Riot City is a 1991 2D beat ’em up arcade game developed by Westone and published by Sega.

The plot begins when narcotics agents Paul and Bobby are committed to putting an end to the drug syndicate known as “MID”. MID’s secret hideout is located on Riot Island, an island full of uninhabited ruins with people moved inside of it while turning it into a slum. Buildings include apartments, hospitals, factories and even a casino. During their heavy research on MID, they unexpectedly received a phone call from MID. When Paul heard the voice of his girlfriend Catherine crying for help on the phone while being hung up without explaining, he assumed she’s been abducted, making him and Bobby head toward Riot Island and save her.

Gameplay

Riot City resembles Capcom’s 1989 arcade hit, Final Fight, which is an archetypal side scrolling beat-em-up game. Player one controls Paul the blond-haired with balanced fighting skills, and Bobby the tough, but slow break-dancer from left to right through each level (most of which are split into three or more scenes), fighting with the enemy characters who appear, until they reach a confrontation with a stronger boss character at the end of the level. Once that boss is beaten, the players automatically move on to the next stage. Enemies appear from both sides of the screen, and the players must defeat all of them to progress. If the players try to simply travel through the levels without fighting, the screen will stop scrolling until all current enemies have been defeated, before allowing the players to continue progress. Enemies may move outside the confines of the screen, but players may not. Unlike Final Fight, there are no weapons to pick up along the way, but players will only pick up items for points.