The future is now...by calling on the past...to fight in the present.
Overview
Not long after Street Fighter 2 captivated video games fans into finding renewed interest in the legit existence of the genre of fighting games, rival corporations lurked in the shadows and would cash in the latest craze by making their own brand. SNK was the head runner, spawning their takes with releases, such as Fatal Fury and Art of Fighting. Inside the company was a division group called Alpha, later on renaming itself as ADK.
Their project, while showcased the most obvious similarities and rip-offs from Street Fighter 2, came with a unique concepts. With the use of a perfected time machine, eight fighters from the past would be transported into the modern day era to compete and answer the question: who was the most powerful fighter in history? Enter World Heroes…
Graphics 6/10
To say the game’s graphics was good enough to eat would be a lie. You could tell by the first couple of seconds that the game, they supposedly trying to mimic “them” in some ways, was still better looking then this. However, they had their good portions. I’ll admit, the crew had some clever ideas in animations for the moves, like Kim’s Dragon Kick. The stages were pretty awesome and cutesy, like seeing monkeys training or the steel constructed wrestling ring. The death matches adds some flare with special themed elements to the battles. Flame burning ropes, electrical covered rings, and spike implanted walls.
The framework on the two ninjas was done in half the time since they have the same body build, attire, special moves, and stance. The only difference was in their hair and their colors. The goofiness of some of fighters really seems to me like overkill, to the point you get annoying at just watching them. You don’t have to look no further then playing or being against Rasputin. The giant animated big hands and feet are funky and I wasn’t too fond on Rasputin’s eyes turning black when he wins. Why does he do that? For some reason, I find it overly creepy. Brocken’s suplex throw is strange when his arms bend, too. Portraits come off as ‘squishy’ with ADK trying to draw everybody into looking awesome. Sadly, it didn’t work. The best part was seeing hilarious aftermath pictures of the beaten with shaven heads. How it actually happen, you have to find out for yourself.
Gameplay/Controls 5/10
The basis for World Heroes is easy to see through if you hadn’t figured it out already. First person to two victories wins the fight. Now, what sets apart this game from others was the option to choose what kind of stipulation you wanted in the battle. Choosing the “Normal” road was just that, beating people in regular stages. The heat of battle in normal mode came was just plain and ordinary.
The second choice became a popular one called “Death Match”. Here, you take on your opponent, but with a twist. A feature was installed to affect the players and force them to keep on their toes. For example, yellow pools of oil would make you slip and slide, back and forth, catching you off-guard. Another part takes place in a ring, surrounded either by electricity, fire, or landmines. Depending of who you fight, you are sent to the opponent’s desired setup. Installing booty traps within the death matches give World Heroes a very chaotic, cool feel that makes it the most remembered detail from this game.
The artificial intelligence plays the dumb and smart part well. It’s quite random as you don’t know whose going to let you gain an easy win and who will counter almost any offense, as little as jumping, and won’t back down. The boss, Geegus, is totally weird for a guy who is threatening to destroy the world. All you have to do is see his special skills and watch the awesomeness that is his bodybuilder win pose.
The controls, how you say, are not the best. In early SNK games, the mainstay was the first three buttons and always ignoring the D. This follows the same suite. “A” is the punch, “B” is the kick, and “C” is the throw button. Pressing light or hard presented what power your punches and kicks contain. The common player would just find themselves using the throw button a lot because it did the most damage in the game. To be honest, I feel the special moves are just there and don’t seem as highly effective then what there assign to be.
Sound/Music 4/10
The voice acting is actually clear and spot on. I could hear every syllable being said by a warrior. There are some decent bites from Brocken’s robotic reflexes to falling on the ground like a bowling ball lands on a thick soft drum. One nuisance that you want to avoid is hearing the electrical “buzz” when you come in contact in the lighting ring. Musically, it comes off as generic tracks from synthesizers. If that wasn’t generic enough for you, the death match mode has the exact same song playing throughout the whole progression of the game, if you choose to fight in that setting.
Replay Value 4/10
Since this was an early 90s game, having a roster of about eight fighters was a common sight to see in fighting games. As I got older, I was intrigue with the inspirations of what the fighters were base off of, as I was eight years when this came out. To break it down to you, here’s a history lesson for you all. Hanzo is base on Hanzo Hattori, Fuuma was from Fuuma Kotaro, Rasputin is obvious, Janne is seen from Joan of Arc, J. Carn sounds too much like Genghis Khan, Muscle Power is of wrestling superstar Hulk Hogan, and I bet you can’t guess who Kim Dragon is. *sarcasm* Brocken is hard to tell totally as to where he derives from, but he sure does reeks of M. Bison’s attire and Dhalsim’s stretching abilities.
Having been release in 1992, of course an early game like this would not seem as incredible compare to then and nowhere near now. Even the two player fights are not as interesting when it comes into play. If anything, the death matches are the only redeemable feature that will only promote the score up a little, single or two players.
Overall 5/10
So what did we learn about World Heroes, today? For starters, it came equipped with some similarities from Street Fighter 2 to capture some people’s attention. However, the game promotes itself with some interesting concepts along side it. Having past heroes fighting each other and putting death matches in it…That deserves some kind of credit, right? As of right now, years after it was release, World Heroes should be played if you really enjoy it and World Heroes should be brought if you really enjoy it. Not everyone is going to find it as entertaining currently, but it is a nice throwback of the past...about the past.
- by Boombada
