Our previous Co-Op International looked at the Japanese versions of Double Dragon II. This month we follow up with River City Ransom. Think the GameBoy Advance version is the best? No way! Read on to discover the River City Ransom that never left Japan but does feature awesome co-op.

Pop quiz!  What do classic co-op brawlers, RPG elements, sequels, BARF!, and a little male nudity have in common?  If you said River City Ransom, you are a winner!  If you said Downtown Nekketsu Monogatari, stop being pretentious.  And if you said my house on Tuesdays, stop spying on me!  Naked D&D Spaceballs Punch Club Tuesdays are sacred.  That's beside the point.  River City Ransom, the old school brawler, is getting sequel for home consoles and PC.  It should be out for home consoles this summer with a PC release coming in 2012.  

River City Ransom has quite a following for a relatively obscure NES title.  A few years ago, the game was given the 'EX' treatment for the Game Boy Advance.  Last month, the NES version hit Nintendo's Virtual Console for the Wii, priced at $5.  Given the cult classic status of the game, and the promise of co-op, I decided to check it out.  I brought along my oldest son to help with the "testing".  (I hope you appreciate all the sacrifices we make here at Co-Optimus for our valued readers!) River City Ransom begins in classic NES fashion: a screen full of text gives you all the story you need (someone's girl has been kidnapped, we got it!) and then you are dropped right into the action.  Players take the roles of Alex and Ryan.  One of them is wearing blue pants and a white T-shirt, and the other is wearing white pants and a blue T-shirt.  I have no idea which one is which.  The environment is a typical city, and immediately you have to fight some generic bad guys.  That's literal; the first baddies are named "The Generic Dudes".  The localization crew must have been working overtime that week!  You can punch, kick, dash and jump your way to victory.  Interestingly, when your enemies are defeated, they yell at you.  Most noteworthy among these battle cries?  "BARF!"  Almost Shakespearean, isn't it?