World Heroes, 1992 Alpha Denshi (20 From '92 Part 9)
10First in a series of VS. fighting games, populated with characters based on historical figures, like Genghis Khan, Joan of Arc, Bruce Lee, etc. One thing you may notice is the incredible ease of this game compared to many other VS. fighting games of the time. Especially if you choose a fighter with very fast duck-kick attacks-- you can wipe out a fighter's energy with one single series of duck-kick attacks, scoring a VERY fast KO! Defeat the other 7 fighters (no mirror match necessary) and you go up against GEE GUS, an alien who threatens the Earth and changes into the personas of the other fighters. Each fighter has at least a few different special moves executed with joystick/button combos. The buttons, kick and punch, execute a weak attack with a quick tap, and a stronger attack when held down briefly. With rapid duck-kicking fighters (like my favorite, the German cyborg Brocken) you can do a quick jump kick at the opponent, then when they block, duck and wail on the weak kicks. This can end the fight very quickly! 2 bonus stages allow you some extra points: smash a boulder enough to create a statue before the time limit expires, and bash 14 falling pots before the time expires. At the beginning of a game you can choose to play either normal mode or death match-- the latter of which adds hazards to the arena like spiked walls, land mines, electrified borders, oil slicks, and fiery walls! World Heroes spun off a couple sequels/upgrades, and the ninjas Hanzo and Fuuma became instantly recognizable for NEO GEO enthusiasts. Fuuma made an appearance in another NEO game, Aggressors Of Dark Kombat. World Heroes is fun to play and engaging enough, but man, is it easy.