Rival: Showdown is much more RPG-focused than previous games in the series, and you may be shocked at how weak you are in comparison to enemies at the start. You will need to level up and distribute your stat gains to the attributes of your choosing that fit your playstyle to help create a character able to fight the way you want to. You can of course equip different pieces of clothing and accessories to boost your stats, but you may not find gear right at first and you will need to use currency picked up from defeated enemies to purchase consumables for health, buy gear for different body parts, and of course buy books to learn new skills and techniques.
River City: Rival Showdown has a great soundtrack that lives up to the classic, and the way the retro-style sprites are used gives the game a very distinct visual look. There are different options for the soundtrack though, and the NES music can be played if you want, but that is more a matter of taste. There are also some bonus features included that will make this much better than the original release on the 3DS which is good for those who already own that version.
Thee bonus content includes a new mode featuring Rikki, where you play the game from his perspective. It is a great twist on the original game and really changes things up and gives more replay value to the experience. There are other unlockable pieces of content as well, such as more difficulty options and sound tests, but there is another option in the game that catches the eye which is Double Dragon Duel. This is a fighting mode in the style of both Double Dragon and Kunio-kun and is actually very fun for a side mode and has a surprising amount of depth to it.
River City: Rival Showdown is a great remake of the original NES title and a massive improvement over the 3DS release, with newly improved visuals and the addition of online play. It may be frustrating at first to learn everything, but even the time limit stops being an issue when you realize how much the game wants you to replay it over and over. This is a game designed for people who want a lot out of a game and while there is a learning curve, it is overall an excellent experience both as a beat em up and for its adventure and RPG aspects. This is highly recommended.
Disclaimer: A review key was provided
