Heroes

The logo of the game.

***Heroes***, also known as ***Heroes 1***, ***Heroes (2012)***, ***Jason's Adventure: Heroes*** or ***Heroes: Beginning*** (in PAL regions), is a 2012 platformer beat-’em-up video game developed by Dimps and published by Imaginate, released on September 25th, 2012.

*Heroes 1* marks the *Heroes* franchise's official debut, the first ever game of the *Heroes* franchise and a spiritual successor to *Jason's Adventure*, Imaginate's first ever game. From that point on, Heroes became its own franchise and dropped out of the Jason's Adventure tagline.

Upon release, it received universal acclaim where gamers and critics loved the overall scenario of the game and compared it to previous beat 'em up games such as Scott Pilgrim.

## Overview

The game tells the tale of a powerful and adventurous boy named Jason, as he lives a life being normal and hangs out with his friends Cole and Dylan. One day, a teenage girl named Phantazia was kidnapped by the evil Wrathen. Another teenage girl named Lime Princess (real name Sydney) tries to get her back but failed. In order to get Phantazia back and save the day, Jason and his friends goes on a quest to catch her back and defeat Wrathen.

## Gameplay

*Heroes 1* takes on a side-scroller view with 2D pixelated graphics that resembles a game from the SNES/Sega Genesis/Game Boy Advance/Neo Geo. There are 2 different versions of the overall gameplay itself: adventure combat and fighting combat. During Jason (and co.)'s adventure, they have the adventure combat mechanic to fight enemies and bosses. In some stages, the mechanic switches to a different mechanic called the fighting combat where the player challenge a opponent. The levels takes on a platformer design with enemies scattered in various areas. There are many items to collect in the game, most of which are hidden. Items include those that increase the player's health or SP.

The goal of *Heroes 1* is to get to the end of level, all the while fighting numerous soldiers, animals, robots and whatnot. You have quite the arsenal of moves to help you out; simple combos, air attacks, the ability to use your fist, feet or budding jewelry staff to hit all nearby enemies (though this consumes the power meter at the bottom of the screen), energy blasts that can be charged up and fired.

Occasionally, the game will change things up by having you soar across the skies on your Cloud Mobile and taking on enemies in the air, or playing a minigame that recalls one of Jason's many exercises.

## Controls

* **Thumbstick/D-pad** = Movement
* **Thumbstick/D-pad (double press)** = Run (can press B during it for a dash attack)
* **A-button** = Jump (hold for some characters who can fly)
* **Thumbstick/D-pad UP + A-button** = Super Jump
* **X-button** = Basic attack (press successively for combos, and can combine with directions such as up or down in midair for other moves depending on the character)
	+ Also, some characters can hit an enemy with a long hitstun/fliching attack and move any direction into them while pressing X to throw them.
* **L-button** = Super Attack or Block (depending on character)
* **R-button** = Special Energy Attack (Hold to charge up; can walk, run and jump while charging but with slower movement until released)
* **Hold R-button and press L-button** = Ultimate combination (only for certain characters)

## Reception

*Heroes 1* received universal acclaim. IGN gave it a 9.1/10 calling it a huge throwback to classic beat 'em up games. GameSpot gave the game a 8/10. EGM marked the game with a 9/10. Destructoid gave it 8/10.

## Trivia

* It is the first game of the *Heroes* series.
* It truly marks the debut of the character Jason.
* Phantazia appeared in the 2 other sequels of this game. Since then, she wasn't seen in future *Heroes* games anymore.
	+ People made theories and speculations of what happened to Phantazia and how she will return. Imaginate debunk these theories and came out saying that in the 3DS version of Heroes Worlds, there is a hidden notebook, which is Lime Princess' and says that she now has a boyfriend and probably won't be dating with Jason. Years later, with many Heroes games released, a member of Imaginate was having thoughts about bringing Phantazia and Lime Princess back.
* Lime Princess was voiced by Taylor Swift until in Heroes Unlimit where she was voiced by Ella Gross.
* With the Unlimit version, *Heroes 1* is backwards compatible with the Dreamlock since September 25th, 2018 as a comeback. In December 11th, a Neo Reo version was released for those who are interested for a platformer and a beat 'em up, as well as a comeback too.
* Jason, Lime Princess and the rest of the characters became popular within the gaming industry and the internet (due to its cartoon-like art style), spawning fan art, parodies, fan made games, fan animations, love art and memes.

* The game uses the engine from *Dragon Ball Advanced Adventure*.
* There might be some speculations to bring *Heroes* back to the 2D side-scroller and beat 'em up genre with a 3rd sequel and a sequel to *Heroes 3*.
* A short flash game by Sun-Studios based on this game was released on August 9th, 2012 (on TRICKSTER R's birthday) in the sharing website of Newgrounds, to celebrate *Heroes 1*'s debut. Some people who were from Sun-Studios were part of the development team of the real first game.