WHP Review

WORLD HEROES PERFECT

written by Steve

US Title:	World Heroes Perfect
Japanese Title:	World Heroes Perfect
By:	ADK
Year:	1995
Size:	226 Megs
Home Release?	Yes
MVS Release?	Yes
CD Release?	Yes

In my humble opinion, the World Heroes franchise is the most underrated, under appreciated, and most misunderstood fighting game series of all time. >From 1992 through 1995, 4 games were produced with Perfect being the final ride. Let's see if it does the series proud.

Graphics- 86/100

The first World Heroes had that cartoony, ungritty look. As the series progressed, the games would continue to carry on that look. The graphics here are pretty cool. Stages like the Genesis, Jurassic, Ice Age, and others had good detail and movement. The characters and their moves look better then ever. But some of the art is somewhat mediocre.

Sound/Music- 91/100

The sound is pretty standard fare. The hard knocks, medium knocks, and light knocks are all in. Some sound effects are really good, like the swift hard kicks straight to the head that sends the opponent flying the other way. The blocking sound is pretty sweet as well. But the real winner here is the music. It is really exceptional. ADK produced lots of cool tunes and Perfect is no exception.

Gameplay-90/100

I think it's unfair for people to review games and based them upon later games. For its time, Perfect's gameplay and many other aspects of the game were quite ahead of its time. World Heroes never had the best fighting game engine, but Perfect's is much improved. It's solid and an engine that is still very playable today. Important notes are the added Desperation moves, HERO moves, combined HERO-Desperation moves (awesome!), and added 6 buttons of play. Also, lots of tricks like taunts, "ABC Special moves", fake outs, etc.

Replay- 90/100

19 fighters are at the helm with lots of special moves and quirks to be dealt. This is not a serious fighter. This is not a "joke" fighter. What World Heroes Perfect is-- is the "perfect" balance of the two. Some animations and character reactions to certain moves are laugh out funny. On the other hand, there are some really cool and serious fighters in this one. Hanzou is great, Fuuma is tight, Dragon kicks ass, and Neo Dio is FAR from being a meDIOcre end boss. No pun intended. WHP is not as deep as recent fighting games obviously, but it still is a solid fighting game, even to this day, 6 years later and counting.

*Best Memory* For one, seeing Hanzou's HERO move for the first time; a 13 Hit (!!) Dragon Punch. Secondly, ADK comes through once more with their classic "ADK Aftershock Affect". Whenever the final blow is delivered, the game slows down. Well... if that final blow is a multi-hitter, all the hits will be delivered in slow motion before all is said and done. Some aftershocks last as long as 7 seconds! 7 seconds! Satisfying? Sweet? You betcha! Finally, coming to respect Neo Dio as a bonafide end boss. After fighting one round with Zeus, Dio comes out of nowhere. He grabs Zeus by the throat and burns the giant to the pits of Hell. I sat back, amazed and jaw dropped. Damn, Dio is one bad mother---! [Ed. "Shut your mouth!"]

Neo Dio

Overall-92/100

It's hard to say good-bye to an old friend and that's what the WH games have been to me. I remember the Good Old Days with my best friend Nelson. World Heroes was a series we always had a blast with. And I'm proud to say-- World Heroes Perfect does the series proud. It's a shame World Heroes 3 was never made, but hey, the franchise went out with not only a BANG, but with the best game in the series. It is true.... Heroes will be remember, but Legends never die....

-Steve

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