Genre(s)Various
Developer(s)Sunsoft
Success
Publisher(s)Sunsoft
Platform(s)Family Computer, Arcade, Super Famicom, Sega Saturn, PlayStation
First releaseHebereke
September 20, 1991
Latest releaseHebereke Station Popoitto
May 26, 1995

Hebereke[lower-alpha 1] 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. Although there are 9 games in the series, only 3 of them were released outside of Japan: Ufouria: The Saga for the NES, Hebereke's Popoon for the SNES, and Hebereke's Popoitto for the SNES, PlayStation, and Sega Saturn. All three of these games were only released in Japan and Europe, with no North American release, although Ufouria: The Saga would be released on the Wii Virtual Console in North America almost 18 years later, and on the Wii U Virtual Console in North America almost 22 years later.

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 alongside Mr. Gimmick due to its quirky character design; 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]

Title Developer Platform(s) Genre Release date Notes
Hebereke
(Ufouria: The Saga)		 FC/NESSunsoft

i-modeSpace Out

 NES/Famicom
i-mode[1]		 Action-adventure FCSeptember 20, 1991

NESNovember 19, 1992
i-modeAugust 18, 2003

 Re-released on PlayStation with Rough World as Sunsoft Memorial Vol.5, which itself, was later re-released on the PlayStation Network in Japan on November 24, 2010.[2][3]

Ufouria was originally planned to be released in America, but was cancelled alongside Mr. Gimmick due to its quirky character design, though David Siller, Sunsoft of America's former vice president of development, stated both would have been commercial successes.[4] In 2010, the game was released on the Wii's Virtual Console service in both the PAL region and North America, marking it the first Hebereke game to be released in the latter region.[5]

Hebereke's Popoon SFC/SNESFalcon[6]
ArcadeSuccess		 SFC/SNES
i-mode[1]		 Puzzle SFCDecember 22, 1993

SNES1994
i-modec. 2003

 This is the first Hebereke game to keep the Japanese character designs in PAL regions.
Sugoi Hebereke SFCSunsoft, OLM

i-modeSpace Out

 SFC
i-mode[1]		 Fighting SFCMarch 11, 1994

i-mode2003

 This is the only Hebereke game to be rereleased via the Nintendo Switch Online service.[7]
Hebereke no Oishii Puzzle wa Irimasen ka SFCFalcon[6] SFC Puzzle August 31, 1994 This game is actually a port of Sunsoft's arcade game Oishii Puzzle wa Irimasen ka.

The title roughly translates to "Don't You Need Hebereke's Delicious Puzzle?".

Hashire Hebereke Sunsoft SFC Foot-racing
(racing sub-genre)		 December 22, 1994 This is the only Hebereke geme to have isometric gameplay.
Popoitto Hebereke
(Hebereke's Popoitto)		 PS1/SaturnSuccess

SFC/SNESSunsoft
i-modeSpace Out

 PlayStation
Saturn
SFC/SNES
i-mode[1]		 Puzzle Saturn (JPN)March 3, 1995

Saturn (PAL)1995
PS1 (JPN)May 26, 1995
PS1 (EUR)March 1, 1996
SFCJuly 28, 1995
SNESSeptember 30, 1995
i-modec. 2003

 The Japanese PlayStation version was titled Hebereke Station Popoitto, and was eventually re-released on June 3, 1999 and October 4, 2001 under the "SunKore Best" and "Value 1500" labels, respectively.
O-Chan no Oekaki Logic Sunsoft[lower-alpha 2]

i-modeSpace Out

 PlayStation
Saturn
SFC/SNES
Palm OS
i-mode		 Puzzle PS1September 9, 1995

SaturnNovember 17, 1995
SFCDecember 1, 1995
Palm OS/i-mode2002

 Japanese PlayStation version re-released on October 1, 1998 and January 11, 2001 under the "SunKore Best" and "Value 1500" labels, respectively.
O-Chan no Oekaki Logic 2 Sunsoft PlayStation
WonderSwan		 Puzzle PS1September 27, 1996

WSJanuary 6, 2000

 Japanese PlayStation version re-released on July 1, 1999 and January 11, 2001 under the "SunKore Best" and "Value 1500" labels, respectively.

The game was also released on the WonderSwan, albeit with the "2" being dropped from the title.

Hebereke no Pair Pair Wars Sunsoft Neo Geo Puzzle Unreleased

(planned to release in 1996)

 This is the only Hebereke game to be cancelled.[8]
O-Chan no Oekaki Logic 3 Sunsoft PlayStation Puzzle January 11, 2001 Unlike its predecessors, it was only re-released under the "Value 1500" label.

Despite it being the third in the series, it actually uses the first game's engine, lacking the additions from the second game.

O-Chan no Oekaki desu wa[9] Space Out i-mode[1] Puzzle 2004 The game is a remake of the original O-Chan no Oekaki Logic.
Hebereke 2
(Ufouria: The Saga 2)[10][11]		 Sunsoft Nintendo Switch Action-adventure February 29, 2024 First sequel to Hebereke, and the first game in the franchise in 25 years since Popoitto Hebereke.

Cameos

  • The Hebereke characters made a cameo appearance in Sunsoft's Mega Drive port of Lemmings, appearing in level 18 of the "Sunsoft" setting.
  • O-Chan appears on one of the courts in Yeh Yeh Tennis (Wai Wai Tennis 2 in Japan) for the PlayStation.
  • Hebereke was listed as a graphics designer in the credits of Journey to Silius in 1990.[12]
  • The characters from Hebereke also made an appearance in Barcode World, along with other Sunsoft characters, but only as cards that come with the game.
  • Hebe appears as a random encounter in Benkei Gaiden: Suna no Shō, having the highest granting experience in the entire game.
  • In Honō no Tōkyūji: Dodge Danpei, there is an extra secret password, HEBE, that gives the player a menu to view all game cutscenes, including the ending.[13]
  • In the Shanghai series, the Hebereke characters made a cameo appearance in its mobile spin-off entry, Shanghai Musume: Mahjong Girls.
  • The characters from Hebereke appeared as guest characters as downloadable content in the remake of Penguin Wars for the Nintendo Switch on 2017 in Japan.[14]

Merchandise

Sample comic strip from the Hebereke manga. The strip shows Jennifer inflating a Popoon like a balloon, only to lest lost by flying on to the sky.
A sample of the Hebereke comic strip.

Comic strip

Ryōji Uchimichi, the series' character designer, drew a yonkoma manga series based on the games that were serialized by Tokuma Shoten in the Japanese magazine Family Computer Magazine (also known as "Famimaga" for short) since September 6, 1991.[15] On September 3, 1993, the strip had its title changed to Sugoi Hebereke (すごい へべれけ), which was eventually used for a fighting game for the Super Famicom. On September 30, 1995, the first two years' worth of strips were reprinted in a collection titled Hebereke no Hon[lower-alpha 3],[15][16] but the remaining strips were never republished. It was eventually christened Pemopemo (ぺもぺも) on April 21, 1997, before getting cancelled on March 20, 1998, following the discontinuation of Famimaga.[15]

A yonkoma manga series based on the Hebereke games, titled Dai Eppyō[lower-alpha 4], was released on August 12, 2013, being published by Comic Market in Japan.[17]

Original soundtrack

On June 25, 1994, a soundtrack titled Takusan Hebereke[lower-alpha 5] was released, published by DATAM Polystar.[15] It featured original versions of the music from the first three Hebereke games: Hebereke, Hebereke's Popoon and Sugoi Hebereke. It also includes those from another Sunsoft game, Gimmick! (known in Europe as Mr. Gimmick). The soundtrack was composed by Naoki Kodaka, Phaseout & Mutec, and Masashi Kageyama, and was arranged by Hitoshi Sakimoto.

Characters

Hebereke's cast of chacters, clockwise top-left: Unyon, Hebe, Utsujin, Sukezaemon, Pen-Chan, Jennifer, Muu-neko, Kabuo, and O-Chan.
The Hebereke cast.

The series sports characters and graphics that are typically Japanese cuteness in design, done in the style of Bomberman, The New Zealand Story, and particularly Hello Kitty.

The series primarily involves a cast of four main characters: Hebe, O-Chan, Sukezaemon, and Jennifer. It also involves four notable minor characters: Bobodori, Pen-Chan, Utsujin, and Unyohn.

Major characters

Hebe[18] (sometimes referred to as "Hebereke", Bop-Louie in Ufouria)

Voiced by: Megumi Hayashibara

Hebe (へべ), known in Ufouria as Bop-Louie, is a small white albino penguin (a living snowman in Ufouria). He is seen wearing a blue knit cap with a white pom-pom in it. He is the fastest in terms of speed, but he doesn't jump as high, can't walk on ice, and also cannot swim.[18] He could extend his neck to attack enemies using the Kubidokkan attack.[18] He can also climb using a suction cup.[18] He usually end his sentences with "pyō" (ぴょー). His first-person pronoun in Japanese is "wachi" (わち)[lower-alpha 6].

O-Chan (Freeon-Leon in Ufouria)

Voiced by: Mika Kanai

O-Chan (おーちゃん, Ōchan), known in Ufouria as Freeon-Leon, is a little girl dressed with a cat suit (a male lizard in Ufouria). Unlike Hebe, she[lower-alpha 7] is able to swim in water and safely walk on ice without slipping.[18] She has a high-flying personality and has a high laugh.[18] Her first-person pronoun in Japanese is "watakushi" (わたくし)[lower-alpha 8].

Sukezaemon (Shades in Ufouria)

Voiced by: Norio Wakamoto

Sukezaemon (助左衛門（すけざえもん）), known in Ufouria as Shades, is a white ghost with black sunglasses and a red winged cap. With his light body, he can drift in the air for a long time.[18] He also has a serious personality and is moslty polite.[18] His first-person pronoun in Japanese is "sessha" (拙者（せっしゃ）).

Jennifer (Gil in Ufouria)

Voiced by: Shigeru Chiba

Jennifer (ヂェニファー（ぢぇにふぁー）[lower-alpha 9], Jenifā[lower-alpha 10]), known in Ufouria as Gil, is a green anglerfish with a yellow antenna. He's an underwater expert, being able to walk underwater.[18] He speaks badly, but is kind-tempered.[18] His first-person pronoun in Japanese is "oira" (オイラ（おいら）).[lower-alpha 11][lower-alpha 12]

Minor characters

Bobodori

Voiced by: Shigeru Chiba

Bobodori (ぼーぼーどり, Bōbōdori) is a male purple bird. His first-person pronoun in Japanese is "oira" (オイラ（おいら）).[lower-alpha 13][lower-alpha 14]

Pen-Chan

Voiced by: Megumi Hayashibara

Pen-Chan (ぺんちゃん) is a little girl dressed with a penguin suit. She doesn't have a first person pronoun in Japanese, instead using her name.

Utsujin

Voiced by: Norio Wakamoto

Utsujin (うつーじん, Utsūjin) is a male orange cat wearing an alien suit, being part of the Muu Cat Brothers clan. He usually starts his sentences with "muū" (むうー). He doesn't have a first person pronoun in Japanese, instead using Utsū (うつー), an abbreviation of his name.

Unyohn

Voiced by: Norio Wakamoto

Unyohn (うにょーん, Unyōn) is an alien wearing a helmet. His color palette depends on the game. His first-person pronoun in Japanese is "washi" (わし).[lower-alpha 15]

Notes

  1. ↑ Japanese: へべれけ, Japanese pronunciation: [hebeɾeke]
  2. ↑ Although some sources claim the game was made by Game Studio, the game was actually developed by Sunsoft themselves. In fact, the staff roll only lists Sunsoft employees and Game Studio's site had no mentions of the game, thus debunking this rumor.
  3. ↑ Japanese: へべれけのほん, lit. The Book of Hebereke
  4. ↑ Japanese: だいえっぴょー, lit. Big Eppyō
  5. ↑ Japanese: たくさんへべれけ, lit. A Lot of Hebereke
  6. ↑ This first-person pronoun is most likely made-up, as there's no other media character that uses it, not counting the ones that use わちし (wachishi), and it shouldn't be confused with わし (washi), with that first-person pronoun instead being used by characters of old age.
  7. ↑ Female third-person pronouns would be used for consistency purposes, especially with her Hebereke series appearance.
  8. ↑ Sometimes written as 私 (often pronounced as わたし, romanized as "watashi") and historically, 厶.
  9. ↑ Sometimes written as ジェニファー（じぇにふぁー）
  10. ↑ Also romanized as "Djenifā" due to romanization differences.
  11. ↑ It is also written as 己等, though that word might also be pronounced as おれら (orera), depending on the context it was used.
  12. ↑ In Hashire Hebereke, he instead uses either "ore" (俺（おれ）) or "oresama" (俺様（おれさま）).
  13. ↑ As was the case with Jennifer, it is also written as 己等, though that word might also be pronounced as おれら (orera), depending on the context it was used.
  14. ↑ In the original Hebereke, he instead uses "ore" (俺（おれ）).
  15. ↑ In Hashire Hebereke, he instead uses "oresama" (俺様（おれさま）).

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "お手軽ゲーム満載！ケータイサイト「上海ｉパズル」" [Easy full loading games! Mobile Site "ShanghaiｉPuzzle"]. Sunsoft's official website (in Japanese). Archived from the original on January 18, 2021.
  2. ↑ "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.
  3. ↑ "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.
  4. ↑ Strangman, Rob (July 6, 2014). The OPCFG Interview with David Siller. Lulu.com. pp. 391–396. ISBN 9781312104839. Archived from the original on 2021-10-25. Retrieved 2021-10-25. {{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)
  5. ↑ van Duyn, Marcel (July 5, 2010). "Ufouria: The Saga Review (NES) — Easy Mode Metroid". Nintendo Life. Nlife Media. Archived from the original on 2021-01-21. Retrieved 2021-10-24.
  6. 1 2 Makimoto, Takashi (August 27, 2021). "黎明期のPCゲーム開発記 (最終回)" [The History of Computer Game Development (Finale)]. note (in Japanese). Retrieved March 15, 2022.
  7. ↑ "「くにおくんのドッジボール」「すごいへべれけ」など5タイトルが「ファミコン＆スーファミ Nintendo Switch Online」で12月18日に登場" [5 titles such as "Kunio-kun's Dodge Ball", "Amazing Hebereke", etc. are coming to "Famicom and Super Famicom - Nintendo Switch Online" this December 18]. 4Gamer.net (in Japanese). December 15, 2020.
  8. ↑ https://www.timeextension.com/news/2023/08/sunsoft-releasing-ost-of-cancelled-neo-geo-hebereke-game-in-japan
  9. ↑ "サンソフト携帯サイト情報／iモード・NTTドコモ「上海iパズル」（SUNSOFT）" [Sunsoft's mobile site information | i-mode - NTT DoCoMo "Shanghai Puzzle" (SUNSOFT)]. Sunsoft's official site (in Japanese). Archived from the original on February 9, 2018.
  10. ↑ https://www.gematsu.com/2023/07/sunsoft-announces-bitsummit-lets-go-lineup-ufouria-the-saga-2-shanghai-legend-and-loopin-loopin
  11. ↑ https://www.famitsu.com/news/202307/07308656.html
  12. ↑ Sunsoft (1990). Journey to Silius. Scene: Staff Roll. Graphic designer [sic]: You-ri, Idaten, Hebereke, N. Habari, Masashi
  13. ↑ Sunsoft (March 28, 1992). Honō no Tōkyūji: Dodge Danpei. Scene: Ending image. Thanks for playing!! Here's a secret command!! The password is HEBE!!
  14. ↑ "『ぺんぎんくんギラギラWARS』公式サイト" ["Penguin Wars" Official Site]. City Connection (in Japanese). Retrieved March 15, 2022.
  15. 1 2 3 4 "年表" [History]. Hebereke no Koto. Archived from the original on April 4, 2022. Retrieved March 15, 2022.
  16. ↑ Ucchii (1995). Hebereke no Hon (in Japanese). Tokuma Shoten. ISBN 978-4-19-790013-8.
  17. ↑ "コミックマーケット84" [Comic Market 84]. FC2 (in Japanese). August 12, 2013. Retrieved March 15, 2022.
  18. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 "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" [Introduction to the Hebereke characters: Hebe, O-Chan, Sukezaemon and Jennifer]. Sunsoft's official website (in Japanese). May 21, 2008. Retrieved January 26, 2010.
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