"World Heroes 2 is a Sequel Worthy of Praise"

World Heroes 2 is a small game memory-wise by Neo-Geo standards. Weighing in at 146 megs, this game doesn't even MAX the theoretical limit of 330 megs... so what did I expect from this fighter? Not much. What did I get. A Lot. Oh yeah World Heroes was a cool game, but suffered from slow moves... does World Heroes 2 fix that, no. Is it a standout game in a genre filled with SF2 clones, radical gore-fests (MK series) and cool samurai's wielding awesome blades of fury (Samurai Shodown)? Let's see here, yeah it does. World Heroes 2 is a fun game with gorgeous graphics that one-ups its predecessor.

(gameplay - 8)
This game plays pretty well, with the game engine being re-worked and tweaked since the original World Heroes. Like I mentioned, speed was not fixed. Not even addressed. At all. So the game is slow, and that really makes a difference when comparing it to such speed demons as SF2: Turbo or even World Heroes 2: Jet. Your character controls very spot-on, nearly flawless execution of the moves can be had by all in this game. I really must say that the 2 points deducted from the score was due to the lack of any kind of speed improvement whatsoever.

(story - 7)
The story goes like this, the Heroes of the World (earth) have been brought into a tournament to eradicate the sinister evil force behind it. This time it is Neo Dio who stands as the maniacal force behind the tournament. Or something along those lines. Nothing deep or intricate to be found here.

(graphics - 9, sound - 8)
The graphics on this game get a 9, because they are very well done. The backgrounds range from good to excellent, with scrolling, water effects, cool lighting and shading techniques, and the characters are all huge and very well detailed. Most of the original World Heroes look the same, but there are six new warriors to fight with, all appearing in the excellent introduction. The intro is very impressive indeed, and really needs to be seen to be believed. Really the stages look terrific, and death matches (everyone's favorite) are all here with some new twists. As for the sound effects, well these deserve an 8, because the sound effects and music are all average, it is the sound of players being hit or knocked out that really impress. Some of the music is really good, but nowhere near the quality of SF2 stage music. This docks the sound and music department by 2 points, because I think the audio presentation is sometimes more important than the visual presentation.

Replayability: 9: The replayability factor has risen since World Heroes 2 received six new characters. The Death Match mode is fun, the regular play mode is also fun, and beating Neo Dio with all of the fighters can take quite some time, so this game does have lasting power, and to that effect should receive kudos for the fact it is hard to put down and can really help you pass the time on a rainy day.

Recommendations: Highly recommended to all Neo-Geo owners. This game is very fun and really has beautiful animation. The graphics and stage backgrounds are awesome, the gameplay is tight and solid, and the replay factor is very high. You'll come to appreciate the World Heroes if you give this game a try. If you don't own a Neo home system, Neo CD, or Neo MVS Cabinet, don't bother looking for this game, because the watered-down ports of it to the 16-bit systems of the day are less than stellar and not worth your time or money. But if you can get the real thing, get it because its worth it.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 06/16/04