The second game in a series about saving the world in only half a minute has once again won my love in only half an hour. All the gameplay you know and love from the first game is back and upgraded just a tad for more dynamic fights without losing its original feel. If you've played the first game you'll have a good time seeing some subtle callbacks, but if you're jumping into the series with this game you'll still have a grand time; skipping the first game in no way makes the game any less fun.

Outside of fighting, there's so much to be done. Weapon crafting, skill leveling, bonus content you purchase using gold saved up from missions, and so forth. It's so easy to climb your way up to 100% completion and yet so difficult to successfully achieve that goal with such a large number of tasks to complete. You won't be left feeling like you didn't have enough to do.

Plus there's a leaderboard for benchmark testing the game on your computer so you can compare your results to other players for whatever reason. How can you not love this game?

My first impression after having done the first part of the story:

Don't let the appearance of this game fool you; it's a badass game and offers some quick fun if you are lacking of time or if you are a hardcore player, finish the game in a long session. Do not feel disheartened if you completed the first mission set ---- Your journey is just the beginning! If you are a completionist, check out the gallery and unlock artworks, videos and soundtracks by finishing the game! The only complain I have is only the music transition while fighting against the enemies while not on any mission, since it gets rather repetitive. Steam Workshop support allows map creation for increased gameplay value.

For the options, each gamepad and keyboard bindings can be customized to your liking and for the first time, occulus VR mode on a 2d game(?).

Experience great soundtrack (especially the main menu!), improved battle (now you have skills, class, party and formation) and having the money-minded goddess along with your journey, HMH fans and newcomers will love it!

If you LOVED the first title you'll...

...feel torn on this one.

It's not a bad game. Like all sequels it does everything its predecessor did with bells and whistles added. Unlike the previous title, you get an art gallery, unlockable costumes for the Time Goddess, and a more cohesive plotline with cutscenes and character development.

But that's what's off-putting for some. The first title had miniature 30 second quests selected from a world map where the boss, area, and quest were all self-contained. The bosses were made to be humorous and you'd get a small 4 sentence 'epilogue' to the quest that had a joke or two in it. The plot-line was backdrop: it merely explained why you were traveling the world.

The Second Coming places the plot in center-row and heavily emphasizes it. You get cut-scenes pre and post quest, flashbacks while you travel the world map, and character exposition and development. Bosses are no longer humorous with ridiculous motivations for their actions: they are taken much more seriously. Granted, we aren't dealing with Final Fantasy levels of writing and exposition, but the humor is considerably toned down. You'll either appreciate the expansion or hate it vehemently.

There were some casualties in transitioning to a story-driven game. Whereas you were timed in the previous title and graded on it after a quest, this game merely continues on with the storyline after a quest is finished. They've done away with the quest completion screen, which details your time and objectives completed, so the game places less emphasis on speed-running. Ironically, time is less emphasized in the series than ever before.

The sequel DOES fu*k up in two indisputable ways: the ability to go back to completed quests in a time trial mode and the ability to level up in the over-world map. When you level up outside of a quest, your level carries over to the next quest. Which means the element of grinding is introduced in a series where a 30 second quest's challenges include getting strong enough to defeat a boss. You can realistically grind outside of a quest so that when you enter it you're already set to beat the boss, which is beyond retarded in this series. Secondly, while you can go back to completed quests to beat the clock, you keep all of your current equipment and levels, which is doubly insane and defeats the point of the 30 second timer and a time trial challenge.

Granted, you don't NEED to grind, ever. But the fact that it's even an option is just as bad as auto-aim in a PC FPS.

Two ♥♥♥♥-ups aside I'm really split on this game. The previous title had a more arcade-like feel and you could pick up and play it whenever and put it down a minute later. This title has a more continuous feel to it, and in transitioning to a serious RPG some of the humor of the last title is lost. I miss bosses that wanted to blow up the world because others confused their species for a similar looking species. But it's still an enjoyable title that tries something new with the base 'Half-Minute Hero' experience still lying underneath.

I have 30 seconds to write a revie-

I have been waiting for a long time to play this game, waiting for a good sale, and even if I only found a 50% one on this Summer Sale, oh man, if it was worth it.

Half Minute Hero: The Second Coming is, as you might have know, the sequel of "Half Minute Hero; Super Mega Neo Climax Ultimate Boy" (the hell is going on with the names, man?), and it does fell true to the first one, while being original on his own.

The story picks up on the year 200, 100 years after the first one, and as the original one, has multiple stories (5 in total, the first one being a bit short as the introduction and tutorial, while the last one is pretty much the ending and final battles), most of them with their own characters, like in the original (the Hero Mode, Princess mode, Evil Lord mode, and Knight mode on the original).

The main thing that has changed here is the seriousness. This game is more serious than the last one, where half the stages where filled with parodies, jokes, easter eggs and references. There are still some quite hillarious stages, but nowhere near before. Instead, you can find parodies and references in the story, maps, and even the items (really? The bike and Buster Sword from Cloud? I rather wear Vivi's outfit...).

The soundtrack is f#cking boss. I'm not even kidding. Not only it sounds way better while having the same style, but each episode of the game has multiple themes for each battle and map. And I can tell you, the music just gets better the further you go into the game.

One main problem is the difficulty...It might be that I'm a Badass, or something, but I found it a bit easy. Specially with the "Global Level system", and the "Global Dungeons". The idea is that you can level up out of the stages, so when you start your next battle, you will start at level 5 or so, instead of level 1. The Global dungeons are a good adition, but it's way TOO easy to level up in them, while searching for the loot on them.

Another trouble I find on this game, is that the story doesn't have multiple routes like the original. Further more, while in the original there where multiple ways to finish a stage, here there are not much of those. There are, though, some secret companions that are not easy to find, and usually need some backtracking to get (like Cozain, who you will need a guide to find, like me).

Something that has also been done well, are the cameos. A good amount of characters from the original can be found in here: Allied characters, the other heroes of the game, some Evil Lords...Even the main character itself! Most of them will join you in some way, and only a few of them will serve of any way on the story (like Geezer, who I'm not gonna spoil who he is, since it's quite obvious, but appears in all the chapters, helping the heroes). The new Formation system also makes the allies feel a bit more usefull than before, and now both you, allies and enemies have skills...Even though they appear out of chance, making them pretty luck-based.

Something great, and that I wanted really bad on the game, is the Map Editor. I mean, IT'S PERFECT! Now you can make your own maps, or download the maps from others, play them alone, or with friends! It makes the game last much more, and it's something that A LOT of games should have by default.

While it took me about 14 hours to unlock most of the original Half Minute Hero, I have played this one for 20 hours, and I'm nowhere near getting everything (Dude, the Demon Maze is a nightmare...). I would totally recommend this game, SPECIALLY if you played the first one. 20€ is a bit too much, though, so wait for a sale like I did. 10€ or less is a good price, and you should buy it from that point. There are probably DLC's for this game, I haven't checked them yet, but you could also buy them to extend the game, if you want.

Very good game! Normally I don't like games giving annoying time limits but this game is an exception (and far away from annoying). Additionally, it's sense of humor is great. All in all playing this 'other-kind-of-RPG' is real fun.

The Time Goddess has given me more than 30 seconds to review this game, so I will make use of her charitable nature.

Half Minute Hero: The Second Coming is the second (obviously) Half Minute Hero game. With a good mix of RPG, puzzle, and action all packed into one hilarious RPG which lampoons pretty much everything in those games. You have several stories to go through which span an impressive plot which is told in a series of (technically) 30 second levels. The characters are colorful and the gameplay is amazingly fun. Keeping in touch with true frantic action, you must make all your choices quickly, lest those 30 seconds you have be wasted, or you could always pay the stingy Time Goddess.

The game is extremely fun, with the game keeping the pedal to the metal at all times. The story and dialogue gloriously pokes and prods fun at many tropes present in video games, from forcing you to pick a specific choice to giant robots (who doesn't love giant robots?)! This game, like its predecessor, has an overarching story that encompasses several campaigns following different heroes of different eras, all helped by the Time Goddess.

The gameplay is simple, but fun. You'll find yourself smiling as you plow through fields or Global Dungeons looking for EXP, gold, and items. During missions, you have to balance time and money, adding a strategic / tactical aspect to each and every mission. Do you plow through to the boss and risk being too weak or grind your levels until you're strong enough? Not only there, there's plenty of secrets in the game that'll keep you engaged for awhile as well.

There's also a map creation system where you can create your own maps to play and download creations of other players, to further add to the content of this game!

It also has a multiplayer function, though I've yet to try that out.

Overall, it's an amazing game that is definitely worth the price tag that it has.

Unfortunately for me, the Time Goddess noticed I called her stingy and has taken all my money, my shoes, and my shirt.

Thankfully, I still have my pants. Wait, no. She took those too.

Great game! Made improvements to pretty much everything from the first game. Great soundtrack also. Looking forward to Half Minute Hero 3, if they make another.

MULTIPLAYER REVIEW:
This is one of the most competitive games I have ever played in Multiplayer, even more so than the first game. Goddess whims, the new feature in multiplayer mix things up nicely, with levels being doubled and gold being taken away at every turn. Also the inclusion of community created maps is a nice touch, giving this game literally infinite lifespan.
An absolute treat for RPG fans who are looking for something a little different, or anyone for that matter.
My one and only nitpick with this game is the fact there is no volume settings for sound and music, only allowing each to be turned off and on.
Other than that though, it's definitely worth €19.99 for all the content you recieve.

I have yet to touch upon the single player aspects of the game, but I know for sure I will not be disappointed. When I do get stuck into the story, I'll update this review.

Amazing Game, a parody on RPGs that is really underrated and a great sequel to the first game. The story is funny, and when it gets serious out of nowhere it is, most of the time, really done well.
Compared to the first game, the tone is really different and the game itself stops being a complete parody around the end of the first "chapter" (Overture).
The gameplay keeps the core mechanic of the first game and greatly expands it, being basically Hero 30 with classes, a new revamped Allies system and skills. It kinda slows down compared to the first one thanks to the skills but there is a way to turn their effects off to get the feeling of rush from the first game.
While I do recommend playing its prequel first, especially because the story has some important ties to the first one, it is not required at all and most of the jokes and characters won't really stop being interesting.
The crafting and cassino system are not really well done, but they are not required at all and are clearly there to keep the game going after it ended, though are not executed really well.
On the other hand, the Time Attack, Map Creation are really cool and can keep people who really liked the game interested. The game has some really cool quests, but that can be kind of "grindy" if people didn't really like the Global System, which is a system that tranforms the game into a more traditional RPG outside of the main quests.
Finally, the game has loads of content, and if people liked the core gameplay, they really won't be running out of time anytime soon, as long as they have the coins needed to keep going.