Half-Minute Hero may be PSN exclusive, demo coming in August

There were three letters that went through our heads when we played XSEED's English adaptation of the upcoming Half-Minute Hero. For those not in the know, the PSP-exclusive "RPG" has a clever twist: the gameplay occurs in frantic thirty second chunks. (For detailed impressions, read our hands-on here.) The English demo we played retained the same action and charm as the Japanese original -- only this time, we could understand what was going on.

Certainly, Half-Minute Hero has a niche appeal. However, anyone who tries it out should be able to understand what makes the game so brilliant by giving it a try. We were told by an XSEED representative that a downloadable demo is planned, and that it should be available some time next month. The demo will feature two stages from the "Hero 30" mode, where you have 30 seconds to level up and destroy a wizard that threatens to destroy the world.

Those expecting a UMD version of Half-Minute Hero may be disappointed to know that XSEED is looking into making the game a PlayStation Network exclusive. Games like Patapon 2 and Holy Invasion of Privacy Badman! both skipped the UMD format. A game that's as pick-up-and-play as Half-Minute Hero does seem ideally suited for PSN distribution.