Number 3 [Most Memorable NES Games]

3.  River City Ransom 

Oh man, oh man, oh man!  I can still hear every note of the title music of this game.  We're getting higher up on the list, and it's getting harder for me to articulate just what these games mean to me.  They're more feeling and emotion; less words and thought.  I know it sounds a bit cheesy, but like I wrote about in my very first post, these games are fibers in the very tapestry of my youth.

So, River City Ransom.  This was yet another two player game that my brother, Joby, and I about wore out.  We didn't discover this game until well past the shelf life of our NES.  The system itself was getting long in the tooth.  We had moved on to the Super Nintendo (SNES).  But this game was so good, we couldn't stay away.  I found it in the used section of a video store for $10.  To this day, I still think it is one of the best ten dollar bills I've ever spent.

The game's heroes are two high school kids.  It had the standard story: Your girl has been kidnapped by a local hooligan, and you have to fight to get her back.  This game set itself apart by going the extra mile in the narrative.  There was hilarious dialogue between the characters and villains throughout each stage.  It would scroll across the bottom of the screen like a comedic stock ticker. You'd beat on high school thugs until they yelled "BARF!"  Good stuff.

Grandma's House

My best memories of this game were at my grandma's house.  My whole family went to stay with her the summer after we moved to Texas.  Of course we brought our video games.  Does a carpenter work without his toolbox, or a catcher without his mask and pads?  I would've soon forgotten all my extra underwear than left without my video games.  Somehow Joby and I talked my mom into letting us bring both our Nintendo and Super Nintendo, plus a healthy stash of games and a dozen gaming magazines.  God bless that woman.  I don't know if I want to high-five thirteen-year-old me, or biff him in the back of the head.

There was a sun room area by my grandma's back door.  It had that added-on feel.  The washer and dryer were there, and it was big enough for a tasteful hide-a-bed couch.  This is where Joby and I slept many a night.  But most importantly there was a TV.

It was a small, aging 13 inch number.  That tiny little box was an oasis in the desert of the week at Grandma's.  Don't get me wrong, Joby and I were Nintendo junkies, but there really wasn't anything else to do.  Seriously.  I guess there was the city pool.  We went there a few times.  But the pool didn't have video games.  You can see the bind we were in.

Joby and I kind of re-bonded over this game.  We had begun a time in which we drifted in and out of favor with each like the ocean tides.  Joby was going in to the wimpy and unsophisticated fifth grade, but I was about to start the manly and mature eighth grade.  His voice sounded like a female cartoon squirrel, but mine was doing the squeaky-voiced teen from The Simpsons.   He had no hair under his arms, but I... well... I think I almost did.

River City Ransom was a complete riot to play with with him.  We played late into the evenings, well past my mom and grandma's bed time.  We'd laugh so hard one of them got up almost every night to tell us to quiet down or go to bed.  He and I were a great team back them.  I'm glad this game helped me remember that, even if his voice hadn't changed yet.

Come back tomorrow for my next game.  And be sure to check out all the posts in my Most Memorable NES Games list.

[Box art courtesy of GameFAQs]