Compati Hero

Last updated
Compati Hero
Compati Hero.jpg
Genre(s) Sports, platform, role-playing, strategy, racing
Developer(s) Various
Publisher(s)
Platform(s) Family Computer, Super Famicom, Game Boy, Game Boy Color, Sega Pico, PlayStation, GameCube, Dreamcast, PlayStation Portable, Nintendo 3DS, PlayStation 3, PlayStation Vita
First releaseSD Battle Ōzumō: Heisei Hero Basho
April 20, 1990
Latest releaseLost Heroes 2
February 2, 2015

Compati Hero [a] [b] is a video game series published in Japan by Banpresto and Bandai Namco Entertainment that began in 1990 and features 16 crossover teams between Ultraman, Kamen Rider (also known as Masked Rider) and Gundam. Characters from other franchises have also been featured in some of the initial games, as well as in the Compati Sports series, such as Mazinger, Getter Robo, Devilman and Godzilla.

Contents

It was the first video game series to involve a crossover between animated giant robots and live action tokusatsu heroes from different established franchises. [1] [2] The series makes this possible by using caricaturized versions of the characters (officially referred to as "SD" or "super deformed" characters), which allowed the different heroes and villains to co-exist and interact with each other without the need to reconcile their contrasting styles, settings, or sizes. This also made them appear cute. The first game in the series, SD Battle Ōzumō: Heisei Hero Basho for the Famicom, which mixed franchises that were originally licensed to Popy, was developed as a congratulatory present to Yukimasa Sugiura when he was promoted to president of Banpresto at the time, [1] and was soon followed by series of spin-offs and related games featuring the same cast of characters that developed into the Compati Hero Series. The crossover was also possible due to Banpresto's parent company Bandai holding the merchandising rights for all the properties associated with the series.

The series was successful with children thanks to the SD Gundam craze, but after the release of Charinko Hero for the GameCube, there were no new games afterward for nearly eight years. Banpresto released a new game in the series titled Lost Heroes for the Nintendo 3DS and the PlayStation Portable in September 2012.

List of video games

The Great Battle

Early games
Main series
Gaiden series
Derivative games

Compati Sports Series

Individual games
Battle Dodgeball series
Battle Soccer series
Super Pachinko Taisen series

RPG

Notes

  1. ↑ Japanese: コンパチヒーローシリーズ, Hepburn: Konpachi Hīrō Shirīzu
  2. ↑ "Compati" is short for "Compatible"

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References

  1. 1 2 Hamamura, Hirokazu. 『浜村通信 ゲーム業界を読み解く』 (Hanamura Tsūshin: Gēmu Gyōkai o Yomitoku, "Hanamura Journal: Deciphering the Video Game Industry") (in Japanese). Enterbrain. pp. 203–206.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Lopes, Gonçalo (12 March 2018). "Zany Super Famicom Great Battle Series Gets Translated Into English". Nintendo Life (in Japanese). Gamer Network. Archived from the original on 24 September 2018. Retrieved 6 July 2019.
  3. ↑ James, Thomas (14 November 2014). "Lost Heroes 2's character lineup, gameplay systems unveiled". Gematsu. Archived from the original on 16 December 2019. Retrieved 4 August 2020.
  4. ↑ Sherman, Jeniffer (16 November 2011). "Gundam, Ultraman, Kamen Rider Play Dodgeball Again on PSP". Anime News Network . Archived from the original on 24 October 2019.
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