Half-Minute Hero: 30 RPG games in 30 seconds each, +3 other modes

Dracil

Trailers:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h2uvBX_20Bw
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yRTVz-0kIHs&NR=1

What is it?
A story about mankind's 500-year battle against demon kings trying to destroy the world. The game is actually divided into 4 different stories and modes. But in a way, it's really more like a fast-paced puzzle game as you try to solve each stage and get the best times. You could think of it as what would happen if Dragon Quest, Warioware, and Prince of Persia (the new one with the time reversing) had an orgy.

A brief bit of history on the game

It appears it may originally have been an indie game from http://uue.holy.jp/ The link to the game has since been removed (probably as part of the deal of getting the game made) on his site, but the sequel "30 Heroes" is still available (you have 30 heroes that you can hire and equip and send out to defeat the evil overlord. I guess it's similar to Majesty or My Life as a King. Anyway, you can still download the original game at http://ring.riken.jp/archives/pc/freem/simulation/hero30.zip if you want to try it.

Controls (from a blog comment on the game)

Here's a rough translation, I don't know how to make patches though.

Start screen

Rules:
Defeat the evil wizard within 30 seconds.

How to play:
Movement - Arrow Keys
Select - Enter/Space or Z

Castle/Shop menu:
(text: "You enter the castle!")
Rest
Buy Headgear
Buy Dragon Armour
Buy Dragon Lance
Return 10 seconds

Leave

Stats (right of screen):
(under HP)
Attack Power
Defense Power
(when you start the game, the characters that appear for your head slot read "nashi" with means "nothing" ie "you have nothing equipped in that slot".

Battle text:
Monster approaches!
You do X damage to monster, you are hit for Y damage.
You win! Gain X XP and Y Gold.

Maybe we can contact the owner and see if he would accept a full translation?

What kind of game is it?
At its most basic, it's a parody/satire of RPGs. However, the game is split into four different stories with their own gameplay.

Hero 30
This is the meat and potatoes of the game. Think of it as a classic RPG, except you have 30 seconds to stop the demon kings from casting their Spell of Destruction. Equipment and rewards carry over and you can use them in later "games"

Demon King 30
This is the RTS mode, where you play a Demon King trying to rescue his cursed lover. He can summon three different types of monsters (melee, range, magic) in a rock-paper-scissor type of RTS battle. If the 30 seconds are up, night turns into day and he must retreat back into his castle.

Princess 30
This is the shoot-em up mode. You play the princess with a bow carried by a retinue of 30 soldiers as you try to find items to save your dying father and help other people. You need to make it back in 30 seconds or the drawbridge will close and you get locked out.

Knight 30
Not quite sure what this genre is most like, maybe an active tower defense game? The goal is for you to protect the Sage for 30 seconds as he tries to cast his spell to defeat all the monsters (at best, the knight is only capable of dazing monsters). You can also build and improve traps between each stage (like dummies for distraction, bombs, walls, etc.)

30 seconds? That's impossible!
Ok, it's not *really* 30 seconds. Very early on, you meet the Goddess of Time, who agrees to help you out... for a fee. There's something she wants to buy so she needs the money.

How many hours can I expect to get out of it?
It'll probably take you 10-15 hours to get through everything. Replayability comes from beating your best scores. There's also a hard mode.

Does it have multiplayer?
Yes, though it's just 4-player co-op with different rules you can set up to see who can beat stages the fastest.

When does it come out?
Expected English release is October 13. The English demo is also out on PSN. Or you can try the original PC game linked above.

Where can I get more info?
Official (Japanese) site is at: http://www.mmv.co.jp/special/game/30/

anoffday

It looks fun, but is there always going to be that annoying border around the actual game? Or is that just for the trailer?

Talith

Both ridiculous and positively fascinating. I'll need to see more and reserve judgement until then.

Dracil

Nah, the border's just there to show you whose story mode they're showing. The part where they show the 4 PSPs together more properly shows how it fits in-game.

Or if you mean the black stuff, that may just be to force Youtube into HD.

Zombiemambo

anoffday wrote: »

It looks fun, but is there always going to be that annoying border around the actual game? Or is that just for the trailer?

What border?

Toma

Definately grab the demo. It's oddly satisfying to play, and is a really neat twist on RPGs in general. It may become the world's best bathroom break RPG.

Demon King 30 is available as a demo, too.

firekiun

US release date announced yet? Great art, hopefully it will come with awesome pre order bonus.

Dracil

Yeah, it should be coming out Oct 13.

Darth_Mogs

The Demo for the Hero gave me a nice refreshing "This is pretty cool" feeling.

The Demo for the Demon King was unfortunately pretty boring and confusing. Maybe that's just because it was played after the Hero demo.

So I take it Knight Demo might be released this Thurs?

Dracil

The Princess and Demon King mode aren't as good as Hero and Knight mode IMO (simply because it's almost impossible to lose). Obviously Hero mode is the most fleshed out. But whereas Hero mode will take you several hours to beat (more if you're trying to get all the mini-achievements), the other modes will probably take you just an hour each.

I haven't played the demos (I have played the Japanese version though) but in Demon King mode, whenever you summon a monster, your magic level (represented by the magic circle) goes down so if you summon again, you'll summon a weaker monster. It'll recharge though. If you get hit, your maximum magic level will also go down, but you can recover it by talking to the goddess hiding behind barrels.

Hero 30 demo gameplay for those too lazy to download:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=URM2X0OUygM

Princess 30 demo gameplay:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LKFrsGYkyTg

Princepeach

Darth_Mogs wrote: »

The Demo for the Hero gave me a nice refreshing "This is pretty cool" feeling.

The Demo for the Demon King was unfortunately pretty boring and confusing. Maybe that's just because it was played after the Hero demo.

So I take it Knight Demo might be released this Thurs?

I'd give demon king another shot. You're kind of unceremoniously dumped into the Demon King demo, while the Hero one actually has a pretty extensive explanation (well, as extensive as it could get).

Aroduc is on the money as to how it works WRT charging magic and all that, and for me the most effective strategy was to just cut a slim path to the evil merchant as fast as possible, surgical strike style.

Dracil

Aroduc?

But yeah, strategy for Demon King is summon the correct RPS unit type vs. whatever you're facing at max magic level (they will absolutely steamroll the enemy). Then you just need to get to your objective. Try not to get hit though. Spam summon to block arrows/mobs if you need to.

Darth_Mogs

Yeah, I think part of the problem was from the time I got the gist of which units to use against what, to actually playing I completely forgot what to use. So I'd summon a few of one type against a group and go "Hey, that kinda worked." And then I'd try it again, and they would die horribly, so I'd try something else, etc.

I'll give it a shot again later on and pay attention this time.

Dracil

BTW, this is the Demon King demo for people who don't want to download it. He explains a bit on it. The guy apparently loves it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uA08WPerQj8

Ok, I think I remember the RPS system now. Red (power) > Blue (speed) > Green (ranged) > Red (power).

firekiun

I played the PC trial one, the game play is more like "Time Management" game for me, kinda like Diner Dash or such casual game.

Hopefully they will put some way to make this game deeper.

Dracil

Well, the PC game is more like a proof of concept. Like Narbacular Drop was for Portal.

It does actually hit most of the classic JRPG elements from around the SNES era.

cooljammer00

Just from the description, it sort of reminds me of Rom Check Fail, the game where all these Nintendo ROMs get merged.

Crotchless Gorilla Suit

Those battle sequences in the Hero mode video are HILARIOUS.

Pew-Pew-Pew-DEAD.

Behemoth

WISE FWOM THE GWAVE

So, it's out now, and it's awesome!

I'm going back now trying to get all the titles and alternate paths for Hero 30. I was confused when I only got 60% completion after finishing it the first time, now I'm trying to hunt down everything I missed.

Has anyone figured out how to beat the Hermit? I know it leads to another path, but I can't even get close to beating him.

Dracil

So as I said in the other thread, I was playing this the other day, and someone just looking from the seat behind me got really interested and asked me all about it. :P

Stormwatcher

So wait, the pc version is in moonspeak?

langfor6

A demo would be nice, because conceptually it sounds interesting.

Also I'm pretty sure you need more than three members to be counted as an orgy.

Behemoth

Stormwatcher wrote: »

So wait, the pc version is in moonspeak?

There's no PC version, it's PSP game EDIT: Oh, the original. Well, it doesn't matter, since you can't play it anymore, but 30 Heroes appears to only be in Japanese.

Anyway, I just 100%'d Hero 30, and now I'm working on Knight 30.

So far it seems like most of the stages can be beat by just running away. I've only had to use an item once or twice.

Dracil

Uh, how do you beat stages by running away?

And there are demos, and they're in English, get it from PSN.

corky842

Dracil wrote: »

Uh, how do you beat stages by running away?

And there are demos, and they're in English, get it from PSN.

Like brave Sir Robin, of course!

RedMageDarion

I felt the need to revive this thread as this game just doesn't seem to be getting the love it deserves.

I finished everything in the game the other day after a couple days of constant playing, and I have to say it really is one of the better games on the PSP.

I don't know how to explain what was so RIGHT about it, but something in that combination of 8-bit RPG graphics, the metal-esque RPG music, the pick-up-and-play nature of EVERY mode, and the humor in the dialog and concept struck me just right.

For those of you still on the fence, it may be worth checking out the official site, if you haven't: http://www.halfminutehero.com/

The music playing in the background isn't the only good track in the game either. A good chunk of the 50-ish+ tracks are that quality.

There are very few games that I finish, completely (all modes 100%), and still want MORE. This is one of those games. I'm actually kind of sad that I finished it, because it means I'm not playing it anymore... I can't recommend the game enough.

elliotw2

I think that this game is getting a sequel in Japan, so maybe it'll do well enough over here for them to translate that one too. I have to agree, the game is tons of fun, thought I'm no where near 100%'ing it

InitialDK

I like quirky Japanese games but I LOATHE time limits in video games. Even if the time given is generous the anxiety I give myself makes it unplayable (curse you Dead Rising!). The videos, while entertaining, made it look like this would be the worste game ever for me.

However once I learned this was more of a puzzle game I downloaded the demos and absolutely loved it! The 30 seconds isn't as much a limit as a resource, and with that mindset I am able to play it without sweating profusely and shitting myself. Well, at least in the demo.

I ordered the game via Gamefly and really look forward to playing. The part I really like is the RPG on crack ability to level up rapidly and attain new treasure. So many rewards in such little time! I think it would be awesome to make a game like this without the time-gimmick and just be able to play a full length JRPG in a couple of hours. I think Final Fantasy XV would benefit from that and ensure I can actually finish it.

RainbowDespair

Beat the final mode a couple days ago. Such an awesome game and it's fun enough that I'm going to be going back in search of secrets I missed and higher scores.

cj iwakura

This game definitely lived up to the hype. Hero 30 is amazing.

Princess 30 isn't as fun, but I love the presentation of it.

cj iwakura

The endgame of Half Minute Hero defines epic.

Your party consists of:

Eve-ry-one.

cj iwakura

Uh, there's more than one thread, but this one's more popular, so....

http://www.siliconera.com/2010/08/03/half-minute-hero-sequel-announcer

SEQUEL!