Half Minute Hero

BECAUSE HE'S SO PRETTY

STATUS : [MAIN STORY COMPLETE]

RATING : [3/10]

I'm not really in the mood for writing, so I'm not going to spend a lot of time talking about this game.

I needed a game to keep me occupied for the 3 days I had to wait for Zelda OOT to come out, without being too engrossing that it would distract me once it did.  With a name like 30 Second Hero, I figured it was my best shot. 

It only took me a day or two to beat the first 3 "Games".  I didn't play any further past that, so I only have opinions on those 3.

Hero:

I like the way they set this up. 30 seconds to grind into a powerful hero and beat the boss. Each battle is just a quick jaunt from one side of the screen to the other, sword flailing, taking down enemies on your way, so its pretty quick.Then, its game over, move on.  The credits even roll after each level, giving the illusion that you'd beaten a game in 30 Seconds.  Thankfully, you can speed through the credits so they don't get too terribly annoying. Each level also has a couple 'achievements', and there are some forks in the level paths, both which encourage more than one playthrough. Unfortunately, I got bored with the story and didn't spend much time on it.  They were kind enough to let hitting 'start' travel through everything at lightning speed. I don't feel like I missed too much not paying attention to the story, but it makes me a little sad that all that work was defenestrated.

Evil Lord:

By far my favorite one. If someone wasn't going to play this game, I'd at least coax them into the Evil Lord story. The Evil Lord gameplay is quite fun, similar to the first game in that you have 30 seconds, but different because instead of an uncontrollable sword flailing battle system, you're required to apply a little bit of tactics to your 30 second venture. Its a rock-paper-scissors summoning game between brutes, archers, and nimble types. Summon what you need and complete your objective as quickly as possible.  But this isn't what makes this bit the best. HE does.  The evil lord is a deliciously hilarious character that reminds me of something from some anime that I can't remember. He is vain, silly, and an absolute delight. I read every bit of story for this one, because it was so very worth it. It was also shorter than hero, and therefore felt lest repetitive.

Princess:

Got bored. Super bored. The story was boring (though it did have a couple funny parts) and the gameplay felt incomplete and not very thought out.  Its a topdown sidescrolling shooter.  Unfortunately, though shooters have a tenancy to be wonderfully difficult, this one did not follow suit. You could run into just about everything and fail to shoot most of the targets and still win. I wasn't trying most of the game because I was bored, and still managed to get through it without failing any levels.  The levels were incredibly repetitive and I didn't really like the main character... I dunno. I just didn't like this section.

Well, that's all of them. I rambled quite a bit more than I meant to. 

The game has a lot of content, and they did a pretty good job. I'll definitely visit the game from time to time while I'm bored. It's easy to pick up and put down. And I love the Evil Lord.

[TLDR] The Evil Lord story makes the game worth playing. By a long shot.

End

Patapon

PON PON PATA PON!

STATUS : [COMPLETE]

RATING : [4/10]

I love this game. It's so adorable.

I started playing it a long time ago, but gave up pretty quickly because, as it turns out, I have terrible rhythm. 

I mean, I suppose I could be worse. I could at least keep a constant stream of commands going; they weren't standing around telling me about how they want to go home...  very often...

I just wanted to keep the fever going through the whole level, and couldn't do it very often. I did a couple times... and it was rare that it took me less than all 10 rounds to get the fever... oh well. Like I said, I could have been worse.

Anyways, Patapon is a real time RTS Rhythm game. Weird right? But AWESOME.

I'm very impressed at the fusion of gametimes that Patapon brings to the table. You are the Patapons' God, and you command them in battle using a 4 beat code, played out by 3 different drums. A different sequence of drums executes a different battle command. If you don't execute the commands in decent rhythm, the patapons just stand there and look at you like you're kicking a puppy.

You have basic battle tactic moves at your disposal: advance, attack, dodge, defend, and charge (and by charge i mean 'build energy' not 'rush forward'). You also have a few different types of armies from which you choose 3 for each level. As for classes, you basically have archers, lancers, warriors, brutes, cavalry, and bards. (Though, in this game, the bards are actually heavy damagers, not buffers)  You have to create each man in your army, and within each of those classes is... i think... 7 different types of patapons. A normal patapon, and 6 specials, all that have a different effect on your army and require items you aquire from hunting in order to create. 

Aside from having to chose which types of patapons you want to take into each battle, all of the strategy lies in the moment, and can be absolutely frustrating.  While it's similar to many boss fights in other games as far as memorizing what they do, and manipulating the character(s) to counter it, its different because you have a delay, AND you might not be in sequence.  The game plays in rounds: you have 4 beats to give the command, and then they spend the next 4 executing it.  If the monster attacks you while you're giving the command, it does no good, and then your patapons are defending against an attack that already came and went. So, timing brings a level of frustration (the good kind) that further promotes how well the game integrated rhythm and strategy to be a new breed of game.

The art also made me happy =) Its adorable.

Very simple, but also very elegant. Sometimes with simple 2d games, I get the feeling like the art gets lazy... however, this was just pretty. The color schemes were well put together, wonderful use of color and patterns... and even though they reused the bosses twice, with minor modifications, it didn't bother me.

[TLDR] The game was unique, well thought out and balanced, very aesthetically pleasing, and very very fun.

End