Half-Minute Hero review

So, I'm doing another review, this time of the PSP RPG parody Half-Minute Hero, which attempts to boil down a basic JRPG into digestable 30 second chunks (sort of).

Story:

There are 6 story modes in Half-Minute Hero, so I'm just going to go through the stories for each preceded by a bit of talking about the humor of the game.

Overall: The Overarching story of Half-Minute Hero is of a struggle between two gods and the people they use to accomplish their goals.

The game is funny from time to time, but I'm never laughing as often as I am in, say, Earthbound. There is a feeling of missed potential here, the best example of which is one boss who speaks entirely in Zero Wing quotes. There are so many things they could have done with a parody of bad translations, but they went with Zero Wing quotes. However, the game would probably be much funnier to someone who knew more about classic RPGs, as there are a lot of things that seem to be references to other games. That said, there are some amazing jokes in here which I won't spoil.

Hero 30: A mysterious evildoer is spreading a spell that destroys the world in 30 seconds, you team up with the goddess of time to stop him. This campaign is probably my third favorite in terms of story and it often times captures the spirit of the epic RPG.

Evil Lord 30: You play as one of the bosses from the last game, trying to lift a curse on your lover while fighting against brainwashed humans. This is easily the funniest of the campaigns, since the vain Evil Lord is a great character.

Princess 30: A princess tries to find a cure for her father's illness. Easily the worst for storytelling excluding the pretty much storyless Hero 3

Knight 30: A revived knight tries to protect a sage as they search for a way to heal the world. An okay story, one of the weakest of the bunch

Hero 300: An epic time hopping quest to destroy an ultimate evil. Really captures the spirit of an old school RPG in that this mode is, well, epic in the best sense of the word, kinda feels like a condensed Chrono Trigger in a way.

Hero 3: An essentially storyless bonus mission.

Gameplay:

Hero 3/30/300: These modes are basically RPG lite. You gain experience by killing monsters, equip yourself with gear you find or buy, and eventually kill a boss.

The differences between this game and a normal RPG are where the lite part comes in. You have 30 second chunks of time to complete your quest, and time can be reset for an ever increasing fee in certain towns. Time does not pass in towns or while speaking on normal mode, but it does on hard. Battles are basically you and the enemies running into each other to do damage, you can run to attack more often at the price of hurting yourself. Grinding for both experince and cash is extremely quick. You can find or buy equipment during each quest, which is important to do since equipment is the only thing that carries over between quests.

Hero 300 and Hero 3 basically just change the time limit, though you can't reset time in Hero 300.

These modes are easily the highlight of the game, being the most fun since they quickly and repeatedly hit the part of your brain that responds positively to the gains from level grinding.

Evil Lord 30: This is basically a stripped down, timed RTS. There are three classes of units which basically function as a form of tactical Rock Paper Scissors. Resetting time costs all the money you have on you, but it always resets time to the 30 seconds no matter how much you pay.

You need the money to upgrade your ability to summon monsters, since you start off fairly weak.

This mode is pretty fun, though more could have been done with the idea of a Rock Paper Scissors RTS.

Princess 30: Princess 30 is a basic shooter, you move with the d-pad and fire with the face buttons. You go slower the more damage you take though your speed regenerates., and you have to pay for the losses you suffer when you take damage. Different terrain can slow you down and you regain time by running over red carpets.

This is a pretty fun shooter, though it often feels like you don't have enough space on the screen to see and avoid/shoot the enemies that are coming up.

Knight 30: In Knight 30, you have to protect a sage for 30 seconds. Moving him makes the timer stop, and you have traps and whatever is lying around to stop the monsters who hound you.

Very fun, easily my second favorite mode.

Graphics:

The Graphics in Half-Minute Hero are made to resemble 16-bit sprites. The sprites are charming, especially when you compare them to the concept art in the gallery . The effect is enhanced even more in closeups during cutscenes, where the individual blocks of the sprite look absolutely huge on the PSP screen.

Overall, a well done homage to 16-bit spritework.

Sound:

The sound in Half-Minute Hero is great, and as I did in my Mother 3 review, I invite you to take a listen:



This song demonstrates very well the two main components of the soundtrack. There is a small amount of orchestral music, but the majority is great hard rock themes. This is easily the best part of the game, and it often works with the story to create the kind of 16-bit epicness that makes old school RPGs so fondly remembered. This is the one part of the game that seems to be going less for what old school RPGs are, and more for how you remember them.

Overall:

Half-Minute Hero is a great little game that, while not as consistently funny as the best parodies, is funny enough to be worth it. Throw in some great gameplay, and you have a winner that every PSP owner should pick up, especially since it now goes for about $20.