Collection essentials #109: Hebereke / Ufouria: The Saga (NES)

With the huge success of Mario dawned the era of mascots, where many companies wanted a short and cute character, usually from a platformer, to be their equivalent of Mario, as a face of their company. Hebereke is Sunsoft’s introduction of one such mascot, introducing Hebereke (or “Hebe”) the penguin along with his three friends. They would star in a game with a strange, quirky, cartoony world distinct from Mario’s. For example, in the photo, you’ll see a block face drooling, and you actually have to climb up the drool from below to get to where I am in the photo. That’s the kind of strange we’re talking about. Unfortunately, Sunsoft’s American division thought that the game was a little too strange and quirky for the American market, and it didn’t get a North American release. Oops. The game did see a release in Europe, though, under the name “Ufouria: The Saga” with a few aesthetic changes, though the game only got a small print run over there. But in Japan, Hebereke did indeed go on to be a Sunsoft mascot throughout the ‘90s.

Sunsoft had already made the great Blaster Master before, which had drawn inspiration from Nintendo’s Metroid in that it gave the player a series of levels that they could freely move between, with the player gaining access to more of the game as they acquired more abilities. Hebereke builds on that foundation, as the game is essentially one enormous level. You start out the game only playing as Hebereke, but eventually he rescues his three friends, and each of them has their own unique abilities that help them traverse different parts of the map. The player can freely switch between these different characters. And the game is, indeed, a lot of fun. Though one odd gameplay quirk is that, when you jump, you have to hold “down” on the d-pad in order to stomp on enemies and deal them damage, unlike Mario where such a thing is automatic. Hebereke is definitely easier and more forgiving than Metroid and Blaster Master, which is why I’ve beaten this game and not those other two. It’s not the best “Metroidvania” game in the world, but it certainly has a unique charm and vibe that helps it stand out and makes it worth playing.

Even though Hebereke went on to be a Sunsoft mascot, perhaps surprisingly, the rest of the Hebereke games that came afterward were of completely different genres. They didn’t try to build on the wonderful gameplay foundation of the original. However, coincidentally, “Ufouria 2” is coming out next month on modern systems, finally providing an actual sequel to the first game. Will it be good? I have no idea, but I’ll certainly have my eye on it.

Years later, in 2010, the European release of this game received a digital Virtual Console release worldwide on the Nintendo Wii (and later the Wii U), its only release in North America. That’s the version that I bought and played, and really enjoyed. Sadly the Virtual Console shop for both Wii systems has been taken down, so there is currently no way to buy it digitally. However, apparently Sunsoft plans to release the original Ufouria on modern platforms at some point, so give it a try if and when they do!