Hebereke[a] 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 WiiVirtual 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.
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]
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.
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]
Hebe appears as art on a snowboard in the Sunsoft-published dating sim Photo Genic for the PC-98, PlayStation, and Saturn.
The characters from Hebereke 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
A sample of the Hebereke comic strip
Comic strip
Ryōji Uchimichi, the series' character designer, drew a yonkomamanga 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,[c][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,[d] 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[e] 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
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)
Hebe (へべ), known in Ufouria as Bop-Louie, is a small white albinopenguin (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)[f]
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[g] 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)[h]
Sukezaemon (助左衛門), 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).
Jennifer (ヂェニファー[i], Jenifā[j]), 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).[k][l]
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).[m][n]
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).[o]
^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.
^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.
^Female third-person pronouns would be used for consistency purposes, especially with her Hebereke series appearance.
^Sometimes written as 私 (often pronounced as わたし, romanized as "watashi") and historically, 厶.
^Also romanized as "Djenifā" due to romanization differences.
^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.
^In Hashire Hebereke, he instead uses either "ore" (俺) or "oresama" (俺様).
^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.
^In the original Hebereke, he instead uses "ore" (俺).
^ abMakimoto, 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.
