J!-ENT
Asian Entertainment News and Pop Culture

GAME: WORLD HEROES ANTHOLOGY

CREATED BY: SNK PLAYMORE

PUBLISHED BY: SNK PLAYMORE

CONSOLE: PlayStation 2

RATED: TEEN - Alcohol Influence, Animarted Blood, Violence

OFFICIAL WEBSITE

FROM SNK PLAYMORE:

WORLD HEROES ANTHOLOGY is the complete collection (on one disc) of one of SNK’s most popular 2D fighting game series World Heroes. The titles included are: WORLD HEROES, WORLD HEROES 2, WORLD HEROES JET, and WORLD HEROES PERFECT. The collection contains 56 characters using hand-to-hand and weapons based fighting mixed with special super-human abilities enabling each character to perform special attacks.

World Heroes Anthology follows the storyline of Dr. Brown, a scientist, who having perfected a time machine has organized a fighting tournament throughout all of history to see who is the best fighter of all time. True to this plot, many of the fighters are based on actual historical figures.

Features:

• A total of 56 characters across 4 titles.
• Test your strength in a one fall Death Match battle in WORLD HEROES
• Adjust the speed settings in WORLD HEROES 2 and execute the all-new counter throw and repelling moves.
• Enter the WORLD HEROES Tournament of Titans in WORLD HEROES JET
• Activate the “3 button” Special Move only in WORLD HEROES PERFECT.
• Polish your skills in the exclusive Training Mode Added to the PlayStation®2 version.
• Create your own original character with the Color Edit function.

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What may possibly the most difficult SNK game that I had to track down, finally I am able to obtain the “WORLD HEROES ANTHOLOGY” for the PlayStation 2.

For some unknown reason both WHA and “FATAL FURY BATTLE ARCHIVES 2″ have come out in April and barely any stores have received them. This includes the Gamestop/EB stores. I don’t know why and it’s rather unfortunate because SNK fans have been awaiting for these games and now, not only are these games not in these stores computer, you either pay high prices for them on eBay or get lucky to find them at a Game Crazy store (connected to Hollywood video).

Nevertheless, I am stoked to have this anthology which contains a total of four complete games: WORLD HEROES, WORLD HEROES 2, WORLD HEROES 2 JET and WORLD HEROES PERFECT

I think for me, one of the reasons why the “WORLD HEROES” has a nostalgic feeling for me is because during the time of the “Street Fighter 2″ craze in the arcades, my local arcade had a Neo Geo arcade system and I would play “WORLD HEROES” because the SF2 lines were just too long.

So, then I started playing the game on the SNES and SEGA GENESIS and pretty much, just enjoying the game and playing it for hours and hours.

A month ago, I took out my SNES and SEGA GENESIS and started playing a game of “WORLD HEROES” and here I am playing it on my PS2.

The first game “WORLD HEROES” featured a total of 8 heroes and you had the three buttons - Guard, Punch and Kick. The game was straight forward and I would use the blue ninja, Hanzo Hattori mainly and would always dread going against Bruce Lee wannabe Kim Dragon. Playing it again, I never realized how cheap throwing was and how much power it took off. I never threw because back then it was standard practice in fighting games that throwing was cheap and it was frowned upon back then. But I realized that in the first game, throwing was really necessary to go against the computer.

The second game “WORLD HEROES 2″ featured the three buttons but depending how your press on the punch or kick button, would determine light punch or strong punch, light kick and strong kick. The game would also feature 6 more heroes for a total of 14.

The third game “WORLD HEROES 2 JET” was rather interesting because unlike the previous two games, it was literally one against three handicap matches. Win two out of three or all three and you move on to the next round. And you gained two more new characters. When playing with this game, they added more moves but I felt that some of the movesets for someone like Hattori were too different than what I was accustomed to and I kept teleporting. Nevertheless, I enjoyed the overall game because it was different in presentation and gameplay.

The fourth game is where the Anthology truly shines, “WORLD HEROES PERFECT”. Now you get more buttons similar to “Street Fighter 2″ with three buttons for punching and three buttons for kicking. Air blocking, cancellations and better animation compared to past games. You get special attacks, ultimate attacks and even more. I swear the boss Zeus is so cheap in this game but the overall challenge was great when you find the strategies to beat him.

The menu features a simple screen with the game logos on top to select from and on the bottom, this is where you can set your video and audio settings and more.

All in all, “WORLD HEROES ANTHOLOGY” and all SNK games are my favorite fighting games.  As much as I play the heck out of the Street Fighter and Street Fighter Alpha-related games, because the sign of the times meant having to wait an hour or two to get to play the game in the arcade, all I had were the SNK games to play with in the arcade.

So, yes, there is a nostalgic factor and why I’m so interested in this fighting game.

The characters are so over the top since the main premise of the story is Professor Brown rounding up all fighters from different eras together to see who is the stronges.  So, you get ninjas, sorcerers, posessed football players, wrestlers and more.

I know that many people have not played “WORLD HEROES” but the game was fun, definitely enjoyable and now people have the opportunity to play four games collected on one disc for $14.99.  You can’t beat that price (especially for those of us who collected the game for older consoles).

Personally, I feel that any SNK owner purchasing all collections to not miss “WORLD HEROES ANTHOLOGY”.  Without it, it’s like a big hole in your SNK fighting game library.

For those who are more in tune with next generation fighters and could care less about old school 2D fighters, then this game is probably not for you.

But for those of you who are nostalgic about this series, definitely worth the purchase.  That is, if you can find it.

Tags: PlayStation 2, SNK PLAYMORE, WORLD HEROES ANTHOLOGY

GAME: NEOGEO BATTLE COLISEUM

CONSOLE: PS2

DEVELOPER: SNK PLAYMORE

RELEASE DATE: December 11, 2007

ESRB RATING: T for TEEN - Animated Blood, Suggestive Themes, Violence

OFFICIAL WEBSITE

A world on the verge of eternal darkness.. The Government has secretly dispatched its two best secret agents to a fighting competition known as the NEOGEO BATTLE COLISEUM. Their mission is to enter the competition and find out the secrets of the “Warez Conglomerate” and to stop the maniac who is reportedly planning to take down the NEOGEO world.

• A total of 40 characters, all taken from SNK’s most popular franchises, including: METAL SLUG, KING OF FIGHTERS, SAMURAI SHOWDOWN, WORLD HEROES and many more.
• 2-on-2 tag-team battle format. Switch tag-team members during matches.
• Color edit Mode - Modify the appearance of your favorite characters
• 6 hidden characters to unlock
• Exclusive new game mode - Tag Play!

I had no idea this game was coming out or was out. Just by chance, I was looking at the new releases and a single copy of “NEOGEO BATTLE COLISEUM” was on the shelf and I didn’t even need to hesitate, I’m buying this game!

Just by looking at the back cover, I was thinking…”THE KING OF FIGHTERS” but from all major SNK franchises. How cool is that?

Once I started paying the game, I quickly realized how different this game was compared to previous SNK fighters. The premise is the same…fight and survive and the cheap ass boss similar to a KING OF FIGHTERS game is oh, so present. He’s definitely a cheap boss that takes a lot of energy from you and you take so little off him. But of course, what SNK fighting game would it be without the cheap ass boss.

Available to the player are the following:

ARCADE PLAY: 2-on-2 battles against the computer.

ARCADE VS. 2-on-2 battles against another player

TAG PLAY - Play a series of tag-team battles against the computer

PRACTICE - Practice your moves

SURVIVAL CHALLENGE - Play tag-team battles until both characters health reaches zero.

During ARCADE PLAY, the goal is to fight against a number of computer-controlled characters that appear one after the other and defeat them within the time limit. When you defeat three tag teams, you are offered the following BATTLE BONUS: No Bonus, Restore Health gauge, Restore Power Gauge and Time Inrcease.

So, you can battle 6 teams and then get to the boss. Interesting enough is that the teams you go against are not so difficult if you are familiar with fighting games. You’ll be able to breeze through the game but once you get the boss, that’s another story. No breezing through the game. This boss is insanely difficult.

But the passion of this game goes to the characters. The 40 characters are just very cool to play and because a lot of them are appearing on a fighting game for the first time, it’s definitely fun to learn a lot of them.

Also, I enjoy the speed and the combos I was able to pull off. Definitely had fun with this game and still need to beat the game with other characters. But so far, this game was definitely worth the $19.

I have read that the PAL version of the game has bugs. Some people have complained about a few bugs in the PS2 US version but I have only encountered only one crash during battle and fortunately in the beginning of the match but all in all, it only happened once and never again.

The game is actually very fun and addicting, especially with all these characters involved. Definitely enhanced the enjoyment of the overall game.

I did find the boss Mizuchi to be a cheap boss that has everything coming at you. But figured out some patterns and learning what to dodge and was able to beat it with Terry Bogard and Haohmaru, Mai Shiranui and Jin Chonshu (utilizing Jin’s transportation abilities helped), K’ and Kisarah Westfield.

Some have criticized the graphics and where is the improvement? Sure, “Street Fighter IV” is doing something different image wise and SNK has done KOF in 3D format via Maximum Impact I and II. And its not all about nostalgia for me, it’s about gameplay and just having all out fun.

This game offers quite a bit for it’s price and if you are a KOF fan or SNK fighting game fan, you definitely need to pick up “NEOGEO BATTLE COLISEUM”. You won’t be disappointed!

Tags: NEOGEO BATTLE COLISEUM, SNK PLAYMORE, Sony Playstation 2

GAME: THE KING OF FIGHTERS XI

CONSOLE: PS2

DEVELOPER: SNK PLAYMORE

RELEASE DATE: November 13, 2007

ESRB RATING: T for TEEN - Alcohol Reference, Animated Blood, Mild Language, Mild Suggestive Themes, Violence

OFFICIAL WEBSITE

A new KING OF FIGHTERS tournament has been announced. But, not all is what it seems. Fight through the toughest fighters in the world to unlock the mystery behind the stolen Orochi Seal and Yata mirror.

• Total of 11 Teams; 47 characters, include 3 all new characters to the franchise.
• 3 new abilities added: Quick Shift, Saving Shift & Dream Cancel, as well as the new Judgement System and Skill Stocks
• Exclusive Characters: Mai Shiranui, Tung Fu Rue and EX Kyo Kusanagi
• Various Modes of Play: Arcade Play, Team Play, Endless Challenge and Practice
• 14 New Enings and 4 New Stages, exclusive to the console version

The latest KOF game in the series came during the Holidays and for many of us who have enjoyed the fighting game series for years, not only had it slipped under the radar for many fans but it also was difficult to find at a store, making online purchasing the most viable way to obtain it.

As a big fan of the series, my love of the “Fatal Fury”, “Art of Fighting”, “World Heroes” and “Samurai Showdown” began when I was younger. While long lines of people waited to play “Street Fighter 2″ and “Mortal Kombat”, I used my quarters on the Neo Geo machine.

There was something about SNK fighting games that I loved about them. And for “KING OF FIGHTERS”, mainly how it incorporated characters from each game and you had the ultimate fighting game. To make it even more entertaining was how SNK would tweak the games to incorporate skill sets, strikers and most of all, a cheap ass final boss that would take so long to beat and force you to figure out how to beat it.

“THE KING OF FIGHTERS XI” marks the tenth game (the first game was “THE KINGS OF FIGHTERS `94″) and features the second game in the “Tales of Ash” storyline continued from “THE KING OF FIGHTERS 2003″ (note: KOF2002/KOF 2003 were released together on the PS2).

In 2003, the game introduced the “multi-shit” and introduced the characters of Ash Crimson, Shen Woo, Duo on and Malin. And a new cult is now trying to reawaken the Orochi. In this game, Mukai from the 2003 game has stolen the Orochi seal and Ash Crimson, well…you get to learn a bit about his true intentions and makes you wonder if he is either a good character or a villain. Also, “THE KING OF FIGHTERS XI” brings back a few old faces as well as a few new characters.

One of the things you will notice when starting up the game is the look and feel. Visual presentation has this anime-like look that is pretty cool to see. The overall animation, seems to look updated in terms of the sprites but doesn’t stray from the 2D fighting look that we have been used to for so long. In fact, as much as I enjoy the 3D KOF “Maximum Impact” games, it’s hard to stray away from an SNK fighter without that 2D sprite feel and overall look.

The backgrounds use 3D and really nice painted artwork and XI definitely looks pretty cool (I know…graphic whores will scoff at this game looking too old school) compared to previous games and how they look now.

As for game mechanics, now there are abilities such as “Quick Shift”, “Saving Shift” and the “Judgement System” and “Skill Stocks”.

For each battle, you select a team leader and which person would then come into the battle (you set who is first, second and third). Quick Shift allows the player to change to another character during battle. This uses up one skill point.

The next one is called “Saving Shift” which makes the character invulnerable while he/she is being hit and changes to a waiting character (uses two skill points).

As for “Dream Cancel”, this is a combo that can be used by the leader of the team. It’s actually a very damaging combo.

Exclusive to the PS2 version are the following characters: Mai Shiranui, Geese Howard, Tung Fu Rue (Fatal Fury), Robert Garcia and Mr. Big (Art of Fighting), Hotaru Futaba (Garou: Mark of the Wolves) and EX Kyo Kusanagi (KOF: NESTS Saga).

I have read that the PAL version of the game is littered with bugs. For the US (NTSC) version, I have not had any problems with this game at all.

The sub boss Shion and final boss battle with Magaki has been beatable and not too frustrating.

The endings have been pretty cool so far using K Team’s K’ and Fatal Fury Team Terry Bogard and Kim Kaphwan for team but mainly K for single play. The ending for the K’ Team (K’, Maxima and Kula Diamond) have been fun to watch.

But all in all, I really like the overall look, roster update and feel of the latest KOF game.

The game goes for $14.99, so if you are a fighting game fan, especially a KOF/SNK fan, definitely purchase this game. It’s a great update to the series so far and for those who haven’t played a KOF since the 90’s, definitely a good time to jump in.

Tags: ART OF FIGHTING, FATAL FURY, SNK PLAYMORE, Sony Playstation 2, THE KING OF FIGHTERS XI