So, seeing as how at the time of writing this(March 6th), that there will be a Quick Look of this game, I figured I'd share my two cents as well. I bought this game practically as soon as I finished watching a short look at it from Two Best Friends Play on Youtube. As a huge fan of the original River City Ransom, and beat-em-ups in general(I own too many Musou games), I was sold. From everything to the art, which looks like a 16-bit/32-bit form of the original, to the music(Which sounds like a remix of some RCR music mixed with original tracks), to it having local co-op, it screamed "BUY ME, REVOLVE! YOU GOT THAT TAX SKRILLA!"

So I went and bought it. And let me tell you, it lives up to my self-generated hype. The controls are very smooth and responsive, and after some fiddling with my controller(Dualshock 4, and here's a helpful hint: If you're gonna play this with a DS4, do yourself a favor and download something like Input Mapper), I was making fools BARF and UGH all over River City. The story is, well, it's not super crazy from what I've played so far, seems like RCR's story but expanded, but it fits the narrative of Kunio games pretty well:You're a high school student, someone gets kidnapped, suddenly gang fights. One really neat bit, that I don't know if they'll cover in the QL, is the very beginning of the game: The very beginning is basically an abridged playthrough of RCR. Very neat.

The different characters all play rather differently, and have their own strengths and weaknesses(A cool detail is how the boxer, Paul, doesn't have a kick, but instead his attack buttons are rights and lefts.), and let you find someone who fits your playstyle. And just like the original game, you power up your character(s) by buying different food items for stat buffs, and fighting moves from dojos/gyms. Be prepared to beat wholesale ass, though, as the vastly increased power of PCs vs. the NES means that sometimes you'll be fighting 8-10 guys all at once, each with their own crazy special moves and tactics. And if you die, you start at a hideout(Which is where you'll save your game) with half your cash gone.

Basically, my two cents are: This is an amazing tribute to the original game and beat-em-ups of a foregone era, and a really fun couch co-op game.(I didn't try online multiplayer, but I have heard that it's kind of buggy, with save problems.) And at $20, you certainly could do worse.

Did you play tokyo rumble on 3ds? I wonder how it compares to that one.

Double Dragon 3 is better than Double Dragon 4, and 3 is pretty bad

I'm glad to see RCR:U is getting some love and seems to be good; I'll have to check it out sometime soon

I am a big beat em up guy and I have been looking at this one a lot. I was just waiting to hear from more people on it. I just can't stand looking at Steam reviews anymore I usually come out with a less clear idea about every game I come across.

I'll post about it if I get it sometime soon. I also have to get to Mother Russia Bleeds.

To piggy back on what @revolve said, River City Ransom Underground is pretty great if you're looking to play solo, (maybe couch co-op is fine I haven't tried it though) but online co-op is broken pretty bad. I've read that character progression doesn't save for non-host players, and apparently you can even lose progress and have your character rolled back several levels; however, the good news is the game has only been out 1 week and it's been patched 3 times already, so a fix for the online co-op issues are hopefully coming soon. The only single player gripe I have is the character move lists are incorrect, so you may have to experiment to figure out the correct input for a move. I've seen some corrected move list threads on the steam community hub, so its not that big a deal with a little research.

I'm a pretty big fan of beat'em ups and I'm enjoying the hell out of this game. @lestephan I have Tokyo Rumble and I like that game, but I think Underground is more enjoyable because of how many more moves and combos it has. Oh, and Abobo is the principle of River City High School, which has endeared me to this game so hard.

I'm going to be the bearer of bad news and say I didn't have a great time with this game. The opening of the game is cool and combat feels nice, and then it drops you in years later and it kinda falls apart. I found it hard to figure out where to got at first and then I hit a bug where objective markers wouldn't disappear after completed. Then the moves list are misleading, bugged, or both. On top of that it just seemed really difficult in single player. Getting knockdown takes so long and you are constantly surrounded, making it a pain to go anywhere. The SWAT team are a bit too quick to show up, when you accidentally hit a passerby. Also I'm not a fan of the grinding for money, when it feels so easy to lose it all.

I'm waiting for a couple more patches to drop before I give it another try. It just feels a little half-baked right now.

I've heard this game has a number of bugs and balance issues both in singleplayer and online multiplayer. Probably going to wait a month or two until it's been properly patched, because the fundamentals look pretty solid.

A lot of the balance can be somewhat explained by the backers being too good at the game unfortunately. I can even take personal responsibility for it a bit, since I was pushing for the game to not be braindead easy, and it seems to have ended up that the skill level of the backers ended up being higher than what the general population was ready for. The AI, police, damage, etc., was pretty much balanced to what felt right to us. It's buggy right now and the UI has a good deal of problems that need to be worked out, but I still personally think that it's still a damn good game. It's just a flawed game at the moment. Patches are on their way though and for those who didn't quite enjoy their experience the first time round or people who are hesitant to jump in should have their issues cleared up in the coming weeks at the rate the team has been going at. I'm still having a blast with it, put in well over a hundred hours into it and I'd do it again in a heartbeat. I've been so busy playing this game that I never even opened my copy of Yakuza 0 yet. Basically, I hope that people keep this game in mind and give it a good honest try, if not now, when the patches come out, because it's well worth the price of admission and I feel like the team behind it deserves recognition for the love and effort they put into the game.