Eiyuden Chronicle is one of the more interesting stories for a series that pays tributes to its roots in a way that feels familiar yet has some distinctive elements that it has built up upon its prequel that help solidify itself as a series that’s destined to excel after this, something that their beloved creator would have cherished.
And while I’m not too fond of the old-school JRPGs of the generation’s past, Hundred Heroes does some elements that make the experience rather pleasant to perhaps try out, while also has some foibles that I feel are also a part of that era of JRPGS that might not be to people’s liking.

So, let’s dive in.
Presentation
While most of the prerequisites had been outlined in our preview, one cannot denote how beautiful the usage of its 2D/3D art style is during the entire game. The ruins that you’ll be exploring are inquinated with the usage of 3D within the surroundings as your sprite self is small in comparison. And looking at how the animation looks smooth even with its 3D space is a pretty good plus as well.
However, there are some clauses for concerns due to reports saying that the performance for the console versions, particularly the Nintendo Switch version, isn’t exactly up to par with the PC version, perhaps in part due to the more expanded nature of the game when compared to its previous game, Rising and its smaller scale side-scrolling nature. And I can see it being improved upon after its release.
The story is about the Galdean Empire finding an artifact that expands their powers, with the ensuing chaos that you would expect in an empire finding powers beyond their control, which rope in our main heroes, Nowa, Seign Kesling, and Marisa into this story. Most notably here is Nowa, who just joined the Eltisweiss Watch as a captain where we’ll get into the meat of the game besides its RPG elements.

One final nitpick that I have with the game is the text box during conversations closing quickly after pressing a button to skip and not being able to read the text afterward. It’s kind of a small thing that perhaps waiting for the text to uncover itself naturally is the better way, but it does feel a bit of an annoyance at times.
Gameplay
Now I’ll admit that I am not a fan of the old-school RPGs of the Suikoden era, and even after many hours within Hundred Heroes, I feel that my opinion on that hasn’t really changed that much, particularly on the fact that its randomness does lead to undesirable outcomes that might need a restart or two before getting it right.
The basic physical, MP and AP Runes attacks that build up as you battle which have more damage are a good balance if you know where to position your party members. It’s the sort of game that might not gel well with some players, but others will love how the system works and such. Though there are gimmicks that help make the fights unique towards the battles you encounter, like Magical Girl Hammers to stunlock bosses or having to dodge incoming attacks before dealing them. That plus the Friendship combos’ attacks makes it quite engaging to use and see the animation in action.
The aspect of the hundred heroes is quite an interesting feature that not only helps flesh out the game by either during a story moment or even just visiting towns and doing side quests but also helps in the town-building aspect too, from your place being just a yard of bricks to a tower for everyone to reset. You’ll find your many companions here doing their best to guard or even gather resources too. Further in the game, they might be part of the squad that leads the charge within one of the many game modes in store within Hundred Heroes.

The many mini-game modes within Eiyuden Chronicle are staggering, to say the least. From a mode that sort of looks like a certain famous spinning-top game, monster racing, and even the War mode where you must lead an army towards a victory condition. Plus even the staple of any JRPG, Fishing, makes a presence to help you gain more currency, there isn’t any shortage of stuff to do besides the RPGing in this game, and does help make the world feel huge and lived in.
Content
With all the bits and bobs on display, it’s no surprise that the game is huge on the content side, the folks at Rabbit & Bear Studios made sure that those joining in are thoroughly enjoying their time with the world-building stuff and taking your time with. They mentioned “Play it at your own pace” and sure enough, the main story campaign might take over 50 hours from start to finish. So content length, it’s pretty chunky too.
Personal Enjoyment
Hundred Heroes isn’t really my cup of tea, gameplay-wise. Like I love the atmosphere that the game builds up to, with the humans and wolf-man, land-sharks or even magical girls working hand-in-hand in combat to defeat the Empire is such an amazing premises that I enjoyed coming in to, but the game kinda lost me on the old-school JRPGs combat systems. I won’t discredit them because this is quite of a solid game but honestly, I was excited for after the battles to see what lies the tough boss and such, because the story is that good.
The slog to level up your characters to more ruin slots for more attacks could be a turn-off for some, with how the game leaves the attacks on chances to stun the enemies at one turn but doesn’t at another.

It’s the formula that is not too dissimilar from its main predecessor, but then again, it is a pretty good love letter to the games that inspired it greatly, backed by fans and a team of devs who worked on it decades ago too, so this might be on me not really gelling on the turn-based system.
Verdict
Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes is one of the most interesting RPGs of this year that helps immortalize its late creator’s work, with the flair that many fans of this sort of game within the genre can thoroughly enjoy. They just need to peel out its intro chapters to find a lot of fun stuff within it. It might not be my favourite game, but it can be someone else’s Game of The Year.
Played on PC, Review copy provided by 505 Games.
Eyuden Chronicles: Hundred Heroes
One of the most interesting RPGs of this year that helps immortalize its late creator’s work, with the flair that many fans of this sort of game within the genre can thoroughly enjoy
- Presentation 8.5
- Gameplay 8
- Content 8
- Personal Enjoyment 7