World Hereos Perfect Matching

[Damon Caskey]

Once upon a time I started a thread that talked about World Heroes and its underrated pioneering of pretty much every feature seen in modern games. It didn't really take and no matches got started. Rather then go that route again, I thought I might encourage some match making and play setups by discussing strategy.

Since one of the main reasons it is ripped on is a god awful assumption it was a SF Knockoff, let's start with the so called Ryu/Ken clones, Hanzou and Fuuma.

Hanzou

Fuuma

More to come, and discussion welcome. Please keep any replies related to the game at Hand. if you want to talk about another game, start a thread about it.

DC

[Damon Caskey]

Hanzou:

Let's get one thing clear: Personality and thematically, Hanzou IS a Ryu clone. He also occupies the same slot in game play; that is to say, he has above average stats across the board, without being the top at any one thing. That's where the similarities end. First difference is that Unlike Ryu who tends to hang around the middle rankings of whatever game he is in, Hanzou is rated top tier in every single ranking list he occupies. But don't get too confident, WHP is a well balanced game where bottom tiers can eat the top dogs for breakfast.

Next thing to know is that you can forget all about playing Hanzou like Ryu. You will loose and loose hard. If you must compare him to a Capcom character, think of him as Strider Hiryu if Hiryu were ever distilled into the Alpha or main SF series. Just like Hiryu, Hanzou is highly mobile, being equipped with a double jump and a teleport. Another similarity to Hiryu is that Hanzou is loaded with special moves that aren't all that great individually, but taken as a whole make him into a monster. And just like Hiryu, Hanzou excels at keeping the pressure on. When well played, Hanzou never gives the opponent a chance to breathe.

Basic Moves:

LP = Light Punch
MP = Medium Punch
HP = Heavy Punch (LP+MP)
LK = Light Kick
MK = Medium Kick
HK = Heavy Kick (LK+MK)
ABC = LP + MP + LK

• Standing LP: Typical jab. Cancels and links into pretty much everything.
• Standing MP: Straight punch. Autoblock while his lead arm is raised.
• Standing HP: A cool energy backed palm strike with his lead hand. Destroys projectiles. SNK raped this move and made it into a useless command attack for NGBC.
• Standing LK: Ankle kick. Hits low. Why this was made into his (useless) close HK for NGBC is beyond me.
• Standing MK: His old Standing LK from WH1 and 2. Decent poke.
• Standing HK: Classic spin kick. Good poke against slower characters. Makes a great pressure move in conjunction with dashing or his Hayate Trick.
• Close LP: Quick elbow. Treat it like his Standing LP.
• Close MP: Palm upper. Guard breaker. NGBC made this is standing HP (no guard break of course).
• Close HP: Uppercut. Decent frame advantage on hit.
• Close LK: Same as Standing LK.
• Close MK: His old close LK (A knee in the breadbasket). Not bad, but his close LK and HK are better.
• Close HK: Nasty roundhouse right to the face. Knockdown and then some; the opponent is sent flying backward and there is even a minor screen shake effect on hit. Great to pin the opponent into a corner.
• Crouching LP: LP, except low. I'm not sure if it hits low.
• Crouching MP: Knife hand. Quick and good for pressure up close.
• Crouching HP: Hanzou stands and throws a hard hook. The initial raise of his non attacking arm autoblocks.
• Crouching LK: Hits low, but kind of slow for a LK.
• Crouching MK: His old LK from WH1 and 2. Hits low, and makes a decent poke.
• Crouching HK: Hanzou leans back and throws out a hard side kick. Comes out fast for a HK. Low hit and sweep.
• Vertical Jump LP: Knifehand strike. High hitbox, but there are better things to do about jumpers.
• Vertical Jump MP: LP, with shorter duration and a bit more damage. Ditto about better things to do.
• Vertical Jump HP: Similar to LP and MP, but Hanzou swings hard and recoils. Knockdown if opponent is in the air. Yet again, this move isn't bad, but the kicks are better and there are better things to do overall.
• Vertical Jump LK: Hanzou coils his body up tightly and extends his lead leg in a side kick for the duration of his jump. Very good priority and reach.
• Vertical Jump MK: Knee drop. OK damage but very poor reach.
• Vertical Jump HK: A roundhouse kick similar to his Standing HK. Knockdown if opponent is in the air. Good damage and horizontal reach, but it's hard to hit with unless someone is jumping at you.
• Horizontal Jump LP: Hanzou sticks his palm out. Chains into any other attack, including itself. Useful for air combos.
• Horizontal Jump MP: Same has MP, with less duration and more damage.
• Horizontal Jump HP: Diagonal punch with his lead hand. Hits hard but very poor range.
• Horizontal Jump LK: Same as Vertical Jump LK.
• Horizontal Jump MK: Same as Vertical Jump MK, except much more useful as range is less of a problem.
• Horizontal Jump HK: Painful looking somersault axe kick. Nice damage, but doesn't seem to leave much time to combo unless you hit really deep.

Running Moves:

All of Hanzou's basic moves while running use the Standing far versions regardless of range. Note that their recovery, hit, and frame properties change radically.

Command Moves:

• FWD + HK (must be close): Vertical back spin kick. Think Andy's close HK from KOF96+. Faster and does more damage then Close HK, but no knockdown.
• DWN + MP (Jumping): Izuna Slash - Hanzou somersaults, takes out one of his swords and drops straight down. Knockdown. Hanzou bounces away on hit or block (if blocked, you're in for a world of hurt). Combine with teleport for a surprise attack, but don't try to abuse it or you will be punished.

Throws:

• Izuna Drop (FWD+MP+HP when close): Hanzou picks his opponent up and leaps forward for a flying power bomb. Ouch. Only problem is that Hanzou bounces pretty far away afterward, so it's a bit hard to perform conventional traps.
• Backdrop Bounce (BACK+MP+HP when close): Hanzou performs what would be an Ura Nage, except he again shows off some brute strength by jumping with the opponent during execution to sling them down hard just before landing. Ends with Hanzou almost right on top of the opponent, so you know what to do.

Special Moves:

• Double Jump (UP+BACK or UP or UP+FWD during any jump): One of many, many features ADK pioneered. Hanzou was the very first character in fighting game history to posses a double jump, an ability he had all the way back in 1992 with World Heroes. The uses are obvious. Screw with other players jump counter attempts, play position games, jump in from forever away, and so on.
• Rekkozan (DWN, DWN+FWD, FWD, Any Punch): Hanzou uses one of his swords to fling a spectral shuriken. A respectable projectile, it's main use is for canceling into during pressure tactics.
• Double Rekkozan (DWN, DWN+FWD, FWD, DWN, DWN+FWD, FWD Any Punch): Hanzou uses both of his swords to fling a double spectral shuriken. Doesn't seem to do any more damage, but beats normal projectiles and is hard to counter. Long start up limits its use. I like to throw these as an opponent is getting up; there isn't much they can do besides eating block damage or wake up dashing into a projectile breaker.
• Koryuha (FWD, DWN, DWN+FWD, FWD, Any Punch): It's a classic Dragon Punch, but looks a lot more like Ken's Shinryuken from the VS series (yes, the World Hero's version came first). This move is NOT invincible, nor does it hit directly above Hanzou, and on a grazing hit may leave the opponent standing. But minor flaws aside, it still beats pretty much everything. Also, the very first hit frame is MUCH more damaging then the rest (15-25% vs. around 5-10%) and has absolute priority over other moves; there is even a different sound for emphasis, so timing is key. Lighter versions have quicker recovery, heavy versions have more range. I don't really see any significant difference in damage. Lift knockdown.
• EX Koryuha (FWD, DWN, DWN+FWD, FWD, Any Punch when Hero Bar is full): Koryuha with nifty multicolor effect and a lot of hits. The damage difference isn't all that great, but invincibility seems to be really jacked up; I've never seen this move get beat head to head. As with the normal Koryuha, most of its damage is concentrated into the very first hit frame, so make sure to time yourself correctly.Lift knockdown.
• Ninppo Korin kazan (DWN, DWN+BACK, BACK, Any Kick): If Ryu or Ken ever saw this, they'd be embarrassed to perform their Hurricane Kicks in public. Hanzou jumps up with both swords out, kind of floats back a bit, and then flies forward with his body horizontal to the ground and spinning like a buzz-saw. Very cool looking move, but easy to get yourself killed with, especially on smaller characters. If performed too far, Hanzou will land right in front of the opponent, who will have already recovered even on a clean hit. Let the beat down commence. This move also has a slow start up. On the plus side, it mows over just about everything once it gets going, and the initial start up can dodge some attacks. Even better, when performed at the right range, Hanzou hits and switches sides with the opponent, even if they block. It's like a horizontal teleport that does tick damage for free. Damage isn't overwhelming, but isn't too shabby either, and as icing on the cake you can juggle with it. A great tool to position yourself and annoy bigger characters at the same time, or to finish the round with a bit of showmanship.
• Ninja Leg Lariat (DWN, DWN+FWD, FWD, Any Kick): Stupid name, but a simple and effective move. Hanzou jumps forward fast and low while performing what would technically be a spinning axe kick. Nothing particularly special here, but it does nice damage and has some decent cancel into potential.
• Teleport (DWN, NEUTRAL, UP, Any Attack): This one is the gem. Hanzou leaps up, fades out, and reappears in one of six locations (LP = Left, MP = Right, HP = Middle, LK = Left High, MK = Right High, HK = Middle High). Go anywhere you want, any time you want. Fast and partially invincible during execution. Low versions recover quickly. High versions go nearly out of the screen, and you can use any jump move afterward. Learn this, use it, and mesmerize. As if the teleport itself wasn't enough, there is a loud sound effect and screen shake as Hanzou dissipates; its an odd combination for such a move and many players will block on instinct, leaving themselves wide open for an attack from behind.

ABC Special:

• Hayate Tricks (LP+LK+MK): Did I say teleporting was the gem? What was I thinking? On its own this move does...nothing. Nothing at all beyond a little pose. But try it in during another move. That's right, Hanzou can cancel virtually any ground attack into the Hayate for free, and cancel OUT of it into nearly anything else. Throw a heavy kick to poke, cancel, do another move almost instantly. Whiff an attack, cancel it, punish your opponent's punish attempt. Watch them throw a fit. Timed correctly, you can even re-dizzy and infinity, although it is very difficult. Even so, this move all by itself would make Hanzou dangerous. Combined with his other goodies, it makes him one sick SOB.

Super Moves:

• Slice The Shimmering Light (FWD, BACK, DWN+BACK, DWN, DWN+FWD, FWD, LP+LK when life is red): Hanzou leaps to the wall behind him, pauses, and then dives at the opponent. If he connects, Hanzou will proceed to teleport all over the place swords drawn and slash his opponent to pieces with flashy visual effects. Hard to land because of the difficult motion and long, LONG, start up, but looks very, very cool and hurts really, really bad.
• EX Slice The Shimmering Light (FWD, BACK, DWN+BACK, DWN, DWN+FWD, FWD, LP+LK when life is red and Hero Bar is full): Just as hard to hit with but looks even cooler and hurts even more.

[Damon Caskey]

Fuuma:

Fuuma is the "Ken" of World Heros, but only in the "opposite of Hanzou" thing. He's otherwise a lot more like Joe Higashi in personality and concept. He does share some traits of the classic fighting game Lancer though.

One difference between Fuuma and Hanzou is you can probably get away with treating Fuuma like a clone. In other words, you can play him just like you would Ken and do fairly well. But he has a lot more to offer then that. Fuuma is second only to Hanzou in mobility if only for Hanzou's teleport, and even then its arguable. He doesn't have Hanzou's scary ABC cancel, but in exchange he gets a wall jump, better pokes, the best air game in the cast, and more effective supers. Despite his speed, Fuuma can't quite keep the pressure on like Hanzou, and his damage output is usually awful. Don't count Fuuma out by any means though. He can hit and run with the best of them, rules the air with an iron fist, sports a counter game for nearly every play style, and given the right opportunity he'll decimate a life bar in seconds.

Basic Moves:

LP = Light Punch
MP = Medium Punch
HP = Heavy Punch (LP+MP)
LK = Light Kick
MK = Medium Kick
HK = Heavy Kick (LK+MK)
ABC = LP + MP + LK

Unless otherwise noted, Fuuma's basic move animations are identical to Hanzou's. Fuuma's version of any given attack he shares with Hanzou tends to cause less damage and will often have poorer frame advantage. They do however come out much faster.

• Standing HK: Classic spin kick. like most of Fuuma's normals, this move is visually identical to Hanzou's while trading damage and frame advantage for less start up time. This move is worth noting for taking "less start up" to an extreme. It comes out faster them some of the slower characters characters LPs, and makes a fantasic poke.
• Close HK: A fast jump spinning axe kick. Comes out faster then Hanzou's close HK and does considerably more damage, but does not knock down.
• Crouching HP: Fuuma throws a low version of the glowing palm attack. Decent range, damage and start up, but does have some recovery time.
• Horizontal Jump LP: Fuuma sticks his fist out. Useful for air combos.
• Horizontal Jump MP: Same has MP, with less duration and more damage.
• Horizontal Jump HP: Diagonal palm strike with his lead hand. Hits hard but very poor range.
• Vertical Jump LK: Fuuma sticks his knee out. As far as I can tell it has no use.
• Vertical Jump MK: Fuuma spins and throws an axe kick. Good damage and hits well below him.
• Horizontal Jump LK: Knee drop. Light damage but great air to ground hit priority
• Horizontal Jump MK: Fuuma coils up into a side kick. Good range and effective air to air.

Running Moves:

All of Fuuma's basic moves except HK while running use the Standing far versions regardless of range. HK is always his standing close animation. Note that their recovery, hit, and frame properties change radically.

Command Moves:

• FWD + HK (must be close): Vertical back spin kick. Think Andy's close HK from KOF96+. Unlike Hanzou there doesn't seem to be much difference between this and Fumma's normal close HK.

Throws:

• Izuna Drop (FWD+MP+HP when close): Fuuma picks his opponent up and leaps forward for a flying power bomb. Ouch. Only problem is that Fuuma bounces pretty far away afterward, so it's a bit hard to perform conventional traps. One minor difference compared to Hanzou is that Fuuma lets gravity do its job while Hanzou accelerates to the ground. It seems to be purely aesthetic though.
• Backdrop Bounce (BACK+MP+HP when close): Fuuma performs what would be an Ura Nage, except he again shows off some brute strength by jumping with the opponent during execution. Fuuma throws the opponent down much earlier then Hanzou and uses the recoil to perform a somersault backward. This makes quite a difference, as it means Fuuma ends up pretty far away afterward.
• Air Throw (DIRECTION+MP+HP when close mid air): Fuuma grabs the opponent, somersaults and sends them to the ground with a midair Tomoe Nage. Ends medium distance away.

Special Moves:

• Wall Jump (UP+FWD during any jump next to wall): Combine with Fuuma's Double Jump to make Micheal Jordan wither in shame.
• Triangle Jump (Wall jump very close to ground): Wall jump with slightly different trajectory. Difficult to do, but allows some new combo possibilities.
• Double Jump (UP+BACK or UP or UP+FWD during any jump): One of many, many features ADK pioneered. Along with Hanzou, Fuuma was the very first character in fighting game history to posses a double jump, an ability he had all the way back in 1992 with World Heroes. The uses are obvious. Screw with other players jump counter attempts, play position games, jump in from forever away, and so on.
• Reppuzan (DWN, DWN+FWD, FWD, Any Punch): Fuuma uses one of his swords to fling a spectral tornado. Damage is pathetic, use it to zone and harass.
• Double Reppuzan (DWN, DWN+FWD, FWD, DWN, DWN+FWD, FWD Any Punch): Fuuma uses both of his swords to fling a double spectral tornado. Does about twice the damage of a normal Reppuzan, which is to say you might see a few pixels disappear from the opponent's life bar. Beats normal projectiles and is hard to counter. Long start up limits its use, but it's faster then Hanzou's Double Rekkozan.
• EX Reppuzan (DWN, DWN+FWD, FWD, Any Punch when Hero bar is full): Essentially a Double Reppuzan with faster start up. I suppose it would be good to overpower other projectiles, but Fuuma can already punish projectiles anyway, so it's kind of a waste.
• EX Double Reppuzan (DWN, DWN+FWD, FWD, DWN, DWN+FWD, FWD Any Punch when Hero bar is full): Throws a whole mess of tornadoes your opponents way. Nice chip damage and eats other max projectiles for breakfast. If you don't have the Fireball Slug available and don't mind blowing your Hero bar, go for it.
• Enryuha (FWD, DWN, DWN+FWD, FWD, Any Punch): It's a classic Dragon Punch, but looks almost identical to Ken's Shinryuken from the VS series (yes, the World Hero's version came first). This move has several interesting properties that make it a better overall move then Hanzou's version. First, the Enryuha sets opponents on fire and always knocks down. Also, the damage spread is more forgiving. While the damage is greater during his initial hit frame, it is less pronounced then Hanzou's Kouryuha. This means that while Hanzou has more potential, Fumma's version will usually win in damage output. Priority is not as good as the Koryuha; I've seen the Enryuha get stuffed a time or two but it will still beat out most anything else. The last, and most interesting thing about the Enryuha is the hitbox. While it has slightly less range in front then Hanzou's Koryuha, the Enryuha hits overhead and behind Fumma. In fact, the hitbox seems to extend about twice as far behind Fumma as it does in front of him! Use this move to give side switch moves and cross up attempts a nasty surprise. Lighter versions have quicker recovery, heavy versions have more range. I don't really see any significant difference in damage. Lift knockdown.
• Air Enryuha (FWD, DWN, DWN+FWD, FWD, during jump, after Ninpo Furin Kazan, or Enryuha):Fuuma can perform an Enryuha almost anywhere. Use this to completely own the air and play mind games with your opponent. They'll never know if it's safe to punish a jump or a whiffed Enryuha when you can always bust out another one!
• Ninppo Furin kazan (DWN, DWN+BACK, BACK, Any Kick): If Ryu or Ken ever saw this, they'd be embarrassed to perform their Hurricane Kicks in public. Fuuma jumps up with both swords out and then flies forward in a wave motion spinning like a buzz-saw. Very cool looking move, but easy to get yourself killed with, especially on smaller characters. This move is never safe on its own, but can rack up massive damage (nearly half a life bar) if you hit deep and use the right version. LK for small characters, MK for medium sized and HK for the big boys. Use it to finish a round quickly and in style.
• Dragon Flight Drop (FWD, DWN+FWD, DWN, DWN+BACK, BACK, HP when jumping close to standing opponent's head): Hayabusa, err, Fuuma grabs the opponent by their neck, flips forward and throws them to the deck. Once your opponent knows not to meet you in the sky and starts blocking, bring on this puppy and laugh at their screams of frustration. A nice bonus is many players don't even know this move exists and will never see it coming.

ABC Special:

• Fake Tricks (LP+LK+MK, can use with any DIRECTION): As far as I can tell this is absolutely useless. Fuuma fakes a special move of your choice depending on the direction input. Problem is the fakes themselves have lag time, so what's the point? Besides, Fuuma should always be on the move anyway, so your opponent probably won't react any differently, even if they buy the ruse.

Super Moves:

• Exploding Atomic Crash (FWD, DWN+FWD, DWN, DWN+BACK, BACK, UP+BACK, HP): Fuuma floats into the air all ablaze, then dives forward and explodes on contact with the ground. Damage is decent, but doesn't chip nearly as well as in WH2 Jet. Still not to shabby.
• EX Exploding Atomic Crash (FWD, DWN+FWD, DWN, DWN+BACK, BACK, UP+BACK, HP when Hero bar is full): Pretty much the same, except Fuuma sends a shower of flaming shuriken down before diving. Ups the ante quite a bit on chip damage and eats up any projectile they try to send your way.
• Fireball Slug Trick (FWD, DWN+FWD, DWN, FWD, DWN+FWD, DWN, FWD, DWN+FWD, DWN, HP): Sends a saw blade looking ball of flame along the ground. Runs right over other projectiles and does pretty big damage. Easy to avoid though, so don't throw it out for no reason.
• EX Fireball Slug Trick (FWD, DWN+FWD, DWN, FWD, DWN+FWD, DWN, FWD, DWN+FWD, DWN, HP when Hero bar is full): If this hits, it's OMGWTFBBQ time for your opponent. Again, just make sure to set them up for it first.