River City Ransom: all version differences
5 documented differences between the releases of River City Ransom, each with a source. Back to the main page for names, releases and where to play.
Category × version
| Category | Famicom (JP) | NES (NA/EU) |
|---|---|---|
| Text | 1 | 1 |
| Graphics | 1 | 1 |
| Gameplay | 2 | 2 |
| Difficulty | 1 | 1 |
Version differences
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TextFamicom (JP)NES (NA/EU)
The heroes Kunio and Riki became Alex and Ryan in the Western versions, and other characters were renamed too.1
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GraphicsFamicom (JP)NES (NA/EU)
Characters wear school uniforms in Japan; the Western versions redraw them in T-shirts and jeans.1
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GameplayFamicom (JP)NES (NA/EU)
In the Japanese version two players can turn friendly fire on or off; in the Western versions it is always on.1
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DifficultyFamicom (JP)NES (NA/EU)
Japan offers Easy, Normal and Difficult; the Western versions drop Easy and rename Normal to Novice.1
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GameplayFamicom (JP)NES (NA/EU)
The Japanese version can save to the ASCII Turbo File peripheral and uses short haiku-style passwords. The Western release replaced the Save menu with Help and uses longer passwords that also track defeated bosses.1
Sources
Checked: 2026-10-13