Half-Minute Hero for PSP Reviews by Gamers

This game boils down the jrpg experience into 30 seconds, give or take. Sounds like a gimmick, but clever design and constant change up keeps the game fresh. It's difficult to explain how the game works, but imagine rushing through final fantasy in 30 seconds, with the goddess of time on your side. She makes grinding take less time. Makes you move faster. It is still an rpg, just shrunk into the length of a puzzle game. Just try it.

Half Minute Hero runs its course so quickly that not even the Goddess of Time can stretch its replay value beyond a few hours. There are a couple different game play modes but the most fleshed out of them is the Hero 30 mode, which gives you 30 seconds to go through the typical RPG arc, leveling up, buying equipment, and defeating the Evil Overlords before they can bring about the end of the world. It's entertaining enough and the developers have certainly done good work trying to introduce some variety to the levels. But the repetition got to me by the 25th time and the strong, self-aware writing wasn't enough to carry my interest beyond a few hours.

The other game styles lose their luster even more quickly, a lackluster RTS and side scrolling shooter respectively.

I definitely would not purchase this game, but as a rental it's a fun but ultimately unsatisfying experience