Hanzou Hattori (World Heroes)

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Hanzou Hattori
Hanzou in Neo Geo Battle Coliseum
Game series	World Heroes series
First game	World Heroes
In-Universe Information
Birthplace	Japan
Blood type	B
Fighting style	Ninjitsu

Hanzou Hattori (服部　半蔵, Hanzou Hattori^?) is a fictional character designed for the World Heroes fighting game series. He is considered the main character and uses many moves similar to Ryu from Street Fighter series which is a common occurrence in fighting games. Hanzo also appeared in Neo Geo Battle Coliseum as a playable character.

1 Special Techniques
2 Appearances
3 Trivia
4 Sources
5 See also

[edit] Special Techniques

Rekko Zan (all)

Hanzou lashes out with his Masamune, creating a star shaped energy projectile to attack his opponent. In NGBC the projectile is much larger.

Double Rekko Zan (all)

Similar to his Rekko Zan except Hanzou throws out multiple projectiles (the amount varies depending how it is performed) that covers a wider area, does more damage and has a bigger chance of knocking the enemy down. In NGBC the Double Rekko Zan requires half a stock worth of super meter to throw out and there's a slight delay between the two projectiles rather than the two coming out together as a single attack. In NGBC Hanzou can't throw out more than two in at one time however.

Kouryu Ha (all)

Hanzou leaps into the air while lashing out his sword upwards creating a blue energy spiral around him. While this attack is an incredibly effective anti-air attack and combo finisher it can also be used to counter other attacks such as projectiles because Hanzou is invincible on the way up once the dragon shaped energy has formed. In later games the Kouryu Ha was changed to follow unorthodox trajectory patterns making it somewhat difficult for a blocking opponent to counter Hanzou on the way down. In World Heroes Perfect Hanzou can use an enhanced version of this attack when he has a full meter; this will make the energy change colors and yield several successive hits for much greater damage.

Ninpoh Kohrin Kazan (all)

During this attack Hanzou leaps into the air and spins horizontally through the air almost like a throwing star with both hands and his blade extended. In World Heroes 1 and 2 this attack would knock an opponent down instantly but it could easily be crouched under, often making it a risky move to pull on stages with hazards, such as spiked walls, on them. From World Heroes 2 Jet an onwards Hanzou can change the trajectory and the level of which the attack hits rather drastically making it that much harder to dodge.

Ninja Leg Lariat (WH2/Jet/Perfect/NGBC)

In World Heroes 2 Hanzou gains this move which serves as an alternative to his Kouryu Ha for anti-air purposes and also separates him from his counterpart Fuuma who had other changes made to him. The Ninja Leg Lariat has a simpler command, comes out much faster and has more forward arch but it cannot pass through attacks or projectiles and it's easy for the opponent to counter if they block it. Also it couldn't hit standing opponents normally. In World Heroes 2 Jet the Ninja Leg Lariat was changed to get even more forward trajectory while not traveling nearly as high off the ground. This made the lariat easier to counter with attacks normal attacks but instead much safer for Hanzou to use against blocking opponents. In addition could now hit standing both as well as crouching opponents. In NGBC Hanzou gains an additional version of the same move, which includes three kicks in rapid succession. The first one knocks the opponent into the air and the following two will combo from it. This makes for a great combo finisher but a poor anti-air as Hanzou will risks being left wide open as he will perform all kicks regardless of whether the first one hits or not.

Mijin Kakure no Jitsu / Mijin Komoru no Subi / Teleport (Jet/Perfect/NGBC)

In Jet Hanzou was given yet another new special move which is commonly refereed to merely as the teleport maneuver rather than it's full name which varies depending on the game. Using the teleport makes Hanzou float into the air then vanish in a flash only to reappear a moment later in a new location. It is good for getting out of corners but while Hanzou is quite open to attacks if the opponent anticipates the teleport he can perform various aerial attacks (such as his Izuna Giri; mentioned below) instantly from reappearing in order to defend himself. In World Heroes Perfect this move got a considerable boost in usefulness by giving Hanzou more locations to teleport to (depending on the button) and in NGBC it was enhanced even further by cutting down the execution time considerably. These additions allow an experienced player to use the teleport to as an offensive maneuver.

Izuna Giri (Jet/Perfect/NGBC)

The Izuna Giri is an aerial command attack that has Hanzou change his falling arch in mid-air to dive vertically straight downwards with his Masamune in both hands to deliver a stab. Even if the attack is blocked Hanzou will bounce off the opponent in different directions, depending on whether it hit them in the front or back, making the move more difficult to counter.

Double Jump (WH1/WH2/Jet/Perfect)

Both Hanzou and Fuuma can perform an additional jump in mid-air without the aid of a wall, this makes their jump-ins extremely difficult to anticipate at times. Hanzou can further capitalize on this by using his Izuna Giri or Slice of the Shimmering Light (described below) to change trajectory a second time. Both Hanzou and Fuuma lost their double jump in NGBC for the sake of character balance; instead they gained the universal super jump which is present in that game.

Iga Ninja Okugi Hachi Kadodan Hikari Kiri (NGBC)

A new move exclusive to NGBC which serves as Hanzou’s level 1 super. It starts out as a normal Reppu Zan but upon connecting with the opponent Hanzou will throw several additional Reppu Zan’s to combo from it causing considerable damage from any range. Interestingly enough this attack cannot be reflected as the in the case of the normal Reppu Zan while at the same time it can be beaten by any normal projectile in the game.

Iga Ninja Okugi Banten Senkoujin / Slice the Shimmering Light (Perfect/NGBC)

This is Hanzou's main super attack, which he gained in World Heroes Perfect. Hanzou will jump back and dive diagonally down towards his opponent in a swooping manner. If it connects Hanzou will perform an automatic combo consisting of several teleporting slices for big damage. In NGBC this super requires two levels to use and there’s only has one version of the move. Instead Hanzou can perform the move at any time while he’s in the air, even if he’s teleporting.

[edit] Appearances

World Heroes
World Heroes 2
World Heroes 2 Jet
World Heroes Perfect
NeoGeo Battle Coliseum

[edit] Trivia

He is based on the real Hattori Hanzo. He was supposedly killed by the real Fuuma Kotaro and as such, Hanzou and Fuuma are portrayed as rivals in the game.
Hanzou appears as a cameo in KOF: Maximum Impact 2 in the NeoGeo Arcade Land secret stage hiding behind arcade machines.
He also appears as one of the new cards featured in SNK vs. Capcom: Card Fighters DS. In this game, appears as a SNK special character card and also as an Action card.
Hanzou appears mentionated in Fuuma's ending in Aggressors of Dark Kombat
Originally, in the first World Heroes game, Hanzou's name was spelled as "Hanzo" but later in the sequels, an additional "u" was added, possibly to avoid confusion with the Samurai Shodown version of Hanzo.

[edit] Sources

The manuals for the AES versions of the World Heroes games as well as both the Japanese and English language manuals for NeoGeo Battle Coliseum on the Playstation 2.