River City Ransom sequel coming to Japan, western fans hold their breath

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Original NES developers on board for Alex and Ryan's return

1989 was a banner year for humanity. The Berlin Wall fell, the Exxon Valdez drowned Alaska in oil, Beijing students rebelled in Tiananmen Square, and – perhaps more importantly - River City Ransom made its NES debut in Japan.

It's been 22 years since Alex and Ryan punched, kicked and Stoned Handed their way into our nerdy hearts (21 for North Americans), but now thanks to Japanese studio Miracle Kidz, the duo may soon be coming out of retirement for a genuine sequel.

According totranslated reports at Andriasang, afollow-up to the classic brawler/RPG called Downtown Nekketsu Monogatari 2 is on its way out east, with a handful of the series' original developers rumored to be lending their talents to its creation. The game is slated for release on home consoles in Japan this year, with a PC online game to follow in 2012.

No further details or news of a western port have been confirmed, but Miracle Kidz would be silly not to ship a River City Ransom sequel in some form to fans outside of Japan. It'd also be silly to tamper too much with the original's goofy charm and 2D style; traits that made it a favorite amongst NES owners back in the day, and later inspired Bryan Lee O'Malley's Scott Pilgrim Vs. the World comic series.In short:Miracle Kidz would do well to avoid being silly, except where it counts.

[Source:Andriasang]

Mar 21, 2011

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Matt Bradford

Matt Bradford wrote news and features here at GamesRadar+ until 2016. Since then he's gone on to work with the Guinness World Records, acting as writer and researcher for the annual Gamer's Edition series of books, and has worked as an editor, technical writer, and voice actor. Matt is now a freelance journalist and editor, generating copy across a multitude of industries.