Ufouria: The Saga

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
For the video game series, see Hebereke.
"Ufouria" redirects here. Not to be confused with UFOria.
Ufouria: The Saga
Single-player

Ufouria: The Saga

bosses and minibosses
. During gameplay, the player locates the main character's three friends, each of which becomes a playable character and have unique skills that allow the player to reach previously inaccessible areas.

Designed by Ryōji Uchimichi, the game was developed at the Tokyo division of Sunsoft during a period where software houses needed a mascot to represent them. Due to their lack of series and wanting to establish its characters, Sunsoft decided to spawn the title into one. After its Japanese launch, plans for an international release were underway. Ufouria: The Saga was previewed and reviewed in magazines, in addition to being showcased in playable state to attendees at the 1991

WCES
, but the North American localization was cancelled after Sunsoft of America did not approve the game due to its quirky character designs. It was released in Europe and Australia in 1992, featuring various alterations when compared with the original Japanese version such as a different story, and characters' names and sprites being changed. Because of a limited release, the European version has become quite in demand, and is considered a sought after item on the game collecting market.

Ufouria: The Saga received mixed reception at release on the NES; critics felt mixed in regards to the audiovisual presentation, low difficulty and gameplay, which drew comparison with Super Mario Bros. 2 due to each character possessing their own abilities, though its originality and use of passwords were commended. Retrospective commentary has been more positive and has since gained a cult following.

The game has since been re-released on numerous platforms and as download services, like the Virtual Console and PlayStation Network. A sequel to the game was released for Microsoft Windows, Nintendo Switch, and PlayStation 5 in early March 2024. An enhanced port, under the name Hebereke: Enjoy Edition released on Switch and Steam later that month.

Gameplay and premise

Screenshot from the game's first area: Bop-Louie (the player) is shown, jumping on a Teketeke, one of the main enemies in the game.
Screenshot of the first area of the game, showing Bop-Louie jumping on a Teketeke.

Ufouria: The Saga is an action-adventure game similar to Metroid.[3][4] The plot differs between each region;[4] in the original Japanese version, it follows a penguin-like character known as Hebe seeking his colleagues Ō-Chan, Sukezaemon and Jennifer, who fell into time and space during a large-scale war, in order to fight an alien named Unyohn and return to their homeworlds.[5] In the western localization, Bop-Louie and his friends Freeon-Leon, Shades and Gil, are members of the 21st Century family unit called and live in the titular world. Bop-Louie stumbles upon a crater, into which his friends fall. Bop-Louie climbs in, but suddenly blanks out. He finds out that he must find all three of his other friends, all of which suffer from amnesia and take on Bop-Louie as a threat. Once all four are back together, the group must collect three keys by defeating guardians to open a gate and face against Unyohn.[3][4][6]

The player controls Bop-Louie (Hebe) through an interconnected free-roaming environment, collecting

bosses, and obtaining power-ups.[3][4][5][6] Three of the game's bosses are Bop-Louie's friends, who later become playable characters by defeating them and each one have their own unique skills that allow the player to reach previously inaccessible areas; Freeon-Leon (Ō-Chan) can swim across water and walk on slippery ice surfaces, while Shades (Sukezaemon) can jump high and Gil (Jennifer) can dive underwater.[3][4][5][6] Bop-Louie can also find a special item that allows him to climb walls. The player can switch between characters at any time on the sub-menu.[3][4][5][6]

Every character can attack enemies and bosses by jumping on them while holding the d-pad down. When defeated, enemies will spawn into balloons called "Popoons", which can be thrown at other enemies and bosses.[4][5][6] The game has a hit point-based health system, starting at 10 HP but can be expanded by searching life containers and replenished after getting hit by enemies by finding medicines or the "Water of Life".[4][5][6] The game is over once the characters' HP is depleted, though the player can continue with their items and characters via a password system.[5][6][7]

Development

Ufouria: The Saga, known as Hebereke in Japan, was developed at the Tokyo division of

Warner Brothers, with Gimmick! also suffering the same fate. However, Siller stated that both titles most likely could have been commercial successes.[13]

A screenshot from the Japanese version of the game, named Hebereke: The player (Hebe) is shown, alongside birds dropping feces.
Screenshot of Hebereke prior to localization, showing Hebe and birds dropping feces instead of weights.

Ufouria was released in Europe on November 19, 1992.

Wave Master also in Japan on November 30, 2011.[27] An NTSC prototype ROM has since been leaked online, which has several differences compared with the final version.[28]

Ufouria was first re-released alongside

OFLC, implying a future international re-rerelease.[33] The game was re-released several times through the Virtual Console; the first time was on the Wii in Europe on July 2, 2010, then in North America on August 23, and later in Japan on March 29, 2011.[20] The second time was on the Nintendo 3DS in Japan on July 24, 2013.[34] The third time was on the Wii U in North America on July 24, 2014, then in Europe on October 9, and later in Japan on January 28, 2015.[11][35][36] In August 2022, it was announced that a Sunsoft-developed re-release of the game was scheduled to release for Microsoft Windows, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One in 2023.[37]

Reception

Ufouria: The Saga on the

Hobby Consolas' José Luis Sanz concurred with Quan in regards to the title being similar to Super Mario Bros. 2 gameplay-wise. Luis Sanz commended its sound and controls but criticized the graphics for being simplistic and monotonous, as well as the low number of enemy sprites on-screen. Sanz ultimately regarded Ufouria as a simple arcade-style platformer for younger players.[38]

Superjuegos' Antonio Greppi called Ufouria to be a "worthy successor to the Super Mario saga, but with fewer arcade characteristics." Greppi praised its colorful graphics, difficulty and originality, but criticized the music for being repetitive.[39] Micromanía's J.G.V. felt mixed about the game's originality, lack of variety in the action, simple visuals, animations and low difficulty, but aspects such as the sound and use of passwords were commended.[7] Finnish magazine Nintendo Lehti gave positive remarks to its audiovisual presentation, gameplay and overall challenge.[41] Video Games' Jan Barysch felt that Ufouria was a solid platform game "with a good dose of wit." Barysch commended the game's exploration component for being motivating and fun, though he remarked that more experienced players will feel underchallenged for not being difficult. However, he felt very mixed regarding its audiovisual aspect.[40]

Retrospective coverage

Retrospective commentary for Ufouria: The Saga have been more positive since its re-release on the

Nintendo Life's Marcel van Duyn and Jake Shapiro praised its surrealist tone, cartoon artstyle in vein of shows such as Rocko's Modern Life and Courage the Cowardly Dog, Naoki Kodaka's soundtrack, controls and the ability to switch between characters for bringing an element of strategy, with van Duyn claiming that "Ufouria is a great example of a third-party developer beating Nintendo at their own game. It does just about everything the original Metroid did, but better". However, Duyn found the game and its bosses to be easy, while Shapiro felt that the level designs and mechanics were generic.[11][20] IGN's Lucas M. Thomas regarded Ufouria as an "intriguing" mixture of several NES titles such as Blaster Master, Castlevania II: Simon's Quest and Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse due to its interconnected world and character-swapping mechanic. Thomas also noted its odd atmosphere, short length and low challenge but criticized the lack of an on-screen map and checkpoints.[42]

Spanish magazine RetroManiac found Ufouria: The Saga to be much easier to complete than Metroid, due to the inclusion of a map and compass. They found its audiovisual presentation to be remarkable and regarded it as one of the best action-adventure titles on the NES catalog.

USgamer's Jeremy Parish called Ufouria one of the best NES games available on the Wii U's Virtual Console.[24]

Sequel

In October 2023, Ufouria: The Saga 2 was announced for release in early 2024.[44] The next month, it was announced that the game would release for Microsoft Windows and Nintendo Switch on February 29, 2024.[45] In January 2024, it was announced that the game would release for all current generation platforms on March 1, 2024.[46]

Notes

  1. ^ Ported to mobile phones by Space Out
  2. ^ Known in Japan as Hebereke (Japanese: へべれけ, the title is colloquial and roughly translates to "drunk" or "untrustworthy")

References

  1. ^ https://www.nintendo.co.uk/Games/Nintendo-Switch-download-software/HEBEREKE-Enjoy-Edition-2544305.html#Overview
  2. ^ https://store-jp.nintendo.com/list/software/70010000076727.html
  3. ^ a b c d e Davies, Ryan (December 3, 2008). "Ufouria: The Saga". Retro Gamer. Archived from the original on 2021-10-25. Retrieved 2021-10-24.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Tiraboschi, Federico (February 15, 2016). "Ufouria: The Saga". Hardcore Gaming 101. Archived from the original on 2021-10-25. Retrieved 2021-10-24.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g Hebereke (へべれけ) manual (Family Computer, JP)
  6. ^ a b c d e f g Ufouria: The Saga instruction manual (Nintendo Entertainment System, EU)
  7. ^ a b c J.G.V. (October 1992). "Video Consolas: Los Cuatro Amiguetes — Ufouria (N.E.S. / Arcade)". Micromanía (in Spanish). Vol. 2, no. 69. Hobby Press. p. 83.
  8. ^ a b ザ・ゲームメーカー ~ サンソフト編 [The Game Maker: Sunsoft ~ The Spirit of Sunsoft] (DVD). GameCenter CX (in Japanese). Japan: Fuji Television, Gascoin Company. 29 January 2010. (Transcription by Chris Covell. Archived 2021-11-08 at the Wayback Machine. Translation by GlitterBerri's Game Translations. Archived 2021-11-04 at the Wayback Machine).
  9. ^ a b Tiraboschi, Federico (February 15, 2016). "Hebereke (Series Introduction)". Hardcore Gaming 101. Archived from the original on 2021-10-27. Retrieved 2021-11-22.
  10. ^ Gancer, Stefan (December 9, 2020). "Sunsoft's The Terminator – Development History Revisited". Gaming Alexandria. Archived from the original on 2021-06-14. Retrieved 2021-11-22.
  11. ^
    Nintendo Life. Nlife Media. Archived
    from the original on 2021-03-07. Retrieved 2021-10-24.
  12. ^
    Famitsu.com. Archived 2015-11-04 at the Wayback Machine
    ).
  13. ^
    ISBN 9781312104839. Archived from the original on 2021-10-25. Retrieved 2021-10-25. {{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help
    )
  14. ^ "Next Wave: Ufouria (Sunsoft/Nintendo)". Electronic Gaming Monthly. No. 19. Sendai Publishing. February 1991. p. 42.
  15. Nintendo of America
    . March 1991. p. 93.
  16. ^ "1991 Winter Consumer Electronics Show: Ufouria (Sunsoft)". Electronic Gaming Monthly. No. 20. Sendai Publishing. March 1991. p. 94.
  17. ^ a b c Quan, Slasher (November 1991). "Nintendo ProReview: Ufouria". GamePro. No. 28. IDG. p. 34. Archived from the original on 2021-10-25. Retrieved 2021-10-25.
  18. ^ a b c Bieniek, Chris (December 1991). "Video Game Reviews - Ufouria—The Saga (Sunsoft) For the Nintendo Entertainment System". VideoGames & Computer Entertainment. No. 35. Larry Flynt Publications. pp. 56–58.
  19. ^ "Next Wave: Ufouria (Sunsoft/Nintendo)". Electronic Gaming Monthly. No. 27. Sendai Publishing. October 1991. p. 106.
  20. ^
    Nintendo Life. Nlife Media. Archived
    from the original on 2021-01-21. Retrieved 2021-10-24.
  21. ^ a b Ronaghan, Neal (September 5, 2014). "Ufouria: The Saga Review Mini (WiiU) — This NES import game shows it age, but it's still a marvel". Nintendo World Report. NINWR, LLC. Archived from the original on 2020-06-10. Retrieved 2021-10-24.
  22. ^ a b Holmes, Jonathan (August 31, 2010). "Review: Ufouria: The Saga (Wii Virtual Console)". Destructoid. Enthusiast Gaming. Archived from the original on 2021-10-25. Retrieved 2021-10-24.
  23. ^ a b Brown, Luke (September 20, 2021). "Square Roots: Ufouria: The Saga — A forgotten NES diamond in the rough". Nintendojo. Archived from the original on 2021-02-27. Retrieved 2021-10-24.
  24. ^
    USgamer. Gamer Network. Archived
    from the original on 2021-08-29. Retrieved 2021-10-24.
  25. ^ "Takusan Hebereke | DPCX-5039". vgmdb.net. VGMdb. Archived from the original on 2021-11-07. Retrieved 2021-11-25.
  26. ^ Verdin, Guillaume (March 17, 2013). "Nouvelle traduction en anglais de Hebereke sur Famicom". MO5.com [fr] (in French). Association MO5.COM. Archived from the original on 2021-11-04. Retrieved 2021-11-25.
  27. ^ "SUNSOFT MUSIC COLLECTION Vol.3 | WM-0684~6". vgmdb.net. VGMdb. Archived from the original on 2021-11-07. Retrieved 2021-11-25.
  28. ^ Armadylo (March 23, 2021). "Ufouria: The Saga (US prototype)". hiddenpalace.org. Archived from the original on 2021-06-09. Retrieved 2021-10-25.
  29. ^ "メモリアル☆シリーズ サンソフト VOL.5". PlayStation Official Site Software Catalog (in Japanese). Sony Interactive Entertainment. 2021. Archived from the original on 2021-10-25. Retrieved 2021-10-25.
  30. ^ "メモリアル☆シリーズ サンソフト Vol.5". PlayStation Official Site Software Catalog (in Japanese). Sony Interactive Entertainment. 2021. Archived from the original on 2021-02-28. Retrieved 2021-10-25.
  31. ^ Sei, Sekiguchi (August 18, 2003). "「いっき」や「上海」など名作ゲームがiアプリで登場". K-Tai Watch (in Japanese). Impress Corporation. Archived from the original on 2018-12-30. Retrieved 2021-10-25.
  32. ^ "プロジェクトEGG，「へべれけ」を含むサンソフト3タイトルをリリース". 4Gamer.net (in Japanese). Aetas Inc. April 20, 2010. Archived from the original on 2010-04-23. Retrieved 2021-10-25.
  33. ^ Fletcher, J. (April 23, 2010). "Rare NES game 'Ufouria' rated by OFLC, Virtual Console release possible". Engadget. Weblogs, Inc. Archived from the original on 2021-10-25. Retrieved 2021-10-25.
  34. ^ Tsukui, Kazuhito (July 17, 2013). "当時のカセットはプレミア価格『へべれけ』3DSバーチャルコンソールで配信決定". Inside Games [ja] (in Japanese). IID, Inc. [ja]. Archived from the original on 2016-04-07. Retrieved 2021-10-25.
  35. ^ Whritenour, Jacob (July 24, 2014). "Ufouria: The Saga Added to Wii U eShop". Hardcore Gamer. Hardcore Gamer LLC. Archived from the original on 2021-10-25. Retrieved 2021-10-25.
  36. ^ Tsukui, Kazuhito (January 21, 2015). "Wii Uバーチャルコンソール1月28日配信タイトル ― 『ラストバイブルIII』『へべれけ』の2本". Inside Games [ja] (in Japanese). IID, Inc. [ja]. Archived from the original on 2016-07-03. Retrieved 2021-10-25.
  37. ^ "Ufouria: The Saga coming to PS4, Xbox One, Switch, and PC in 2023". 18 August 2022.
  38. ^
    Hobby Consolas (in Spanish). No. 12. Hobby Press. pp. 70–71. Archived
    from the original on 2021-10-25. Retrieved 2021-10-25.
  39. ^ a b Greppi, Antonio (September 1992). "Consolas: Ufouria — Encuentra la tierra prometida (NES: aventura)". Superjuegos [es] (in Spanish). No. 5. Grupo Zeta. pp. 42–43.
  40. ^
    Markt & Technik
    . p. 113.
  41. ^ a b "Nintendo: Ufouria — Pikkuvintiö Etsii Kavereita". Nintendo Lehti [fi] (Power Player [supplement]) (in Finnish). No. 11–12. Semic [fi]. November–December 1992. p. 31.
  42. ^ M. Thomas, Lucas (August 23, 2021). "Ufouria: The Saga Review — Bop 'til you drop". IGN. Ziff Davis. Archived from the original on 2016-10-08. Retrieved 2021-10-24.
  43. ^ "Review: Ufouria: The Saga | Wii (Virtual Console) — Un Metroid para los más pequeños". RetroManiac Magazine (in Spanish). No. 1. RetroManiac. August 30, 2010. p. 76.
  44. ^ "Ufouria: The Saga 2 launches in early 2024". Gematsu. 2023-10-24. Retrieved 2023-10-24.
  45. ^ "Ufouria: The Saga 2 launches February 29, 2024 for Switch and PC, later for PS5 and Xbox Series". Gematsu. 2023-11-10. Retrieved 2023-11-10.
  46. ^ "Ufouria: The Saga 2 launches March 1 worldwide for PS5, Xbox Series, Switch, and PC". Gematsu. 2024-01-30. Retrieved 2024-01-31.

External links

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Ufouria:_The_Saga&oldid=1216272023"