River City Girls

It's a very fun beat-em-up however, the controls definitely feel a lot more clunky than the RCG2's. I'm also a big fan of the stat level up mechanic and obtaining moves as you progress through the game. (Which might be unique to the Kunio-kun series but idk really) Only downside other than the controls is that you can't play online with your friends through steam invites, only through game share and split-screen. (Which the sequel definitely improves on a lot of these things.) Overall a 7/10
Edit: I 100% the game. The game was really fun for the span I played it, and the music grew on me; it's good. Updated Score: 9/10

Love this game so much!! Such a fantastic beat ’em up with super fun gameplay, lovable characters, and a lighthearted story that stayed charming the whole way through. One of my favorites for sure.

I bought the sequel when it launched but never played the original. Got it for free on a different platform and played it with my sister, ported my save to steam after buying it here on sale.
This one is shorter than the sequel and with shorter combos, but it still has fun characters and interactions.
I honestly love these types of co-op beat them ups and hope someday soon they release a third game.

I just completed my fourth playthrough on this game, and it is always just as fun to play through each and every time, and for a good reason too. The way this game was designed is extremely polished and well done, whether that be the map, the respawn system, or even non gameplay related things like the graphics and how well the characters are written. It's no wonder I keep coming back to this game!
I'm gonna start off by just pointing out how perfect the gameplay execution is. The map is extremely easy to read, and you always know where to go. It's nearly impossible to get stuck on the story because of how easy it is to follow. The respawn system is also absolutely amazing, and I wish more RPGs took this path too. The idea of not really losing progress, but rather money when you die is a really good way to execute a death system in a game with a story like this, and honestly that, alongside how easy the story is to follow, makes the pacing in this game absolutely perfect! The fact that you're never spending time figuring out where to go, and that you can pick up right where you left off if you die makes the experience of playing through this game very smooth and enjoyable!
On the topic of non gameplay related aspects, I found the graphics to be fantastic. If you know me, you know I really have a thing for pixelated graphics, and River City Girls manages to execute these graphics super well, while also making the game not look like an older game too! I've found that other games I've played with pixel graphics (Shantae and the Pirate's Curse) often look like they're older than they actually are. Now I have absolutely no issue with that, but I find that the fact that this game can use these pixelated graphics and also make the game look super modern is very neat. It's not something I'm used to, and it definitely gives the game its own unique twist that makes it stand out.
On with the characters, I honestly found nearly every single one of them absolutely loveable! They all have their own unique and well written personalities, and it just makes the story so much fun to go along with. Whether it's Kyoko's awkward yet friendly personality, or Misako's assertive and aggressive behavior, I can almost guarantee you'll love at least one of the main characters, and probably a handful more too! I love how no two characters have the same personality, and how there is so much variety in dialogue. The story, the dialogue, it never gets boring. It keeps me sucked in the entire time.
River City Girls is one of the few games I have absolutely no complaints about. Not one minor flaw whatsoever. The map and story are super easy to follow and you never get stuck on them, the pacing is spot on, the graphics are very pretty, and the characters are just loveable in every way! I believe that this game is extremely accessible to literally anyone because of how well it plays. If this game looks interesting to you in any way, I urge you to just give it a spin. You won't regret it!

A very very good RPG Beat-em-up game.
I would say this was one of my favorites on Steam if it wasn't for a few problems I have with it.
Story is silly, the voice acting is cheesy and grating at times. It does add to the experience, but I do wish the dialogue was less quippy.
Gameplay is solid, but could be improved a lot.
What you see is what you get.
While you can unlock new moves, it barely changes the overall loop.
The combo system is very weak, its hard to string attacks together because the enemies either get too far away, get knocked down or you move through them.
All heavy attacks are a variation of "launch enemy far away", and its very hard to combo due the timing and move delay.
Several attacks also can launch the enemy, but you lack any capacity for air attacks, so its nearly useless.
Blocking is useless.
Enemies have instant attacks, so its nearly impossible to time it right.
Even more useless against several enemies at once.
Weapons work, but all cause enemies to fall after one attack, so you are just waiting for them to get up so you can attack them again, repeating until the weapon breaks, which doesn't takes long.
By far, the biggest problem with this game is the equipment system.
My god, whoever balanced these items, shame on you, shame on your family, shame on your cow.
The bonuses are so small or specific that they make no difference at all.
5% extra damage, against women? That MIGHT reduce the number of punches needed to defeat one enemy by ONE PUNCH.
5% less damage from cheerleaders? 5% chance to double money? Recover special as long as you are carrying an enemy? Extra damage when 3 specific songs are playing? Increased reward on some quests, on something that you can miss if you don't backtrack right at the start of the game? 1% chance to kill an enemy on the first attack (but not subsequent ones)?
Who the hell balanced these??
The only good equipment are the secret ones that cost $10000 total, which is 5x more money than you make in the entire game. Even the final secret boss gives a bad item that only works in co-op.
Bosses are cool, characters are well designed.
Plot is a bit too zany and goes unexplained for the entire game. In fact, the plot start was explained on a twitter post after a fan asked the devs. Really lame.
Minus a hundred points for an Egoraptor reference. ♥♥♥♥ that guy.
Overall, good game.

River City Girls is an alright beat em up, with an excellent soundtrack that puts it over the top into "great" beat em up tier. Punching at kicking is okay, soundtrack is great, and narrative is fun.

Literally Yakuza but gorgeous 2D sprites and anime girls. I should play River City Ransom already...