World Heroes Anthology (PlayStation 2)

GameSpot editors' review

• CNET editors' rating: 2.5 stars OK
  Detailed editors' rating
  Overall score: 5.5 (2.5 stars)

• Reviewed by:
  Lark Anderson
• Reviewed on: 05/15/2008
• Released on: 03/11/2008
• Originally published on GameSpot: World Heroes Anthology (PlayStation 2) Review

Back in 1991, Capcom released its 2D fighting opus Street Fighter II, and in the years that followed a number of competitors brought their own fighting games to market. SNK was by far the most prolific rival, and while some of its games, such as Art of Fighting, innovated upon the formula they were inspired by, developer ADK created World Heroes for the Neo-Geo, a series that was content with completely ripping off from it. Nearly 16 years after the original hit the arcades, all four World Heroes games have been released in a single compilation title, but despite their flawless porting, this series is best forgotten by all but the most hardcore of fans and collectors.

The premise of the World Heroes series is that a wacky scientist lovingly referred to as Dr. Brown Sugar (after Christopher Lloyd's character from Back to the Future) invents a time machine for the purpose of discovering who is the greatest fighter in history. The colorful cast of characters who sign up for this time-travel tournament are ostensibly based on real figures throughout the ages such as Genghis Khan or Jeanne d'Arc, but their tongue-in-cheek designs make them seem more like rejects from Stereotype: The Fighting Game than the historical badasses they're supposed to be. You've got Hanzo and Fuuma, palette-swapped ninjas that are totally not Ryu and Ken; the Nazi robot Brocken that looks like M. Bison but has Dhalsim's stretchy limbs; Muscle Power, a Hulk Hogan clone with Zangief's moveset; Rasputin, a sorcerer who can comically enlarge his hands and feet; Janne, a feminist fencer seeking to bag herself a worthy husband; Kim Dragon, a Korean martial artist and film star; and J. Carn, a Mongolian warlord. Later games in the series follow this trend of absurd character design and include even more over-the-top characters like the pirate Captain Kidd (he can throw ghost sharks!), the demonic football player Johnny Maximum, and the shrieking Pacific Islander witch doctor Mudman.

The original World Heroes features a three-button attack system to perform punches, kicks, and throws. In normal mode, you travel across the world as indicated on a map and battle your opponents in themed stages. Deathmatch mode, the one real innovation that the game has to offer, plays similarly to normal mode but places you in special arenas that often feature electrified walls, spikes, slippery goo, and more. World Heroes 2 is essentially more of the same, though new characters are available, throws can be countered, and projectiles can be deflected. Deathmatch mode has also returned with even wackier stages, though the player health bars have also been combined into a single tug-of-war-style bar.

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