Hello Hero Review (Android/iOS)

by Manny Guardado

Dig out your best adventure gear and prepare for your next mobile journey with Fincon’s new title Hello Hero. The South Korean developer has taken elements from a variety of familiar RPG formulas and combined them with the popular freemium model that many mobile games use today to create a solid game on the go. The games graphics are top notch, highly detailed characters and environments are brought to life by charismatic designs and a vibrant color palette. Although there isn’t much of a story, the real draw for most players will be the addicting gameplay.

As the name implies the game revolves around collecting over 200 Heroes that are available. Players can level them up by battling and collecting experience points/currency or dropping some real world cash instead. Available on both IOS and Android, Hello Hero packs an accessible game that can be played for hours at a time or in a much more casual approach.

Gameplay is a mix of popular RPG formulas that seasoned gamers will recognized that have been streamlined to produce a fast-paced experience that most casual gamers can dive into. As the player begins his journey he is given some basic heroes to begin with. The world is divided into areas with a number of levels or dungeons that consist of linear battle sequences, each progressively harder and culminating in boss battles. After an enemy encounter, the player is rewarded with loot and the possibility of obtaining a new hero.

This is where the name comes from, in the post-battle screen the phrase “Hello Hero” appears when new allies join the party. This is where the game shines. Battles are simple time-based encounters, in which a the players team and the opponents team take turn attacking. The combat system requires attacks and abilities of all the characters to be entered into a queue. This may sound simple, but requires strategy because when a command is executed, a cool down begins for the entire team. This means that only one command can be executed at a time. The action may sound slow, but fights are quick with each cool down only taking a few seconds.

The character collecting aspect is the driving force behind the game, and it’s also an aspect that negatively effects some of the play modes like PvP. As the player progresses he/she is able to collect heroes through battles and unlocking special characters by purchasing digital currency. While this is common practice in most freemium or free-to-play games, it can create major inequality in PvP matches. The player who has spent the most money has the strongest characters, thus having in some cases major advantages in the field of battle. Some can argue that throughout history, the empires with the most cash usually had the most bad ass armies. Don’t let that discourage adventures with smaller purses. Aside from the campaign and PvP, the game offers a variety of play modes like Time Attack, Arena, and a neat world boss mode that will keep any hero or heroine coming back!

The game looks and plays beautifully. With a wide cast of collectable heroes, there is a little something for everyone. Visually the game’s graphics are on par with any of the top tier mobile games on the market. Its chibi-inspired character designs will charm the socks off of any player, even the toughest orcs out there.

Overall Hello Hero is a must play for anyone who enjoys RPGs and casual gamer who wants gameplay that’s a little deeper than the average mobile game, a la Candy Crush. It’s a complete package with enough content to keep any player busy. You can sit on the coach and let a few hours go by, or you can quickly fight a few baddies while on your way to work. Whether you’re battling on your own or with friends, Hello Hero borrows all the right mechanics from other genres and adds its own flavor to create a fun and addicting mobile recipe. Remember to catch em all… oh umm wrong game.

Grade: A-