World Heroes

From Sega Retro

n/a

WorldHeroes title.png

World Heroes
System(s): Sega Mega Drive
Publisher: Sega
Developer:
Distributor: Tec Toy (BR), Samsung (KR)
Licensor: SNK, ADK
Original system(s): Neo Geo
Developer(s) of original games: ADK
Sound driver: Custom (Brian Schmidt)
Peripherals supported: Six Button Control Pad
Genre: Action[1]

















Number of players: 1-2
Release Date RRP Code
Sega Mega Drive
US 		1547
Videogame Rating Council: MA-13
Sega Mega Drive
US ▼
(Sega Channel) 		SUBsub
Sega Mega Drive
BR 		046420
Tectoy: 13+
Sega Mega Drive
KR 		GM94008JG
Sega Mega Drive
AS
Non-Sega versions

World Heroes is a versus fighting game originally developed for the Neo Geo platform. It was brought to the Sega Mega Drive by Sega Midwest Studio. Unusually, the game did not see a Japanese or European release, but it was sold in smaller markets including South Korea, mainland Asia, and Brazil as well as North America.

Story

A brilliant scientist named Dr. Linus Fracas has invented a time machine in order to learn who is the greatest fighter of all time. He has used his machine to gather the strongest fighters in history to do battle and determine the winner. An unknown threat secretly watches the tournament progress.

Gameplay

World Heroes MD, Character Select.png

Character select

The game is a one-on-one fighting game, designed to follow the success of Street Fighter II. Fighters compete in small arenas to drain each other's health. Matches are played to the best of three rounds, which each round having a 99-second time limit.

Characters move with Left and Right. They crouch with Down (but must stop moving first) and jump with Up. Punching is done with A and kicking is done with B. Punches and kicks have two levels, weak and strong. Tapping the punch or kick buttons performs a weak attack, while holding them performs a strong attack. When using a Six Button Control Pad, a strong punch can be performed with X and a strong kick can be performed with Y. Each character has certain special moves that can be performed by combining directional motions with an attack button. Attacks can be blocked by holding in the direction opposite to the opponent. Characters can throw each other with C or Z when near each other. Throws cannot be blocked.

Modes

World Heroes MD, Bonus Stage.png

Bonus stage

There are eight playable characters in the roster and two different play modes: Normal Game and Death Match.

In Normal Game, players have to defeat the other seven playable characters in a random order, followed by a battle against the final boss Geegus. After the second and fifth battles, the player plays a bonus stage where the character must carve a block of stone into a statue in 99 seconds with repeated hits.

Death Match is the same as Normal Game, except players must fight in a ring with environmental hazards such as electrical barriers, spiked walls, and oil puddles that must be avoided while fighting. Players can force their opponents against the environmental hazards to their advantage.

There are four difficulty settings for computer-controlled opponents (Easy, Normal, Hard, and MVS).

Characters

Note: Move lists assume that the character is facing right. When facing left, Left and Right should be reversed.

P Any punch button
 LP  Light punch
 HP  Hard punch
K Any kick button
 LK  Light kick
 HK  Hard kick

As with regular moves, special moves have a weak version performed by tapping P or K and a strong version performed by holding P or K. However, when using a Six Button Control Pad, the weak versions are performed by tapping either A or X (for punches) or B or Y (for kicks), while the strong versions can only be performed by holding A or B.

The charge motions from the original arcade game are simply performed by pressing the directions in this version.

Playable

WorldHeroes MD Portraits.png
 Japan Hanzou
Hanzou is the most powerful member of the Iga ninja clan.
Move list
Name Command Description
Double Jump Up in midair Hanzou can jump again in midair.
Shuriken Down Down-right Right P Hanzou throws a large shuriken across the screen. He is vulnerable to counterattack until the projectile disappears.
Blade Whirlwind Down-right Down Down-left K Hanzou throws himself spinning through the air like a shuriken. This move can pass over projectiles.
Dragon Wave Right Down-right Down Down-left Left Down-left Down Down-right Right P Hanzou spirals into the air with a rising uppercut. This attack can hit on its way up or down.
WorldHeroes MD Portraits.png
 Japan Fuuma
Fuuma is the fifth director of the Fuuma ninja clan and the arch rival of Hanzou Hattori. He has identical moves to Hanzou.
Move list
Name Command Description
Double Jump Up in midair Fuuma can jump again in midair.
Shuriken Down Down-right Right P Fuuma throws a large shuriken across the screen. He is vulnerable to counterattack until the projectile disappears.
Slashing Bird Down-right Down Down-left K Fuuma throws himself spinning through the air like a shuriken. This move can pass over projectiles.
Dragon Spiral Right Down-right Down Down-left Left Down-left Down Down-right Right P Fuuma spirals into the air with a rising uppercut. This attack can hit on its way up or down.
WorldHeroes MD Portraits.png
 China Dragon
Dragon is a famous martial arts movie star from the 20th century.
Move list
Name Command Description
Hammer Flurry  LP  LP  LP  LP  LP  Dragon punches so rapidly that his arm becomes a blur.
Fire Dragon Left Right K Dragon rises into the air with a flying kick.
WorldHeroes MD Portraits.png
 France Janne
Janne is a female swordmaster from 15th century France. She is the only character who fights with a weapon.
Move list
Name Command Description
Slide Down-right+ LK  Janne slides along the ground, which can sweep opponents.
Fire Bird Left Right P Janne swings her sword, sending a fiery bird across the screen. She is vulnerable to counterattack until the projectile disappears.
Flash Sword Down Up K Janne swings a long, flaming sword in front of her.
Slap Attack Right+K (close) Janne grabs and slaps her opponent.
WorldHeroes MD Portraits.png
 Mongolia J. Carn
Jhengis Carn is a general of the marauding Mongolian hordes.
Move list
Name Command Description
Hand Dive Down-right+ LK  J. Carn slides along the ground, which can sweep opponents.
Shoulder Ram Left Right P J. Carn charges forward with a shoulder ram, which knocks opponents over.
Mongolian Fire Down Up P J. Carn punches the ground, causing a fiery burst to appear around him.
WorldHeroes MD Portraits.png
 United States of America M. Power
Muscle Power is an American all-star pro-wrestler. He has four different grabs, chosen randomly, but they all do the same damage.
Move list
Name Command Description
Muscle Smash Left Right P Muscle Power dashes forward with an elbow strike.
WorldHeroes MD Portraits.png
 Germany Brocken
Brocken is a cyborg originally built for the German Army. His limbs extend to give his basic attacks longer range.
Move list
Name Command Description
Flying Jump Right+ LP  in midair Brocken flies across the screen in a prone position with his arms extended.
Grenade Launcher Left Right P Brocken shoots a grenade from his arm across the screen. He is vulnerable to counterattack until the projectile disappears.
Hurricane Arm Down Right Down-right P Brocken holds an arm diagonally upward that turns into a spinning whirlwind.
Shock Arm  LP  LP  LP  LP  LP  Brocken holds an arm in front of him that shoots sparks.
WorldHeroes MD Portraits.png
 Russia Rasputin
Rasputin is a mad Russian magician.
Move list
Name Command Description
Fire Ball Down Down-right Right P Rasputin throws a fireball across the screen. He is vulnerable to counterattack until the projectile disappears. Unlike the original arcade game, he cannot perform this move in midair.
Fury Spin Down Down-left Left K Rasputin spins around, which causes his robe to twirl around him.

Bosses

WorldHeroes MD Portraits.png
 Geegus
Geegus is an alien being who appears as the boss of the game. He can morph into any of the other characters.

Stages

Characters have their own stages where matches against them are hosted.

All death match battles take place in a closed arena setting, in front of a live audience.

World Heroes MD, Stages, Hanzou.png

Hanzou
World Heroes MD, Stages, Hanzou.png

World Heroes MD, Stages, Fuuma.png

Fuuma
World Heroes MD, Stages, Fuuma.png

World Heroes MD, Stages, Dragon.png

Dragon
World Heroes MD, Stages, Dragon.png

World Heroes MD, Stages, Janne.png

Janne
World Heroes MD, Stages, Janne.png

World Heroes MD, Stages, J. Carn.png

J. Carn
World Heroes MD, Stages, J. Carn.png

World Heroes MD, Stages, Muscle Power.png

M. Power
World Heroes MD, Stages, Muscle Power.png

World Heroes MD, Stages, Brocken.png

Brocken
World Heroes MD, Stages, Brocken.png

World Heroes MD, Stages, Rasputin.png

Rasputin
World Heroes MD, Stages, Rasputin.png

World Heroes MD, Stages, Geegus.png

Geegus
World Heroes MD, Stages, Geegus.png

World Heroes MD, Stages, Death Match.png

Death Match
World Heroes MD, Stages, Death Match.png

History

Development

The Mega Drive version, ported by Sega Midwest Studio, is considered a buggy and poor reproduction of the original Neo Geo game.


“ It was actually quite a feat to get all of the eight characters, plus the end boss, in the game -- with all of the animations. Back then, cartridge ROM was expensive!

Yeah, World Heroes (even the original) wasn't anything to write home about. I had to squeeze 82M into a 16M cartridge. The source code was in assembly with absolutely no documentation. There were no testers. There was no one to help me port the artwork.

„

— Jim Reichert[2]


Legacy

The game received three successors: World Heroes 2, World Heroes 2 Jet, and World Heroes Perfect. The latter title received a Sega Saturn port that was released exclusively in Japan in 1996.

Production credits

Source:
In-game credits
World Heroes MD credits.pdf
[3]
Source:
US manual
Worldheroes md us manual.pdf
[4]

Magazine articles

Main article: World Heroes/Magazine articles.

Promotional materials

Logo-pdf.svg
Print advert in (KR) #1993-08: "xxxx" (199x-xx-xx)
Logo-pdf.svg
Logo-pdf.svg
Print advert in (KR) #1994-09: "xxxx" (199x-xx-xx)
Logo-pdf.svg

Artwork

  • Cover

Physical scans

Sega Retro Average 
Publication Score Source
{{{{{icon}}}|L}} Division by zero.
Based on
0 review
Sega Retro Average 
Publication Version Score
(RU)
40
[5]
(US) NTSC-U
25
[6]
(US) NTSC-U
52
[7]
(US) NTSC-U
58
[8]
(UK) NTSC-U
30
[9]
(RU)
30
[10]
(US) NTSC-U
60
[11]
Sega Mega Drive
 42
Based on
7 reviews

World Heroes

Mega Drive, US
WorldHeroes MD US Box.jpg
Cover
WorldHeroes MD US Cart.jpg
Cart
Worldheroes md us manual.pdf
Manual
Mega Drive, BR
WorldHeroes MD BR cover.jpg
Cover
Mega Drive, KR
WorldHeroes MD KR cover.jpg
Cover
WorldHeroes MD KR cart.jpg
Cart
Mega Drive, Asia NTSC
WorldHeroes MD AS Box.jpg
Cover
WorldHeroes MD Asia Cart.jpg
Cart

Technical information

Main article: World Heroes/Technical information.

References

Necretro-round.svg
NEC Retro has more information related to World Heroes
  1. ↑ File:WorldHeroes MD KR cover.jpg
  2. ↑ https://gdri.smspower.org/wiki/index.php/Interview:Jim_Reichert
  3. ↑ File:World Heroes MD credits.pdf
  4. ↑ File:Worldheroes md us manual.pdf, page 23
  5. ↑ 1700 igr dlya Sega, "" (RU; 2001-xx-xx), page 267
  6. ↑ Electronic Games (1992-1995), "August 1994" (US; 1994-0x-xx), page 78
  7. ↑ Electronic Gaming Monthly, "July 1994" (US; 1994-xx-xx), page 34
  8. ↑ GamePro, "September 1994" (US; 1994-xx-xx), page 64
  9. ↑ Sega Pro, "November 1994" (UK; 1994-10-06), page 71
  10. ↑ Tricks 16 bit, "Tricks Sega Gold 800 igr" (RU; 1998-03-20), page 226
  11. ↑ VideoGames, "August 1994" (US; 1994-0x-xx), page 68


World Heroes

WorldHeroes title.png

Main page | Comparisons | Hidden content | Magazine articles | Reception | Region coding | Technical information | Bootlegs




World Heroes games for Sega systems
World Heroes (1994) | World Heroes Perfect (1996)
Retrieved from "https://segaretro.org/index.php?title=World_Heroes&oldid=1036176"