PLATFORM 3DS BATTLE SYSTEM INTERACTION ORIGINALITY STORY MUSIC & SOUND VISUALS CHALLENGE Adjustable COMPLETION TIME Less than 20 Hours OVERALL + A fun trip down nostalgia lane + Short without outstaying its welcome + Rad music and visuals - Not a lot of variety in content - Job system lacks depth - Plays it safe Click here for scoring definitions

   Many of us who were a product of the '80s remember River City Ransom on the Nintendo Entertainment System. It had gaudy box art, showing men who "know kung-fu," yet it was a gem in its time. I had many fond memories of playing this game back on my grandmother's thirty-inch CRT television set, in its eight bits of kick-punch glory. In 2016, Natsume and Arc System Works have brought back the classic as River City: Tokyo Rumble for the Nintendo 3DS, and although it's simplistic, it's equally delightful.

   River City: Tokyo Rumble begins with the hot-blooded high school student, Kunio. When nefarious gangsters begin to take over turf all over Tokyo, Kunio and his friends decide to clean up the streets in hopes to restoring areas to their former glory. Kunio and his pals travel around Tokyo, kick-punching rival gang members until they say uncle, and that's pretty much the extent of the game's story. It's fairly bare-bones, kind of ridiculous, and yet it sports a really wonderful localization that pays homages to the other games in the series. "BARF!" makes enough of an appearance to make River City Ransom fans grin. Seriously, for a simplistic story, it's presented in an adorable way.

   While the story is simple and silly, the game itself is classic River City Ransom. In this beat'em up RPG, Kunio goes through levels punching and kicking gang members for cash. With the cash he collects, Kunio is able to purchase new equipment, food, and new abilities. By purchasing new equipment, fighting stats get a boost, while purchasing scrolls can provide new abilities to Kunio's arsenal. Sporting simple and intuitive controls, it's not difficult to pull off some of the new abilities once they have been purchased. Kunio can also choose from several companion characters to help him throughout each location, each with different play-styles, and both characters can pick up objects in the environments to combat enemies. Having a partner throughout the game is immensely helpful given how hectic the amount of enemies can get on screen. Plus, it's great to be able to offer commands to the companion character, as the AI is quite good in Tokyo Rumble.

School is borin', yo.

   However, there are some faults to the combat system. For starters, it's very derivative, and there's not a lot diversity when it comes to enemy encounters. Kunio only fights other gang members, and it becomes a slog going through each area, fighting the same baddies over and over. Moreover, grinding becomes a factor. As Kunio moves locations, as enemies get tougher, and it simply feels more like a chore given the lack of original enemies. Thankfully the main story is short, clocking in at just under five hours, meaning the game doesn't have enough time to overstay its welcome.

   Although the game doesn't have a lot of variety on the enemy front, it does make an attempt when it comes to its new Job System. While in each city, Kunio can take on a few jobs to make some extra cash. A lot of the jobs are the standard "defeat x number enemies," finding lost items for townsfolk, or defeating rare minibosses that will sometimes appear in certain locations. However, this is some extra padding that players can easily ignore, and the jobs start to feel a tad mind-numbing after a while.

   Once the main story is completed there are some extra modes of play included in Tokyo Rumble. The first mode is Dodgeball, which is mostly just playing dodgeball with up to four players. It's fun, though nothing special given that the player is forced to play this minigame in the main storyline. The second mode, Rumble, requires online play with up to four people, and is a giant free-for-all showdown for players to lay the smackdown on one another. Again, it's fun and a nice change of pace, but still doesn't add a lot to the overall package.

Ready to kick gangster butt!

   Where River City: Tokyo Rumble shines is in its aesthetics, both in visuals and audio. Visually on the 3DS the game looks like a perfect 8-bit throwback to River City Ransom, and the switch between 2D and 3D is seamless. The soundtrack is easily the best part, as the tunes do a fantastic job to accompany the gameplay, getting players hyped up to bash in the baddies. There is a decent variety in the tracks, and the songs accompany the visuals perfectly.

   River City: Tokyo Rumble came to me at a perfect time when I needed both a pick-me-up and a throwback, and it was successful for those reasons alone. While the game is quite easy, even on Normal, I still think it was a blast to play — repetition, silliness and all. River City: Tokyo Rumble feels like a safe game in every regard, but I don't feel like that should be held against it. There's nothing more satisfying than kicking some punk gangsters and chewing bubblegum.