I've not played the PCE one in enough depth, or recently enough, to really say - FWIW, from my short tryouts ages back (2014), I recall the combat seeming very decent, especially the rejigged knee, but feeling that the stage design lacked the FC's treacherous economy. I remember Mission 3's chopper battle being particularly diluted next to the murderous intensity of the FC killbox.
Also, despite the cutscenes using the same rad Hokuto no Ken style as the Famicom's box and manual, the in-game sprites are kinda fugly. Billy looks unnervingly like Chris Chan's internet-infamous self-insert comic character.
It's a superficial detail, of course, but the charmingly stylised agony accompanying a sound Technos thrashing is a genuine part of their appeal.
I won't say too much more though, it's been way too long. I'm actually getting back into DDII's various incarnations atm, planning to pick up the ACA version for next weekend. Might have to give the PCE one a second look! If I recall right, KID handled the conversion, which would explain the snappy mechanics at least. I wish they'd done the MD's arcade conversion too - it really does seem god-awful. Less galling now with ACA, fortunately.
(incidentally, I've been doing a little light research, and I've heard Hamster's main contractor for ACA is Gotch - who consist of founding members of Rutubo Games, responsible for the superb 32X and Saturn ports of Space Harrier, After Burner II and OutRun, the latter being SS only, ofc. would explain the surprisingly high standard of this line. only mentioning as it used to bum the hell out of me that MD Double Dragon I
and II got screwed up!)
Have you played Double Dragon Advance, btw? Arguably the ultimate Technos brawler. It's far more than a remake of the arcade game - it cribs mechanics from the entire Technos canon, from the Kunios and Combatribes as well as the arcade and home DD sequels. Plays smooth as all hell, just the
Survival Mode would be compelling stuff. It's slightly dinted by the GBA format's small screen and limited buttons, but both are easily worked around, the former with a GBA Player and the latter with a bit of spacing technique. The one Technos game I'd keep if forced to choose.