Within the years for the reason that explosion of recreation crowdfunding, a stigma has emerged surrounding these titles. Sure, there have been loads of video games that loved nice success after their crowdfunding campaigns, however extra individuals keep in mind the high-profile flops: video games with massive names and impressive guarantees connected that, for quite a lot of causes, betrayed the excessive hopes followers held for them. Many of those had been revivals–spiritual or otherwise–of beloved collection from ages previous. Now now we have Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes, a crowdfunded recreation designed to hold the torch of the much-beloved Suikoden collection from the PS1 and PS2–and, with such a excessive pedigree connected, there’s comprehensible trepidation: Will this be a wonderful return to type, or one other disappointment? Thankfully, for us (and all the backers), it turned out splendidly.
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Eiyuden Chronicle begins when a younger man named Nowa joins the Eltisweiss Watch, a small militia unit beneath the command of Countess Perielle of the League of Nations. On a joint mission with a navy group from the Galdean Empire, the Watch discovers a strong, historic artifact, the Primal Lens, incomes everybody concerned immediate renown. Nonetheless, it isn’t lengthy earlier than squabbling between the Empire and League over the gadget, together with inner energy struggles within the Empire, erupts into an invasion of Eltisweiss and a full-blown conflict. Because the scope of the battle expands, so does the story: Nowa rebuilds a resistance military in an deserted citadel, Imperial navy prodigy Seign struggles together with his emotions of obligation, friendship, and loyalty, and a younger warrior lady named Marisa finds her clan caught within the center.
The story does not draw back from its similarities to video games within the Suikoden collection. In a number of methods, it outright embraces them: a narrative that branches into a number of viewpoints, loyalties amongst mates being examined throughout conflict, inner political intrigue, highly effective magic runes being a vital plot gadget, and, most clearly, the vanity of constructing an enormous band of warriors to tackle a fair greater enemy. The story was helmed by Suikoden creator and author Yoshitaka Murayama (who sadly handed away shortly earlier than the sport’s launch), and it brims with the heat, wit, and plot twists that made the early Suikoden titles so participating and memorable.
All through the sport, you may be looking out for extra characters to bolster the ranks of the Watch and, finally, assist construct a base for the Resistance military. Some characters are simple to seek out and recruit, however others would require some looking or further effort: You’ll have to return to a city or dungeon from a lot earlier within the recreation, find a uncommon merchandise, play a minigame, or fend off a vicious foe to get somebody to affix the crew. Trying to find heroes is a number of enjoyable (and a lot simpler when you get the fast-travel means), and the reward of seeing your base develop and enhance with the efforts of your new comrades is immensely satisfying.
However the characters themselves are sometimes their very own reward. Regardless of having such a big forged, Eiyuden Chronicle manages to offer every character their very own distinctive voice and character. They do not simply fall into the background as soon as their recruitment arc is over, both; they will touch upon present story occasions whereas they’re in your social gathering, chatter as you discover cities, and work together with different characters on the base and elsewhere in your travels. Generally they will present up so as to add further aptitude while you least count on it, like after they get dragged into judging a cooking competitors.
Other than providing you with quantity of freedom to seek for mates while you really feel prefer it, Eiyuden Chronicle’s story development is much like the everyday JRPG: largely linear with main setpieces and battles to spotlight key story factors. You will undergo the standard dungeons, deserts, tundras, forests, and mines, generally needing to unravel puzzles to progress. Whereas a lot of the puzzles are fairly easy, they will generally be extra obnoxious than meant on account of random enemy encounters interrupting issues on the worst attainable instances. Nonetheless, the dungeon design is stable and exploration is mostly rewarding.
Regardless of having such a big forged, Eiyuden Chronicle manages to offer every character their very own distinctive voice and character
Fight can also be closely based mostly on the Suikoden video games: turn-based, with as much as six energetic social gathering members at a time, plus a seventh help member who can grant passive advantages like stat boosts or cash acquire. Characters can have each abilities based mostly on SP (which regenerates over time) and MP (which wants objects to revive), and every be modified based mostly on the runes that character has outfitted. Placement is essential: Some assaults and abilities will not attain far past the entrance row, whereas some less-armored characters work higher within the back–and there are additionally abilities that concentrate on total rows. One distinct fight aspect carried over from Suikoden is multi-character group assaults that require two or extra characters with some form of connection to be within the social gathering collectively, who can then carry out a tandem specialty assault.
Not each character in your military is out there to battle, however you are still given a really vast collection of social gathering members to select from to battle the way in which you favor. You are in all probability not going to make use of each single character you recruit in fight, and that is fine–seeing who you click on with and constructing them up usually works effectively. And in case you do have to carry a personality you have been neglecting as much as snuff, a graduated XP system works to get them to parity together with your high-level warriors rapidly. A little bit of auto-battling and they need to be set.
Boss battles are the place issues get attention-grabbing. Many boss fights within the recreation include some form of interactable gimmick that adjustments the way in which you strategy the battle. These might be objects to cover behind to keep away from harm, background objects that trigger harm to both you or the opponent based mostly on who will get to it first, or perhaps a treasure mendacity simply past a row of foes. Generally these gimmicks are actually enjoyable and intelligent, like a boss who will get knocked off-balance when one of many lackeys hoisting them on their backs is felled, leaving it defenseless. Generally it is depressing, like needing to guess which facet of the sector the enemy will seem on to hit a ebook and deal further harm, lacking fully in case you guess mistaken. When the gimmicks are good, they make for very enjoyable fights, however after they’re not, you may be eager for extra simple fight. And generally the boss is just an enormous issue spike usually, leaving you in a really dangerous state of affairs in case you are available in ill-prepared.
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By far the worst fight expertise, nonetheless, are the large-scale military battles. These play out like a turn-based technique recreation, together with your social gathering members commanding armies and shifting round a grid, however lack any of the enjoyable and pleasure you may discover in a devoted strategy-RPG. You spend more often than not simply watching issues occur, feeling like you’ve little or no management over the proceedings because the armies you moved round, slowly interact the enemy. You are left hoping they will do extra harm than the opposition so you’ll be able to return to the enjoyable elements of the sport as a substitute.
General, Eiyuden Chronicle hits the retro-RPG candy spot properly. It is targeted on delivering that heat, comforting feeling of a traditional JRPG, and even all the facet distractions–the card minigame, the bizarre Pokemon/Beyblade hybrid high minigame, the elevating/racing sim, even commodities trading–don’t distract an excessive amount of from the sport’s prime mission. Add some gorgeously painted and animated spritework and a stellar soundtrack into the combination, and you have got a pleasant expertise that generally falters, although not sufficient to make you place it down. Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes won’t be revolutionary, however it efficiently delivered on its core promise–and that is actually all it wanted to do.