World Heroes Perfect stands out from other fighters thanks to its unusual cast and vibrant atmosphere, and is without a doubt the best version in the entire series. The action is fluid and responsive and the simplified super move system makes it easy to understand for newcomers. The only real criticism is that while World Heroes Perfect refines the franchise after some inconsistent early entries, it was never iterated upon and even by 1995 standards it was hardly pushing the envelope of the genre. Fans of the series will no doubt be pleased, but those coming to the series without any prior experience many want to check out titles like King of Fighters '98 and Samurai Shodown IV before investing in this.

What you won't get is much personality or balance. The game undersells its "real people from history" basis; indeed, some of them I didn't even recognise at first. Their fighting styles are only vaguely reminscient of their real-world personalities, too, which is disappointing (aside from the special attacks, that are spot on). More critically, there are some characters with spammy attacks that make the game far too easy, and other characters that are next to useless. Given that the game already has a small roster, this doesn't do much to help its long term value.

World Heroes Perfect is an enjoyable and well executed 2D fighting game of the mid-90s that features impressive visuals and a varied cast with some impressive special moves. Even if it does not reinvent the genre or doesn't break any significant grounds, it's still a fun experience to be enjoyed by fans of fighting games.