A gang is a group of recurrently associating individuals or close friends or family with identifiable leadership and internal organization, identifying with or claiming control over territory in a community, and engaging either individually or collectively in violent or illegal behavior. Some criminal gang members are "jumped in" or have to prove their loyalty by committing acts such as theft or violence. A member of a gang may be called a gangster or a thug.

Definition

In early usage, the word gang referred to a group of workmen. In the United Kingdom, the word is still often used in this sense, but it later underwent pejoration. In current usage, it typically denotes a criminal organization or else a criminal affiliation. The word gang often carries a negative connotation; however, within a gang which defines itself in opposition to mainstream norms, members may adopt the phrase as a statement of identity or defiance.

The word "gang" derives from the past participle of Old English gan, meaning "to go". It is cognate with Old Norse gangster, meaning "journey."

River City Ransom, originally released as Downtown Nekketsu Monogatari (ダウンタウン熱血物語, Dauntaun Nekketsu Monogatari, lit. "Downtown Hot-Blooded Story") or Downtown Nekketsu Story in Japan and later as Street Gangs in PAL regions, is an open world action role-playing beat 'em up video game for the Family Computer/NES. It was developed by Technōs Japan and originally released in Japan on April 25, 1989. It is the third game in Technos' Kunio-kun series released for the console, preceded by Renegade and Super Dodge Ball. Like its predecessors, River City Ransom underwent great changes in its storyline and graphical presentation during its localization in order to make the game more palatable in the Western market. It was one of the first console games published by North American subsidiary American Technos.

Remakes of the game have been released for the Sharp X68000, PC-Engine Super CD-ROM², and Game Boy Advance (GBA). The NES version was re-released on Wii's Virtual Console in 2007 as well as Wii U's Virtual Console in October 2015. It was also released on the 3DS Virtual Console in the PAL Regions in July 25, 2013 and in North America in November 14, 2013.