Half-Minute Hero was a sleeper hit for the PSP, and a re-release for the Xbox 360 titled Half-Minute Hero: Super Mega Neo Climax was even more popular. Director Kotaro Yoshida's game gained tons of fans for its "8-bit JRPG on speed" style and they're eagerly awaiting his next project. Well, wait no longer- that project is 100 Turn Hero, an RPG coming soon to iOS. One catch... it's only for Japan right now.
Just from the title alone you can tell that the game will be just as ridiculous and frantic as his last series. There aren't many details for the game just yet but limitations will abound in the game. Will you have to fight through tons of enemies in only 100 turns? It seems likely, and the graphical style is most certainly familiar to fans of Half-Minute Hero, with that same pixel art and super deformed characters.
According to Famitsu 100 Turn Hero will be out on iOS January 17th 2014 and costs a mere 100 yen ($1). Let's hope that this gets localized sometime soon, and don't forget that there's a Half-Minute Hero 2 that was released only in Japan that's begging for a release stateside as well. That game is all about the Hero 30 mode, and offers co-op play as well!
If you've somehow managed to miss the first Half-Minute Hero, get on it ASAP. The definitive version is probably the Xbox 360 port, although there's a Steam and Playism re-release called Half-Minute Hero: Super Mega Neo Climax Ultimate Boy that's a compilation of almost all of the game modes in previous versions. Have to love those titles, and the game really does feel like you're playing through an entire JRPG in a few minutes. You'll go on quests, fight monsters, level up, get new equipment and save the world from destruction, all at a lightning pace. There's just nothing else like it- it's hysterical and tense and gets quite tricky as the levels go on. Let's hope that 100 Turn Hero is just as clever and effective.