World Heroes 2

World Heroes 2 (ワールドヒーローズ2) is a 1993 fighting arcade game developed and published by ADK with the assistance of SNK (now known as SNK Playmore). It was originally released for the Neo Geo MVS arcade cabinet on April 28, 1993. It is the sequel to the 1992 fighting arcade game World Heroes, as well as the second title of the World Heroes series. It was even the first game with the "ADK" logo labeled within the game after the developer changed from its previous name "Alpha Denshi"; however, the "Alpha" logo was last used on one of the arcade flyers of World Heroes 2.

It was followed by a sequel released just a year later titled World Heroes 2 Jet.

Gameplay

World Heroes 2 uses most of the elements of its predecessor, such as the same three out of four button layout, movements and motion commands performed using an 8-way joystick, and the "Normal Game" and "Death Match" modes. However, the "C" button can either be used to throw when close enough to the opponent, or taunt against the opponent. New additions include six new characters, new and modified moves and fighting statistics added to the original eight playable characters returning from the first World Heroes, projectile-reflecting, counter-grabbing and a slightly faster movement. There are fourteen playable characters in all.

In "Normal Game" mode, the object is to first defeat all six playable characters introduced in World Heroes 2, then defeat four of the original eight characters introduced in the original World Heroes chosen by the game randomly. After that, the player must defeat the two bosses, Neo Geegus and Dio to win the game. The rule in each battle against a character, like in most fighting games at the time of its release, requires the players to win two-of three rounds to completely win against the opponent. If the timer runs out before anyone is knocked out, the one with the most health in his/her lifebars wins.

In "Death Match" mode, the object of this mode is the same as "Normal Game" mode, but with new stages that feature new environmental hazards and a unique lifebar called the "seesaw lifebar". Unlike most fighting games at the time, the seesaw lifebar in "Death Match" mode has a different rule. If the player hits his or her opponent, the arrow on the lifebar will move toward the opponent's side at a distance depending on certain moves performed against the opponent. If the arrow scrolls at the end of the opponent's side, he/she will have to constantly press any button to stand up as fast as possible before the referee counts to ten. If the arrow is perfectly in the middle with the time running out, the battle becomes a draw game.

Plot

One year ago, Dr. Brown had created the World Heroes tournament in order to find out on who the strongest fighter of history is, but because of the unexpected arrival and interference of Geegus, Dr. Brown was unable to get his answer. Now Dr. Brown is prepared to hold the tournament once again, not only having to invite the eight original fighters back for a second round, but also having to bring forth six new fighters as well, each and every one of them seeking to prove themselves in being the strongest fighter of history. Dr. Brown hopes that this time around, a definite winner will truly come out of the World Heroes tournament and emerge as the strongest fighter of history, but will Geegus interfere in the tournament just like last time and if so, will he be the only threat that the fighters will have to contend with in due time?

Characters

Returning Characters:

• Hanzou Hattori
• Kotaro Fuuma
• Kim Dragon
• Janne D'Arc
• Julius Carn
• Muscle Power
• Brocken
• Rasputin
• Neo Geegus (Sub-Boss)

New Characters:

• Captain Kidd
• Ryoko Izumo
• Mudman
• Erick
• Shura Nai Khanomtom
• Johnny Maximum
• Dio (Final Boss)

Ports and related releases

World Heroes 2 was later ported to the Neo Geo AES in both Japan and North America on June 4, 1993, which is identical to the Neo Geo MVS version, but designed for home gaming, just like nearly every AES versions of Neo Geo titles. World Heroes 2 was later ported to the Neo Geo CD exclusively in Japan by ADK on April 14, 1995, which everything in it is identical to the MVS and AES versions, but with arranged background music. Outside of SNK's platforms, it was first ported by Agenda with graphics handled by ADS and published by Hudson Soft to the PC-Engine Super CD-ROM² exclusively in Japan on June 4, 1994, as part of a series of titles that use the Arcade Card expansion for the PC-Engine Super CD-ROM² along with three Neo Geo titles also equally ported by Hudson Soft: Art of Fighting, Fatal Fury 2 and Fatal Fury Special. It features a mixture of arranged and chiptune BGM (different compared to the Neo-Geo CD version's BGM), as well as nearly identical graphics, sound effects and voice samples to the original Neo Geo versions. Later, World Heroes 2 was ported and published by Saurus to the SNES in Japan on July 1, 1994, while this specific port was later published in North America by Takara in September 1994. This port, unlike the other versions, allows players to choose the boss characters with a secret code.^[1]

On October 18, 2007, SNK Playmore added it along with its predecessor and successors 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. The Neo Geo AES version was later re-released on the Wii Virtual Console in Japan on November 15, 2011.

Reception

On release, Famicom Tsūshin's four reviewers scored the Neo Geo version of the game a 25 out of 40.^[3] GameFan's four reviewers scored the Neo Geo version 349 out of 400 (average 87.25%), stating that SNK has come "closer in their quest for fighting perfection" and concluding that it is "the best Neo Geo fighting game next to Fatal Fury 2" and "is as good as SF2."^[4]

GamePro applauded the SNES version for its massive size (24 megabits) and accurate translation of the arcade game, commenting that "WH 2 is so faithful to the arcade graphics that you have to look closely to see what (if anything) was lost in the conversion." They additionally praised the game for its large selection of characters and options.^[6] Electronic Gaming Monthly's five reviews scored it 37 out of 50 (average 7.4 out of 10), calling it "another excellent conversion of an arcade game to the Super NES platform." They cited the ability to play as the boss characters and the speed settings as good bonuses.^[2]

References

External links

Official sites

• World Heroes at SNK Playmore
• World Heroes series at NBC Museum of SNK Playmore

General resources

• World Heroes 2 at the Killer List of Videogames
• World Heroes 2 at arcade-history
• World Heroes 2 at Jap-Sai