Developer:

Publisher:

Genre:

Players:

Release Date:

In 1991, history was made when Street Fighter II was released in arcades coast to coast. One of the earliest competitors that tried to dethrone Street Fighter, was World Heroes. Released in 1992, it caused its own little stirring so much it prompted several sequels: World Heroes 2, World Heroes 2 Jet, and World Heroes Perfect. While the WH franchise didn't dethrone the SF series, the question you are wondering now is, is World Heroes Perfect on the Saturn any good? Does it live up to its name, Perfect? Shall we find out? We shall.

The Characters:
WHP features 19 playable characters, quite an impressive number. The two most instantly noticed fighters are the two ninjas, Hanzou and Fuuma. It's obvious they're the main fighters and I tell you what, they are very fun to use. The best special move in the game in my opinion is possessed by these two; the Dragon Uppercut. As they jump in the air, an energy force in the form of a dragon surrounds their entire body. A very awesome move. Other characters include the robotic Brocken, the mysterious Mudman, the kung-fu expert Kim Dragon, the tough pirate Captain Kidd, etc. Overall, I say the characters are well above average and are just enough to be considered memorable. Overall I give characters 86/100.

Load Time:
Wow, I'm nearly speechless. Close to no load time at all! Load time max is approx. 3 seconds! Amazing. You'll come to really appreciate it especially when some other fighting games takes forever to load. Perfect 100/100

Sound/Music:
Sound is above average. A few nice bumps and thumps here and there, but nothing to really write home about. Music however, is absolutely splendid. I don't know if it's just me, but I have always loved the music in WH games and WHP is certainly no exception. 91/100

Graphics:
It is a 1995 game at heart. Nonetheless, I've seen much better, but I've seen much worst. There are some pretty animations here and there (Hanzou's Dragon Uppercut). Nothing too terrible to worth mentioning. Could be better animations. 86/100

Controls/Gameplay:
Believe me when I say, the controls in WHP is very top-notch. Don't let anyone fool you. I have played this game many, many times and the controls are wonderful. I only hate one thing, the Desperation moves are fairly difficult to pull off on some characters. Otherwise, it's darn good. 91/100

Content:
There's a nice little intro for the game. There's a special option where you can view art from the three previous WH games. The special moves are flashy (especially Hanzou and Fuuma's Dragon Uppercuts) and the new Hero bar lets you pull off even flashier moves guranteed to make you smile. Hanzou's Hero move is a 13 hit Dragon Uppercut that has to be seen! Also, there are now Desperation moves. And when you pull off a Desperation move with the Hero bar full, get ready for a massive, ultra-flashy, screen-filling special move that will knock the boots off of you! Each character has a great deal of moves. Also, WHP now features 6 buttons for ultimate gameplay possibilities. 95/100

Replayability:
19 playable characters, 1 or 2 players, a plethoa of special moves, and good controls, I'd say it has some decent replayability. I know, two years later I'm still playing it! 90/100

Pluses:
-Cool and satisfying special moves
-Quicker then Michael Johnson load time
-Fantastic music
-19 playable characters
-Perfoming Hanzou's Hero move, a 13 hit Dragon Uppercut
-All the characters from WH1, II, and Jet
-Requires no ram cart (but still is an import game)

Minuses:
-Only 12 stages (all time-period based) for 19 fighters
-Some Desperation moves difficult to pull off
-Slightly outdated engine and graphics
-Could have been better animation

If you even slightly remember having a fun time with the World Heroes games, then search for this little gem. It's rare, but it's out there. Too bad a World Heroes 3 never took place, but oh well, at least the series ended with a bang. Not perfect, but quite close. Overall, 92/100.