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Half-Minute Hero 2 rushing onto Steam later this week
We're out of April Fools territory, so we can safely report a new Steam page for Half-Minute Hero: The Second Coming lists the speedy sequel's release date as Friday, April 4. The date was first revealed in a trailer published yesterday, but it also noted a price of $1,000... we're guessing that bit's slightly inaccurate. Hopefully. The follow-up to Half-Minute Hero was previously limited to Japan, where it was released on PSP back in 2011. The sequel follows the motif of chaotic RPG questing in portions of 30 seconds, but adds new features to the mix including four-player multiplayer, Infinite Battle and Time Attack modes, and a map editor. The Second Coming features Big Picture and controller support, and Steam owners of the original Half-Minute Hero get a 25 percent discount on the sequel... that's hopefully not 25 percent of $1,000. [Image: Marvelous AQL]
Half-Minute Hero 2's Western release is rapidly approaching reality
A Western release of Half-Minute Hero 2 on Steam is all but confirmed after Marvelous AQL upped its recent teasing with an English gameplay video and a blurred out release date. Released in Japan as Hero 30 Second back in 2011, Half-Minute Hero 2 always looked likely for a Western version after it appeared in a Steam database link earlier this year. Going by the trailer, game modes include a Story Mode, an Infinite Battle mode where you keep taking on Evil Lords, and a Time Attack mode, all centered around completing quests before the 30-second timer runs out. There's also a Map Editor in which you can create quests and maps, but the trailer focuses on online multiplayer, showing off a battle mode between two players - Japan's original PSP version supports four-player speedy RPG action. [Image: Marvelous AQL]
Rumor: Steam database leak features Killing Floor 2, Battleblock Theater, Blackgate HD
Killing Floor 2 and Batman: Arkham Origins Blackgate HD have yet to be announced, but they are in Steam's database according to reports of another leak. Several Steam users posted what look to be captured screenshots of the portal's stats page, but with a whole bunch of unexpected names on there. Other standout games on the list include beat-em-up Battleblock Theater and multiplayer action game Happy Wars, both currently only on Xbox Live Arcade. Half-Minute Hero sequel Hero 30 Second is only out in Japan, but Half-Minute Hero Two is also on the list. While Arkham Origins came to home consoles and PC last year, Warner Bros. released 2.5D game Arkham Origins Blackgate alongside it on 3DS and Vita. There's been no word of an HD port of the portable game, and when approached about Blackgate HD's name being on this list, a Warner. Bros representative told Joystiq, "We have no comment on this." The stats page is back to normal now so we've been unable to verify the screens, and even if they're accurate they don't provide any confirmation the games will be released. That said, each one of the games we've mentioned certainly sounds plausible, so we'd say this is a space worth a watch. [Thanks, Jordan!]
Hero 30 Second set for August 4 in Japan
After suffering a couple of delays, PSP title Hero 30 Second now has a new release date of August 4 in Japan. The news was announced on the Hero 30 Second blog, in which Producer Takagi Kenitirou apologized for the delays and thanked fans for waiting. The sequel to Half-Minute Hero tasks players with completing grand RPG quests in only thirty seconds. The original Half-Minute Hero is also expected to arrive on Xbox Live Arcade, though an official release date has yet to be announced.
Hero 30 Second delayed a second time
Marvelous has reset its own countdown clock for Hero 30 Second, delaying the PSP sequel's Japanese release from February 10 to an unspecified 2011 release. This follows a delay from November into February. Marvelous cited "various reasons" and offered apologies, but no further explanation. Just before making this dramatic announcement, Marvelous released the trailer you'll find after the break. It's a super-epic boss battle in the series' super-speed style. Hero 30 Second has yet to be announced for release outside of Japan. The predecessor, Half-Minute Hero, was published in North America by Xseed.
Twitter caption contest launched for Half-Minute Hero sequel
As practice for the kind of quick thinking required to play Hero 30 Second ... and to promote Hero 30 Second (mostly that last one), Japanese publisher Marvelous has launched a Twitter caption contest. Participants are asked to come up with clever captions for a selected screenshot in 100 characters or less. Of course, given the nature of the game, participants are also limited to 30 seconds. After you've come up with your impromptu masterpiece, it'll go on the "Twitter30" website and your own Twitter feed. As 1UP notes, it's technically a Japanese contest, but there's likely someone at Marvelous who will be able to read and appreciate your frantic attempts at humor.
Three minutes of Hero 30 Second
Hero 30 Second ditches all the gameplay varieties from its predecessor except for the Hero 30 mode -- so no controlling the Evil Lord this time. But that Hero mode is expanded, and playable in five different scenarios. The totally dramatic trailer after the break introduces them all.
Half-Minute Hero sequel announced, hitting Japan Nov. 4
Famitsu recently pulled the lid off of an upcoming sequel to one of last year's ... well, one of last year's weirdest games ever, Half-Minute Hero. According to Andriasang's translation of the reveal, the game will still place a heavy emphasis on hasty adventuring -- though time will now freeze while the player is on the overworld map, giving him or her plenty of time to explore the game's five RPG scenarios. A four-player co-op mode, a quest creation tool and an "Infinite" mode which tasks you with toppling the game's biggest bosses in succession are also new additions. The best part? The sequel is titled Hero 30 Second, which should ensure no small amount of confusion amongst future video game historians. According to Famitsu, the game's tentatively dated in Japan for November 4, and is currently 77 percent complete, which is just mind-boggling in its specificity.
