US version of Hammerin' Hero features shorter load times

Don't let this one slip under your radar. Atlus is publishing Hammerin' Hero, a PSP-exclusive platformer -- and it's available in stores today. This isn't just a quick localization, though. The game's project lead, Sammy Matsushima, explained to Siliconera that some real work went into the US version. "We added much more English voiced dialogue than what was included in the original Japanese release, along with the option to select the Japanese voice tracks for the purists who want to play in its native language," Matsushima explains.

Additional voice acting isn't the only new feature of the US version of the game; the gameplay has also been tweaked. "The character movement was slightly sped up for better response. We also addressed the long loading times before each stage and almost cut them by half." PSP owners have suffered through some pretty bad load times before, so we're glad to see this is something that was addressed.

Considering the large number of games Atlus plans on releasing on PSP, it's great to see the company is putting real effort into each localized product. Hammerin' Hero is, hopefully, a good sign of things to come.