World Heroes Perfect

Review

by Kyle Knight

World Heroes Perfect is the fourth game in the World Heroes series, after World Heroes 2 Jet. The game isn't perfect, but it is quite good.

The deathmatch mode of the first two World Heroes was one of the best aspects of the series. In an inexplicable design decision Alpha Denshi decided to remove deathmatch for the third game in the series, effectively gutting the series of its originality and uniqueness. As a result World Heroes 2 Jet wasn't much more than a glorified Street Fighter II clone.

In another baffling design decision Alpha Denshi has decided once again to leave the deathmatch mode out. Because of this, World Heroes Perfect plays and feels like another Street Fighter II clone, albeit a rather nice looking one.

World Heroes Perfect's graphics are impressive. The character art frames are almost uniformly excellent, and the animation sequences are silky smooth even with the largest of movements. Color tones and shading have been used especially well so that certain parts of character anatomies seem closer than others, giving all the characters a 3D appearance despite their 2D bitmap nature.

The well-drawn backgrounds have also received the same treatment, so that the background pictures have a convincing look of three-dimensional depth. Last but not least, the game uses its one layer of parallax scrolling skillfully.

The music and sound effects are about the same as they were in World Heroes 2 Jet. That is to say the music is nice to listen to for the most part, with a few catchy songs here and there. The sound effects are decent, but not good enough to catch your attention.

World Heroes Perfect's basic gameplay is the best of the series. Now A and B are assigned as light and medium punches, respectively, with A+B being the strong punch. Likewise the C and D buttons correspond to the three kick strengths. Normally with a setup like this you can expect some moments of frustration as you try to press both buttons together and the game registers only one.

But World Heroes Perfect's controls are amazingly responsive, eliminating this problem and all other controller problems completely. You'll be able to perform combos with ease, and the most complex of joystick inputs will flow out as naturally as a single button press. The fighting system is deep and rewarding, and even the hero gauge is a bit more complex than the power gauges in most fighters of the time.

While World Heroes Perfect plays and feels like an enhanced and polished game, it still nonetheless feels like a Street Fighter II clone. The gameplay is enjoyable and the graphics look good, but with the removal of the deathmatch mode, the heart and soul of the World Heroes series has been taken from the game.

If you're a devoted World Heroes fan who loves the deathmatch mode, this game probably isn't for you, but if you're just a casual fighter fan, you'll find World Heroes Perfect to be a solid choice.