Half-Minute Hero for PSP Shipping Tomorrow

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Jessica Chavez here. XSEED games mid-level peon, editor and one of the people partly responsible for bringing Half-Minute Hero to your unsuspecting PSPs. I’m here to talk a little about the game, flaunt its secrets, and most importantly, explain away the title that reminds too many gamers about their bedroom exploits.

So 3, 2, 1, START!

Half-Minute Hero is NOT the title of a porno with a very small budget. It actually had a modest budget and most characters stayed clothed.

The Exception:

Half-Minute Hero Nekkid

What Half-Minute Hero is, is a speed RPG/RTS (Real Time Strategy)/Shooter/exercise in affectionate satire. It’s a frantic, multi-mode, 8-bit foray into a seemingly stereotypical RPG that will test your skills against the clock and probably make you wonder how wearing a “Charisma Wig” and “Swimming Goggles” can possibly help you save the world.

Only 30 seconds, huh…?

30 seconds may not seem like enough time to save the world, let alone play an entire game, but Half-Minute Hero promises to deliver a true time challenge…over the course of many-many stages, modes, bosses and maps. (Over 20 hours of gameplay and each mode contains 30-50 distinct stages to be exact.) So fear not, brave player. For a 30 second game it’s decidedly more meaty than the title implies.

Half-Minute Hero Meat

There are four main adventures in all, each starring their own unique protagonist with similarly unique, story-driven goals and final bonus modes that can be unlocked if you manage not to sprain your fingers trying to keep up. Players can enjoy a solo adventure along the lines of the main story, challenge each other to a one on one battle, or engage in a multi-player free for all against the clock.

The main mode, Hero Mode, is a speed RPG complete with leveling up, weapon/armor collecting and saving the world, all in 30 second episodes. In this mode you play as the unlucky traveler who strives valiantly to vanquish evil before the world is destroyed…and before the Time Goddess REPOs everything but your undies.

Evil Lord Mode is an RTS game that employs a ‘chain-system’ of summoning monsters to complete stages. Similar to paper-rock-scissors, the chain-system allows monsters summoned by the player to tackle enemies based on their characteristics. In this mode the player will take control of an evil lord so gorgeous that all are driven to madness at a single glance of his perfect ivory skin.

Princess Mode features fast shoot-em-up-style gameplay and the heartwarming tale of a girl and a crossbow that can punch holes in a mammoth. Several mammoths even.

Knight Mode puts the player in the position of a less-than-bright (but ever so earnest) bodyguard who must protect a character known as the Sage until a special spell that destroys all evil can be cast. As we like to say, “He tries a lot…and dies a lot.”

Each mode utilizes a “half-minute” rule where certain tasks must be completed before 30 seconds go by. There are additional even more punishing unlockable modes, but only the most skilled of time managers will get this far…

Half-Minute Hero also has a lot rocking music, grandiose villains and bat-umbrellas. What to know more? Ask and ye shall receive!

Half-Minute Hero Spoon

Half-Minute Hero will be shipping in North America tomorrow, October 13, 2009 for $29.99 exclusively for the PSP.

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2 Comments

54 Author Replies

  • Any chance for a demo sooner or later?

    • After hearing that the demos are up have you had a chance to try them out? It won\’t take more than…30… Just kidding. I\’ll try not to overabuse the game gimmick. No promises though. :)

  • this game is a blast!

  • Wow I’ll have a lot of games to catchup on when I finally get the pspgo. That’s of coure when the price drops bellow 200. Until the I’ll keep reading.

  • @ #1 There is already a demo on the PSN store, go check it out.

  • Haha, that’s some clever writing there. Made me laugh quite a few times.

    Anyway, I enjoyed the Hero demo a lot but can’t say I enjoyed the Evil Lord one nearly as much… are there demos planned for the other two modes?

    • Many thanks for reading past the \”porno\” opener. I was sure our PR boys were gonna flag that before I could post it but luck was on our side! (luck or bad taste?)

      Anyway, glad you derived some pleasure from the demos and sorry to say there aren\’t more, but with the game out now you can catch the full experience. (we had to keep some cool stuff reserved for the actual full title release)

  • @1 there is 2 demos already live—

    @everyone just wait a week–on the 20th I think it becomes downloadable for the likes of the PSPGo—that to seems to be a way better way to go!

    • Close! The PSN version will be available starting from the 22nd, and whether you go UMD or downloadable…both hold enough dubious content to please people in need of speed and parody.

  • lol, “bow chicka wah-wah”

    • You can\’t imagine how weird it sounded for me and the other editor to haggle over the spelling of that in the middle of the office…

  • @1,4: There’s actually two demos available on PSN store; none of them I played yet since Dissidia is keeping me busy; but I am interested in playing this game eventually.

  • I can’t afford the game right now, my gameing budget has already been spent elsewhere, but damn if that wasn’t one of the best, most entertaining posts we’ve seen on the blog. Good job! I’ll defeintely be picking up the game before the end of the year……

    • Sadness for your lack of income, but happiness because you liked the game enough to care about buying it.

      In that case I wish you extra luck in diving for change between couch cushions, finding quarters in dryers, the ever wonderful I-found-a-crumpled-and-now-washed-dollar-bill-in-my-pants-after-laundry scenario, and many other money finding situations. Gaming is a serious hobby that requires much capital and sacrifice. Yes, indeedy.

  • Hmmm, psp stuff. Wait, nothing on Dissidia! No one cares about anything posted until Dissidia is up on PSN.

  • Will it be on the playstation store?

    • Yes! It will be available for your viewing pleasure on Oct. 22. We encourage you to sample our wares. Sometimes we even like to encourage with a little nail-bat incentive if you get my drift…

  • Is there a soundtest option that allows us to freely listen to said “rocking music”? :)

  • Wow. A dollar per second is kind of steep don’t you think? ;-)

    • But, but… We even roll the credits after every 30 sec episode so really you\’re paying for one episode and getting the rest completely free! Good deal don\’t you think? ;)

  • I played the demo a looong time ago from the Japanese PlayStation store and fell in love! its such a great game. i’d love to see something like this on ps3 too! any plays for DLC? hope to get my hands on it soon!

    • This /would/ be fun on the PS3 and who knows? If this one is successful I\’m sure they\’d love to put out another one or maybe some mini-DLC. I can tell you that the developers in Japan were really keen on it and would jump at the chance for a #2. Maybe that full minute hero that someone mentioned? :)

  • You say it’s “shipping” tomorrow, will it be on PSN too?

    • The UMD version is shipping today, but the PSN version is slated for Oct. 22. It\’s a little bit of a wait, but now you can read the reviews and see that the demos weren\’t just a fluke of fun. :) So worry not! PSN is on it\’s way!

  • Game looks awesome. I’m kind of annoyed I have to wait a week to buy the PSN version (i have a 3000 but I like not dealing with UMDs). I loved the demo though, great work guys!

    • Thanks! We appreciate it, sincerely. Our office is so tiny that when a fan says thanks everyone hears it. :) And sorry for the mini-wait, but the satisfaction will be that much sweeter when it\’s in your hot little hands.

  • I love a woman with a good sense of humor..

  • I played the demo and it’s a lot of fun. In a gaming world populated by me-too FPSs, this is a welcoming fun little quirky game. I just suck at timed games, but I’ll give this a shot for the sake of trying something new.

  • to the 01 reply. theres two demos that you can download off of the store. one for the hero mode and one for the evil lord mode too. the jp or hk store has more too.
    well to my question. will the game release for the network store and will it be for the same price. and 02. i did just purchase retro game challenge. any chance that retro g.c. 02 would release for the us. gratias. this game did interest me for many months prior to this post. i did hear of a network store release and will just have to wait for that day to purchase it.

    • The game will be released on the Playstation Network store for $29.99 and it\’s coming your way soon…

      As for your question #2…

      Thank you, thank you for buying Retro Game Challenge. We\’ve had such vocal and dedicated fans for that game that it pains us not to know the future of RGC2. The gaming market is a crushing and unforgiving place and Retro Game Challenge has the best of fans, but not the best of sales… I can\’t give you any certainties, just our thanks from everyone at XSEED for supporting it.

  • What is this??

  • Nice Tick reference on the battle cry in the bottom pic.

    • Yes! You made my day. Only one other person has caught that reference. :) All that\’s left now is to put Bi-polar Bear in our next game…

  • Any chance of a ps3 (psn) version?

    • Your idea is noted, sir. And duly post-it noted onto my supe\’s desk. (with a candy so he\’ll actually read it)

  • @techknight
    This game will be on PSN with next thursdays (22nd) update, not this week. :(

  • I played the demo and I gotta say Its the best PSP game Ive ever played.
    You guys have to make a PSN version!

  • Is it $29.99 both for PSPgo and PSPstay??

  • I just have to say, I approve of the innuendo and on a more high-brow note, love the incidental phrase “similarly unique” :)

    • I am pleased to have pleased you and take no responsibility for whatever I typed when I was high on coffee. :)

  • Is this also going to be on the Playstation Store? I really want to buy a digital copy of this since GTPSP has absolute domain over my UMD drive.

  • Hilarious post! Hopefully this will go on sale on the PSN before Christmas as I currently can’t afford to spend more tha $20 on a single game : (

  • AWESOME! I played and loved both the Hero 30 demo and the Evil Lord 30 demo. I will be picking this game up tomorrow along with Uncharted 2 (unless it is available for DL?).

    Also… Jessica, PLEASE tell XSEED to bring Fragile out for the PS3!!! The PS3 will have motion controls shortly after Fragile finally launches in the US so they don’t even need to rework the controls. Fragile looks like an amazing game, but I don’t want to buy a Wii just for one game.

    • It *is* available for DL come Oct. 22, but your call. We made it both UMD and DL for your decision-making pleasure.

      As for Fragile…that\’s be up to Namco Bandai…but, I will sticky-note it with a query for our next communication with them for you! I want you to enjoy it too!

  • @megamixer Thanks. I don’t mind waiting for this game but that’s going to be a bit of a problem going forward with the PSP Go..

    For any gamer who likes (okay, needs) to have things on day 1, that gap between retail on Tuesdays and PSN on Thursdays is going to be pretty annoying.

    • The teary-face icon (;_;) seems inadequate for this. Believe me, I know day 1 is important so thanks for waiting.

  • This is my first post EVER! I’ve come on the Playstation Blog for the past year (everyday) and I need to say something about this particular title.

    Thank YOU, XSEED!
    I just want to express my gratitude for your team’s effort in coming up with such a fun and original game.

    I had a blast playing the demo and I really dig the amazing gameplay.

    I hope this Gem is really successful and I can’t wait to see XSEED’s future game designs.

    I am attending FULLSAIL UNI. right now, and as an aspiring game designer, I hope to create fun and unique games like you guys do.

    Good Luck with this game!
    I am buying this game day one!
    =)

    Ari B.

    • In honor of your first post (my first blog here, too) and encouraging use of \”!\”/passion for the game, I will tell you a secret…

      If you want to know what true evil is, once you\’ve made it to the Ultimate Evil Lord check out the gallery mode for the truth… It will horrify you…

      :)

      That said, I\’m really happy you had such a good time with the demo. I hope the game will continue that delight and I\’ll be sure to pass on your words to the team here. (Though probably only the translator will listen to me because everyone else has got their headphones on)

      We in turn thank you mightily for your day 1 purchase and I fully expect you to introduce yourself once you\’re start your career at the next E3, GDC, or Vegas shows. Good luck!

  • Really loved the Hero demo, but I found the evil lord demo not fun at all… nice personality, just not enjoying the Rock/Paper/Scissors RTS combo…

    But I’ll definitely buy it for the Hero mode. That was fun. Hope there’s some sense of progression overall though… but I don’t expect it.

    • Aw… I kinda liked that mode but maybe it\’s because we made the Evil Lord so flaming ga-uh-gorgeous in there…

      Anyway, it\’s only 1/4 main modes and the game version is actually a lot more challenging than the demo for Evil Lord so perhaps you\’ll like it better there? But, Hero Mode is the most fun one (IMO too) so rejoice in that there are many, many more missions in that style. And, there is a story line/purpose that connects them all. Don\’t worry, it\’s not as unrelated as the demos seemed.

  • Doubtful this is going to be released for PSPGo owners..

  • When is this coming to PSN? After playing games on my memory stick or PSP Go, I just can’t go back to UMD. I REALLY want this game, but will ONLY buy it on PSN, even at $29.99.

  • I want to second AAAChampions’ Retro Game Challenge question. I’ve done my very best to get people to buy it…has it been enough? I want the 16-bit sequel SO MUCH!

    Okay, on to Half-Minute Hero. I liked the Hero mode demo, but not the Evil Lord mode quite so much. I’m not even sure if this game is really worth $30, and even LESS sure it should be releasing on UMD at all (just seems like it’d fit download better). So, due to my general lack of funds and the opinions I’ve just stated, I probably won’t be getting this game unless/untill it releases on PSN and drops to $20 tops.

    • You\’ve done much for our cause Stuffgamer1. We too want to do it! :( Time and sales will tell, but sincerely from everyone here, Thanks.

      As for HMH, despite the 30 second premise it\’s a pretty decent game. It actually has more text than many full RPGs and certainy enough modes (and multiplayer!) to warrant a $30 price tag. At least, we think so… But! I understand fund issues and many will probably wait for it to go down a bit, so whatever price anyone pays for it (thanks and) I just hope they/you have fun. That\’s all /I/ really want for people from an editor\’s point of view. :) (The sales guys will kill me for saying that though) (haha)

  • I’m sure the PSN, downloadable, version will be available on 10/22. I own a PSP 2000 with a 16 gig memory stick, I’m waiting for the PSN version.

    Although I wonder why this wasn’t mention in the blog post? Will Sony be dong this with all new PSP games going forward; releasing the PSN version one week after the UMD release?

    I hope not, that would be unfair to PSP Go owners. SCEA needs to get their digital distribution system in order. PSN versions should be released the same week as UMD versions. Brick ‘n Mortar Retailers be damned.

    • Sorry for the lapse in putting that info in the blog post. It was supposed to be at the bottom with the price point and release info but somehow it got omitted…? Damned lack of coffee I\’d say. Plus, I had hoped to do a second blog post with more interesting stuff and some website info (hint hint) so cross fingers.

      As for the releases being a week apart I don\’t think that will be the case in the future. HMH was just a special case and our next releases should be in step with the UMD version. Apologies for the delay on your end and I hope you\’ll find the wait worth it. :)

  • I’m waiting for the PSN version 10/22. All games should be day and date. Come on Sony!

  • Looks very interesting haha.

  • wow that’s alot of bang for your buck. later on you guys should release an expansion pack and call it full minute hero :D

  • I tried the demo and im just not feeling this game at all…

  • love the post :P really funny :P
    i played the demo, it was fun, i think i’ll be getting it on psn when its available.

    • Many thanks. I was high on caffeine and stress. Usually makes for a good (and thus tastefully bad) blog post. :)

      And thanks #2 for the vouch to get the game! Those are words I like to hear almost as much as \”holiday\” and \”tintinnabulations.\”

  • good game!!

    • Yes! I get to delve into the doughnut box every time I get a positive response from people. They said that\’s the only way they would pay me for my toils… ;_;

  • Just wanted to say thanks for all the replies, I’m sure everyone appreciates it. Also, couldn’t wait till Thursday so went ahead and picked up the UMD version along with Uncharted 2. It’s going to be a long night.

    • :) I tried my best to get them all done yesterday but then my [/begin disturbing imagery] eyeballs dried up and fell out. [/end disturbing imagery] Hate it when that happens.

      And thank you for getting it! May you find the fabled barrel armor quickly!

  • Just wanted to say thanks for all the replies, I’m sure everyone appreciates it. Also, couldn’t wait till Thursday so went ahead and picked up the UMD version along with Uncharted 2 today. It’s going to be a long night.

  • Thanks a lot for releasing it in the PS Store. I will definitely buy it on October 22nd then. :D

    • Anything for you, ManaKnight. We have you on a special list that says if you want it we must release it for PSN. Of course, that\’s really hard when you keep requesting stuff like cornflakes and american gladiators…

  • more more more!
    i’ve worked my gluteus maximus off in the summer and saved a LOT of money “aside” for the psp go and psn itself, and certain ps3 games like U2. But i want more games. FF8 please on PSN!!!!

  • Thanks for the replies Jessica, you’re the best and I hope the PS Blog folks have you back on here soon!

    • You\’re welcome! It\’s the least I could do when you guys took the time to comment as well! Plus they said if I didn\’t they\’d beat me…

      They\’re really not gonna let me do another one now, are they? O_o

  • Shame I cant find it in the shop ): But I’ll keep looking

    • Have you managed to track down a copy yet? In-store copies can get kind of rare because they don\’t stock many of ours. :( Best for us is when people pre-order bc that encourages the retailer to order more thus resulting in less store crawling for dedicated gamers such as yourself. That said, amazon.com is an easy order, plus it\’s coming out on the PSN store this week! :)

      Either way you go, we here at XSEED take off our hats, hoodies, burger king crowns and padded helmets to you, sir!

  • So not only do we not get the game day and date on PSN, but it didn’t make the cut for this week’s update despite being released on the 13th? Man, this is another big fib Sony is getting caught in, since back in the summer we were promised “day and date UMD and PSN for all forthcoming releases”. I am sorely disappointed, and this Go is looking less like an opportunity and more like a burden with each and every new revelation from Sony.

    Is this an indicator that we can expect another 2 Sports games and a PS1 release as our portion of gruel this week?

    Thanks for nothing, hope my money spent well.

    • Don\’t worry stoic_dolphin! (your tag name makes me cackle to myself, btw) Half-Minute Hero is coming out this week on PSN and, like I said to other posters, this isn\’t going to be a trend. In future I\’m sure our UMD and PSN dates will be closer or the same and gamers won\’t suffer a wait.

      So we hope you\’ll still give HMH a chance this week and see that your stoicism has not been in vain!

  • It’s awesomely fun, Jessica. I just wanted to thank XseeD for continuing to bring awesome niche games like this. If it weren’t for you and nisa, not sure what I would do. as a tribute for your awesomeness, I bought a umd and will buy the digital version when it comes out for the go.

    Thanks!

    • You are…SO AWESOME! I don\’t normally resort to all caps AND exclamation marks, but it cannot be denied that your person is most worthy of them. Thank you, thank you, and we will continue to cater to dedicated fans such as yourself. :)

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