World Heroes Perfect

World Heroes Perfect[lower-alpha 2] is a 1995 fighting arcade game developed and published by ADK with the assistance of SNK. It was originally released for the Neo Geo MVS arcade cabinet on May 25, 1995. It is the fourth and final title of the World Heroes series.

World Heroes Perfect
European Arcade flyer
Developer(s)ADK[lower-alpha 1]
Publisher(s)
Producer(s)Kazuo Arai
Designer(s)Takashi Hatono
Programmer(s)Eiji Fukatsu
Makio Chiba
Artist(s)Hajime Suzuki
Hideyuki Kusano
Misako Ohno
Composer(s)Hideki Yamamoto
Hiroaki Kujirai
Hiroaki Shimizu
SeriesWorld Heroes
Platform(s)
Release
Genre(s)Fighting
Mode(s)
CabinetUpright
Arcade systemNeo Geo MVS

Gameplay
Gameplay screenshot showcasing a match between Janne D'Arc and Captain Kidd.

In World Heroes Perfect, each character had a traditional four-button attack layout instead of the two-out-of-three pressure-sensing button attack layout as its predecessors, but also could achieve stronger attacks by pushing down two respective punch or kick buttons at the same time. Players are also able to perform weak or strong versions of special moves depending on whether they press one or both punch or kick buttons with the special move command.

New additions include a few new playable characters, as well as new and modified moves and fighting statistics added to the playable characters returning from the first three World Heroes titles. Other new features are that every character has an ABC Special Move (or "special ability") that can be activated by pressing the A, B, and C buttons at the same time. Moves vary by character, though they all require strategic use and are easy to activate, allowing for more tactical battles. For example, the character Fuuma's ABC Special allows him to fake a special move; J. Max's ABC Special allows him to catch, hold onto, and throw back projectiles; and Kim Dragon's ABC Special allows him to perform counters while blocking. Characters also can use the strongest versions of their desperation moves whenever their life bars are under 50%.[1]

All modes from the previous titles were excluded in this version; however, the main mode is similar to the "Normal Game" modes of World Heroes and World Heroes 2, as well as the "Entry to the tournament" mode of World Heroes 2 Jet. At the start of World Heroes Perfect in the main mode, after selecting one of the sixteen playable characters (plus three unlockable ones using codes), the object is to first face several of the playable characters selected by random and fight them in random stages that take place in different historical periods. After defeating ten characters, the player will then face off against Zeus and Neo Dio. If the player defeats Neo Dio, they will be able to see their selected character's ending.

Plot

One year after both the conclusion of the World Heroes Battle Fest and the defeat of Zeus, invitations has been sent to the 16 fighters by Dr. Brown, informing them of a new World Heroes tournament that will help finally settle the question of who is the strongest fighter in history. With the 16 fighters preparing themselves in order to finally determine who is the strongest fighter in history, Zeus seeks to gain his revenge against those who had caused his downfall, but little does Zeus and the rest of the fighters know and realize that an old enemy from the past is also back and that he too has his own personal desire for revenge as well.

Characters

Returning Characters:

  • Hanzou Hattori
  • Kotaro Fuuma
  • Kim Dragon
  • Janne D'Arc
  • Julius Carn
  • Muscle Power
  • Brocken
  • Rasputin
  • Captain Kidd
  • Ryoko Izumo
  • Mudman
  • Erick
  • Shura Nai Khanomtom
  • Johnny Maximum
  • Neo Dio (Final Boss)
  • Jack
  • Ryofu
  • Zeus (Sub-Boss)

New Characters:

  • Son Gokuu (Sub-Boss)

World Heroes Perfect was later ported to the Neo Geo AES in both Japan and North America on June 30, 1995, like most AES versions of Neo Geo titles, it is the same as the Neo Geo MVS version. This version was later added to the Wii's Virtual Console in Japan on January 11, 2011, in North America on July 26, 2012 and in the PAL region on October 18, 2012. World Heroes Perfect was later ported and published in Japan by ADK to the Neo Geo CD on July 21, 1995, and published in North America by SNK on the same date, which everything in it is identical to the MVS and AES versions, with the exception of replacing FM chiptune background music with arranged versions, plus a few exclusive modes. This is also the only title in the series to have a Neo-Geo CD port released outside Japan.

Outside of SNK's platforms, it was ported to the Sega Saturn, which was reprogrammed by ADK and published by SNK exclusively in Japan on August 9, 1996. This port has the traditional Arcade mode, the VS. mode, and a CPU VS. mode, and uses the same arranged background music as the Neo-Geo CD port. It also includes some official artworks from all four World Heroes titles and is the only version of the game where Zeus is a selectable character.

On October 18, 2007, SNK Playmore added it along with its predecessors to the arcade game compilation World Heroes Gorgeous: Neo Geo Online Collection Vol. 9 (ワールドヒーローズ ゴージャス) in Japan for the PlayStation 2. It was later published in North America on March 11, 2008, and on November 7, 2008, both titled as World Heroes Anthology. This compilation was reprinted as part of a series of best-sellers subtitled "The Best" in Japan on June 18, 2009.

Reception
Contemporary reception
Review scores
PublicationScore
AllGame(Neo Geo) [2]
CVG(Saturn) [3]
EGM(Neo Geo) 8.5/10[4]
GamePro(Neo Geo) 18.5/20[5]
Next Generation(Neo Geo) [6]
Consoles +(Neo Geo CD) 85%[7]
Hobby Consolas(Neo Geo) 92/100[8]
Hobby Hi-Tech(Neo Geo CD) 7/10[9]
MAN!AC(Neo Geo) 69%[10]
Player One(Neo Geo CD) 89%[11]
Sega Saturn Magazine (JP)(Saturn) 8.0/10[12]
Superjuegos(Neo Geo CD) 84/100[13]
Video Games(Saturn) 73%[14]
VideoGames(Neo Geo) 9/10[15]
Award
PublicationAward
GamePro (1995)Best Neo•Geo Game[16]

In Japan, Game Machine listed World Heroes Perfect on their July 1, 1995 issue as being the second most-successful arcade game of the year.[17]

Reviewing the Neo Geo home version, Major Mike of GamePro stated that it is "almost perfect." While expressing some disappointment that it was only an upgrade of the previous installment, they praised the game for adding new special moves and fixing most of the problems with World Heroes 2 Jet. He concluded that "World Heroes Perfect almost lives up to its title."[5] GamePro later awarded it Best Neo-Geo Game of 1995.[16] Electronic Gaming Monthly scored it an 8.5 out of 10, citing the improved audio, graphics, and playability over previous games in the series, as well as the new moves that they said add considerable depth to the game. Ed Semrad and Al Manuel both said it was by far the best game in the World Heroes series to date.[4] They later stated that, while "not quite perfect, this game is still good."[18] Next Generation reviewed the Neo-Geo version of the game, rating it two stars out of five, and stated that "World Heroes Perfect is best left for fighting game enthusiasts and those gamers without any other fighting games in their current library."[6]

Retrospective reviews
Retrospective assessments
Aggregate score
AggregatorScore
GameRankings(Neo Geo) 50%[19]
(Switch) 57.50%[20]
Review scores
PublicationScore
Nintendo Life(Wii) [21]
(Switch) [22]
Nintendo World Report(Switch) 5/10[23]
Bonus Stage(Switch) 6/10[24]
Cubed3(Switch) 5/10[25]
Digitally Downloaded(Switch) [26]
Pure Nintendo Magazine(Switch) 7.5/10[27]

World Heroes Perfect has been met with a more mixed outlook from reviewers in recent years.

Notes
  1. Additional work by SNK
  2. Japanese: ワールド・ヒーローズ・パーフェクト Hepburn: Wārudo Hīrōzu Pāfekuto
gollark: Did they have eggspace? Space for two things?
gollark: Possibly, possibly.
gollark: ^
gollark: I got a 3G copper for a CB red egg one time.
gollark: A thingummy or two.

References
  1. Morgan, Jason (August 1995). "Arcade Action: World Heroes Perfect". Electronic Gaming Monthly. No. 73. Sendai Publishing. p. 72.
  2. Knight, Kyle (1998). "World Heroes Perfect (Neo Geo Advanced Entertainment System) - Review". AllGame. All Media Network. Archived from the original on 2014-11-16. Retrieved 2020-07-26.
  3. Lomas, Ed (October 1996). "CVG Mini Reviews: Sega Saturn - World Heroes Perfect". Computer and Video Games. No. 179. EMAP. p. 79.
  4. Semrad, Ed; Carpenter, Danyon; Manuel, Al; Williams, Ken (August 1995). "Review Crew: Neo•Geo - World Heroes Perfect". Electronic Gaming Monthly. No. 73. Sendai Publishing. p. 38.
  5. Mike, Major (September 1995). "ProReview: Neo•Geo - World Heroes Perfect". GamePro. No. 84. IDG. p. 70.
  6. "Finals - Neo-Geo - World Heroes Perfect". Next Generation. No. 9. Imagine Media. September 1995. p. 94.
  7. Menier, Marc; Garnier, François (October 1995). "Neo Geo CD Review - World Heroes Perfect". Consoles + (in French). No. 47. M.E.R.7. pp. 112–113.
  8. Castellote, Javier (October 1995). "Lo Más Nuevo - Neo Geo: Fiel A Sí Mismo – World Heroes Perfect". Hobby Consolas (in Spanish). No. 49. Hobby Press. pp. 112–115.
  9. "En Vanguardia: La lucha continúa siendo la raz+on de ser de SNK - World Heroes Perfect (Neo Geo CD)". Hobby Hi-Tech (in Spanish). No. 7. Hobby Press. October 1995. pp. 70–71.
  10. Knauf, Andreas (August 1995). "Spiele-Tests - NG: World Heroes Perfect". MAN!AC (in German). No. 22. Cybermedia. p. 61.
  11. Delpierre, Christophe (October 1995). "Vite Vu: Neo Geo CD - World Heroes Perfect". Player One (in French). No. 57. Média Système Édition. p. 128.
  12. "Sega Saturn Soft Review - ワールドヒーローズパーフェクト". Sega Saturn Magazine (in Japanese). No. 27. SoftBank Creative. August 9, 1996. p. 220.
  13. Sol, Bruno (October 1995). "Neo Geo CD - Review: Morderaz El Podvo – World Heroes Perfects". Superjuegos (in Spanish). No. 42. Grupo Zeta. pp. 112–115.
  14. Schaedle, Wolfgang (October 1996). "Sega Saturn - Reviews: Special-Festival - World Heroes Perfect". Video Games. No. 59. Future-Verlag. p. 92.
  15. Higgins, Geoff (September 1995). "Power Reviews - Neo•Geo: World Heroes Perfect — Sure to hold its own at the dawn of the 3-D fighting game". VideoGames - The Ultimate Gaming Magazine. No. 80. Larry Flynt Publications. p. 89.
  16. "Special Feature: Editors' Choice Awards 1995". GamePro. No. 79. IDG. February 1996. p. 26. Archived from the original on 2018-07-07. Retrieved 2020-07-26.
  17. "Game Machine's Best Hit Games 25 - TVゲーム機ーソフトウェア (Video Game Software)". Game Machine (in Japanese). No. 498. Amusement Press, Inc. 1 July 1995. p. 25.
  18. "1999 Video Game Buyer's Guide". Electronic Gaming Monthly. No. 73. Ziff Davis. Fall 1998. p. 141.
  19. "World Heroes Perfect for NeoGeo". GameRankings. CBS Interactive. 2019. Archived from the original on 2019-12-09. Retrieved 2020-07-26.
  20. "ACA NeoGeo: World Heroes Perfect for Nintendo Switch". GameRankings. CBS Interactive. 2019. Archived from the original on 2019-12-09. Retrieved 2020-07-26.
  21. Dillard, Corbie (July 31, 2012). "World Heroes Perfect Review (Neo Geo) - Not quite perfect". Nintendo Life. Nlife Media. Retrieved 2020-07-26.
  22. McFerran, Damien (May 2, 2017). "World Heroes Perfect Review (Switch eShop / Neo Geo) - Ra Ra Rasputin, lover of the Russian queen". Nintendo Life. Nlife Media. Retrieved 2020-07-26.
  23. Rairdin, John (March 8, 2017). "World Heroes Perfect (Switch) Review". Nintendo World Report. NINWR, LLC. Retrieved 2020-07-26.
  24. Osange, Elliott (March 30, 2017). "ACA NEOGEO WORLD HEROES PERFECT Review". bonusstage.co.uk. Bonus Stage. Retrieved 2020-07-26.
  25. Athanasios (March 25, 2017). "ACA NeoGeo: World Heroes Perfect (Nintendo Switch) Review". Cubed3. Cubed3 Limited. Retrieved 2020-07-26.
  26. L., Harvard (April 6, 2017). "Short & Sweet Reviews: Nintendo Switch Neo Geo Edition". Digitally Downloaded. Digitally Downloaded Media Australia. Archived from the original on 2018-10-24. Retrieved 2020-07-26.
  27. Gould, Trevor; Shusterman-Zimmerman, Heath M. (May 8, 2017). "Review: ACA NEOGEO WORLD HEROES PERFECT (Nintendo Switch)". Pure Nintendo Magazine. Pure Media, LLC. Retrieved 2020-07-26.
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