- Note: the Sharp X68000 version has additional optional areas, which are not covered here yet.
River City Ransom can be considered a very early version of an open world game. You are free to come and go throughout the various areas in the game, with a few exceptions early on in the game. Any areas that are inaccessible usually become accessible once you defeat the right boss.
In order to make progress in the game, and ultimately rescue your girlfriend, you must track down and defeat various bosses. Some bosses appear once you have defeated enough gang members in the area that they occupy. Other bosses don't appear until certain bosses are defeated first. For instance, Ivan who guards the gated entrance to River City High won't appear until Turk, Mojo, and Thor have been defeated.
As you take down more bosses, the enemies and remaining bosses in the game get tougher. That will require that you get tougher as well. This can take the form of gaining more stamina to last longer in battles, more will power to survive being knocked out, or stronger attacks and equipment that give you an edge over your opponent. In order to acquire those boosts, you'll need to purchase them from stores in different malls. In order to afford all those items and power-ups, you'll need to defeat lots of gang members and obtain the change they happen to be carrying around. Bosses hold more money on them than normal gang members, and some bosses can be defeated repeatedly for a quick increase in funds.
Ultimately, you must repeat the process of fighting gang members to obtain money, head to a mall to purchase items to restore stamina and boost stats, locate and fight a boss to make some progress, and repeat until you make it all the way to River City High, where your girlfriend and the final battle awaits.
Tips[edit]
- When you start out you will be holding $20.00 (¥2000 in the Japanese version) and every time you die you lose half your money; since there are no banks in this game, it is imperative that you spend your starting money quickly.
- Most items in the game are stored in your inventory and have to be selected and used there to have any effect.
- The books sold in most(not all) of the bookshops let you learn new moves. They cost between $26.95 and $78.25, making them very expensive purchases, but some are well worth their cost. Near the beginning of the game, the Stone Hands or Dragon Feet books are very useful, as they turn your punch or kick into a rapid-fire move which makes fights much easier. Grand Slam does the same for weapons; it's significantly more expensive, but well worth it, as it makes you essentially unbeatable if you have a stick or another long-range weapon.
- Enemies do not understand how to fight on anything but flat ground; therefore they simply pause and stand still when you jump to a ledge or bench or other higher area. This can be exploited to wear down tough opponents by dropping down from higher areas while attacking and then returning to the ledge while they are stunned. Since most bosses except the Dragon Twins has a ledge conveniently located nearby, most of the game can be run without any powering up with careful use of this technique.
- Willpower is more important than Stamina; while Stamina lets you absorb hits and continue fighting, Willpower lets you get up with 20 Stamina following a knockdown at zero Stamina. (this is the "gasping for air" animation that you are surely exploiting on the bosses for a free hit - they are polite and won't exploit it on you though) So buy items that give you a lot of Willpower; Donut, Lamb Leg, and the Sauna offer the best value for money.