World Heroes 2

~ WORLD HEROES 2 ~

SNK / Hudson Soft

Arcade CD-ROM

1994

World Heroes 2 can't hold a candle to its Fatal Fury ACD brothers visually. Its soundtrack, while decent, boasts nothing that can compare with the best FF numbers. It does play a bit better than the Fatals, but there's no chance anyone will ever confuse it with Street Fighter II. And now that I've sufficiently ragged on what one would think are the game's most important elements, let me say that I do enjoy WH2, mainly for its crazy cast. Among the psychotic pugilists who broke free of the nuthouse to join said cast are a viking, a fencer, a pirate, a witch doctor, a magician, a wrestler, and a gigantic football player.

WH2 bolsters its acceptable SF2-style gameplay with neat "counter" techniques that allow you to deflect the projectile attacks of your adversaries, possibly damaging them in the process.

And to further separate itself from the crowd, it presents a "Death Match" alternative mode in which you must claim the balance of a single life meter while avoiding hazards like razor blades and land mines.

World Heroes 2 isn't a special fighter, but it's a likable one. Fans of the genre should get their ten bucks' worth out of it.