Women’s History Month ’24 — The World Heroes Franchise
World Heroes is one of the major fighting game franchises of the 90s era.
SNK is a brand name when it comes to the fighting game community, especially today with its Samurai Shodown and The King of Fighters franchises. Of all of the known video game companies, SNK has developed and produced the most fighting game titles of all time. Its selection of fighting games were available to play at local arcades through its Neo Geo MVS (Multiple Video System) arcade cabinet.
This is how I got familiar with the World Heroes franchise.
Prior to World Heroes 2 Jet, the first two titles had the “Death Match” option where some of the stages had background hazards.
The franchise ended with World Heroes Perfect but the legacy lives on.
As March is designated as “Women’s History Month,” let’s talk about the women of the World Heroes franchise.
The franchise only has two women in the playable roster but these two made an impact. Before I get into that, one needs to be informed that most of the characters are fictional versions of real life figures.
Doctor Brown, based on Doc Brown from Back To The Future, used a time machine to bring together historical figures for a special martial arts tournament.
Jeanne D’Arc
Hailing from 15th century France, Jeanne D’Arc wanders the countryside to test her sword skills against the strongest fighters. This isn’t just to test her skills, though, Jeanne is in search of a man who will become her husband.
She wants only the strongest fighter as her husband.
Jeanne hasn’t found any luck in the French countryside, she takes up Doctor Brown’s offer and is transported to the present time. In the first tournament, Jeanne finds a potential suitor in Julius Karn (based on Genghis Khan) who beats her in combat.
Karn retreats after learning she wants him as a husband.
In the second tournament, Jeanne has NO such luck.
In World Heroes Perfect, Jeanne finds a potential suitor in Hanzo Hattori (based on the historical figure of the same name) but is thwarted by Ryoko Izumo. Unfortunately for either woman, Hanzo’s NOT interested because he’s focused on training.
Kotaro Fuuma (based on the historical figure of the same name), Hanzo’s rival, shoots his shot only to fail miserably.
Jeanne wasn’t seen or heard from again until SNK vs. Capcom: Card Fighters Clash DS and SNK Heroines Tag Team Frenzy where she and other women are taken to a fantasy world.
I would like to see Jeanne cross paths with Charlotte de Colde from Samurai Shodown as the latter, too, is from France. It would be an interesting clash of personalities and swordplay styles.
Ryoko Izumo
Making her debut in World Heroes 2, Ryoko Izumo is the second woman to join the fighting game franchise. She is a world-class Judo practitioner who is missing her father. Unlike the rest of the characters in the game, Ryoko wasn’t brought to the present time by a time machine.
Living in the present day, Ryoko learns of the tournament and decides to register.
Little does Ryoko know that she will be testing her skills against public figures known throughout history.
She’s also similar to Jeanne in which she also seeks a strong man to hook up with. Ryoko finds a potential suitor in Hanzou Hattori but the latter isn’t interested because he’s focused on honing his fighting skills.
Ryoko’s future playable appearances were in World Heroes 2 Jet and World Heroes Perfect.
Since then, Ryoko has made sporadic cameo appearances.
She is inspired by the historical Olympic judoka Ryoko Tani who would enter the foray of Japanese politics later on. Her appearance is based on Yawara Inokuma of the Judo-themed manga Yawara!
Even though the franchise ended with World Heroes Perfect, the game got ported to previous and current generation consoles.
Hanzou and Fuuma were playable in Neo Geo Battle Coliseum, it’s possible that these two ladies could return as playable characters in a future fighting game.