Half-Minute Hero

While the PSP original may has worked well with the bite-sized content, a port to PC/Steam simply doesn't to well to the main idea. The concept loses its luster quickly, even with what would be a quick and simple ~30 quests/missions/levels/whatever. By the time I was done finishing all of the paths for the primary Hero 30 mode, I just had enough of it. I may look at it more fondly a few years down the line. But for now, I don't think I'll want to keep track of this again. The writing either flew over my head, or the joke was more blunt than a rusty wheelbarrow filled with bags of cheap concrete.

[extremely Jerry Seinfeld voice]:
What's the big deal with grinding? You know, where your little avatar character goes out into the tall grass to catch some Pokémons. And what happens, little tiny numbers go up? Why do these people play this? It's like they're trying to reinvent the wheel, but this time the Japanese fellas are making accounting all over again!

The hardest I ever laughed was just a goofy chuckle at one of the in-game 'Evil Lords' that was a chicken who's name was "Cuckold", and said laughter was more in credit to recent social media & messageboard slapfights.

Oh and apparently there's a sequel to this for some reason why.

The re-releases would never really capture the magic of what made Half-Minute Hero so good, but let me just say that the PSP original is damn near incredible. The concept rides the line between farcical take on RPG conventions and genuine gameplay style all its own, but it works, providing a tense take on arcade gameplay with enough RPG strategy, attuned to the ticking clock, to make it stand out. The other gameplay styles may seem superfluous and underdeveloped, but even these serve a purpose, feeling very much like extensions of the themes of the game. The story on offer is actually quite gripping despite the repetition, with apocalyptic stakes backed up by a terrifying main villain and an ineffectual sidekick time goddess, intercut with monsters of the week that promote different themes, ideas, emotions, storylines or even just jokes. It all leads up to a difficult Five-Minute Hero level, antithetical to the established ethos and yet slotting right in to proceedings.

Punching well above its weight and yet pulling none of its own, Half-Minute Hero may be one of the best original titles on the PSP.