Hebereke (series)

Genres Various
Developers Sunsoft
Tokai Engineering
Success
Publishers Sunsoft
Platforms Family Computer, Arcade, Super Famicom, Sega Saturn, PlayStation
Platform of origin Family Computer
First release Hebereke
September 20, 1991
Latest release Hebereke Station Popoitto
May 26, 1995

Hebereke (へべれけ) is a video game series developed by Sunsoft that was released primarily in Japan, with a few releases in Europe and one release in North America. It was one of the company's main franchises during the 1990s. Hebe, the main character of the series, became Sunsoft's main mascot during this period, appearing on the company's logo in several games and commercials. The series features a comical, yet surreal setting and characters. The title of the series comes from a Japanese colloquialism for drunkenness. The series covers several different genres from platforming to puzzle, though they are all set in the same fictional universe.

The first Hebereke game for the Nintendo Entertainment System was released in the PAL region under the title of Ufouria: The Saga, which changed the names of the main characters, while two of them had their looks changed. A North American release was planned, but canceled; however, the PAL region version was later added to the Wii Virtual Console in North America. A later set of games for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System were also released under the Hebereke title, which retained the original names and looks from the Japanese version.

List of games

Developer Sunsoft used the characters and world featured in Hebereke in a series of games for Family Computer, Super Famicom, Sega Saturn, PlayStation, coin-operated arcades and mobile phones.[1]

Ufouria: The Saga (NES, PAL region) (character changes)
Re-released on Sunsoft Memorial Vol.5 with Raf World (PlayStation)
Ufouria was originally intended to be released in North America. In 2010, the game was released on the Wii's Virtual Console service in both the PAL region and North America, marking the first Hebereke release in the latter region.[2]
Hebereke's Popoon (Super NES, PAL region) (1994)
Hebereke no Popoon (Arcade) (1994)
Four-player 2D fighting game; similar in nature to the Super Smash Bros. series and Sonic Battle.
Hebereke's Popoitto (1995) (Super NES, PAL region)
Hebereke Station Popoitto (PlayStation) (1996)
Hebereke Station Popoitto (SunKore Best) (1999)
Hebereke Station Popoitto (Value 1500) (2001)
O-Chan no Oekaki Logic 2 (PlayStation) (1996)
O-Chan no Oekaki Logic 3 (Value 1500) (PlayStation) (2001)

A game titled Hebereke's Pair Pair Wars was developed to be released on Neo-Geo arcade platform in 1996, but was not released.

Merchandise

Comic strip

Uchimich "Ucchii" Ryoji, the series' character designer, drew a series of four-panel strips based on the games that were serialized by Tokuma Shoten in the Japanese magazine Family Computer Magazine (also known as "Famimaga" for short). During publication, the strip had its title changed to Pemopemo, only to be changed back to Hebereke. The first two years' worth of strips were reprinted in a collection titled Hebereke no Hon,[3] but the remaining strips were never republished. The comic was canceled in 1998, after the magazine changed its name to Famimaga 64.

Original soundtrack

A soundtrack titled Takusan Hebereke was released that features original versions of the music from the first three Hebereke games: Hebereke, Hebereke no Popoon and Sugoi Hebereke. The soundtrack also includes original versions of songs from another Sunsoft game, Gimmick! (known in Europe as Mr. Gimmick). The soundtrack was composed by Naoki Kodaka, Phaseout & MuteC, Masashi Kageyama and arranged by Hitoshi Sakimoto. It was published by DATAM Polystar and released on June 25, 1994.

Characters

The series sports characters and graphics that are typically Japanese cuteness in design, done in the style of Bomberman, The New Zealand Story, Kirby and particularly Hello Kitty. The series primarily involves a cast of four main characters and four minor characters.

Major characters

Hebe[4] (sometimes referred to as "Hebereke", Bop-Louie in Ufouria)

O-Chan (Freeon-Leon in Ufouria)

Sukezaemon (Shades in Ufouria)

Jennifer (Gil in Ufouria)

Minor characters

Boo

Pen

Utsu

Unyo

References

  1. ↑ お手軽ゲーム満載！ケータイサイト「上海ｉパズル」 (in Japanese).
  2. ↑ "Launches: Ufouria: The Saga VC". Sunsoft Games. Retrieved 2010-11-19.
  3. ↑ Ucchii. Hebereke no Hon (in Japanese). Tokuma Shoten. ISBN 978-4-19-790013-8.
  4. ↑ へべれけ　キャラクター紹介　へべ　おーちゃん　すけざえもん　ヂェニファー. Retrieved on 01-26-10.
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