| Genres | Various |
|---|---|
| Developers | Sunsoft Tokai Engineering Success |
| Publishers | Sunsoft |
| Platforms | Family Computer, Arcade, Super Famicom, Sega Saturn, PlayStation |
| Platform of origin | Family Computer |
| First release | Hebereke September 20, 1991 |
| Latest release | Hebereke Station Popoitto May 26, 1995 |
Hebereke (へべれけ) 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.
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 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.
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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].
A game titled Hebereke's Pair Pair Wars was developed to be released on Neo-Geo MVS-1 Formatted Arcade machines in 1996, but the prototype was never fully completed.
Uchimich "Ucchii" Ryoji, the series' character designer, drew a series of four-panel strips based on the games that were serialized by Tokuma Shoten in the Japanese magazine Family Computer Magazine (also known as "Famimaga" for short). During publication, the strip had its title changed to Pemopemo, only to be changed back to Hebereke. The first two years' worth of strips were reprinted in a collection titled Hebereke no Hon[3], but the remaining strips were never republished. The comic was canceled in 1998, after the magazine changed its name to Famimaga 64.
A soundtrack titled Takusan Hebereke was released that features original versions of the music from the first three Hebereke games: Hebereke, Hebereke no Popoon and Sugoi Hebereke. The soundtrack also includes original versions of songs from another Sunsoft game, Gimmick! (known in Scandinavia as Mr. Gimmick). The soundtrack was composed by Naoki Kodaka, Phaseout & MuteC, Masashi Kageyama and arranged by Hitoshi Sakimoto. It was published by DATAM Polystar and released on June 25, 1994.
The series sports characters and graphics that are typically Japanese cuteness in design, done in the style of Bomberman, The New Zealand Story, Kirby and particularly Hello Kitty. The series primarily involves a cast of four main characters and four minor characters.
Hebe[4] (sometimes referred to as "Hebereke", Bop-Louie in Ufouria)
O-Chan (Freeon-Leon in Ufouria)
Sukezaemon (Shades in Ufouria)
Jennifer (Gil in Ufouria)
Boo
Pen
Utsu
Unyo