Eiyuden Chronicle Hundred Heroes has been an eagerly awaited game ever since the successful Kickstarter campaign back in 2020. Having played the prologue Eiyuden Chronicle: Rising, I’ve been anticipating a banger release and it’s safe to say that Rabbit and Bear Studios have truly crafted a masterpiece of a title here with Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes.
So what exactly makes the game so good and does it live up to its hype?
Eiyuden Chronicle Hundred Heroes
In Eiyuden Chronicle Hundred Heroes, players will take on the role of Nowa, a character that’s joined the League’s mercenary corps. Together with his ragtag group of companions, Nowa sets off on a mission involving 2 Imperial officers.
The game starts off in a gripping manner with the dialogue and text onboarding players in such a smooth way. You’ll slowly be fed information about the game’s world and the various things going on around you but the Eiyuden Chronicle Hundred Heroes does this in an extremely entertaining way without forcing you to read tonnes of text or dialogue hidden away in menus. Everything you need to know is presented in a straightforward, easy to digest and understand fashion and it’s great!
Upon setting off on your first mission with your crew and the two Imperial officers, you’ll end up inside a cave and find yourself separated from your allies. Nowa and Seign Kesling, an Imperial officer will fight together to get themselves out of a pickle and upon reuniting with their allies, discover the “Primordial Lens”. This ancient device is a key story point in Eiyuden Chronicle Hundred Heroes and without spoiling anything further, the game really takes off once this has been discovered.
Eiyuden Chronicle Hundred Heroes’s story is excellent throughout with a very strong focus on political intrigue and the commarderie between friends, heroes and even the everyday citizen. What truly stands out in the game though is the fact that all major story aspects and dialogue are voiced and the voice acting is top notch stuff. You can tell that the voice actors truly put their heart and soul into their performance in Eiyuden Chronicle Hundred Heroes and have really brought their characters to life and it’s super refreshing to see this in a very story driven game.
The world of Allraan is immense and every single character you interact with in the game will add additional lore and background to the game. The world-building is therefore one of the best parts of Eiyuden Chronicle Hundred Heroes and you’ll get sucked into this title in no time. Players will want to learn more and explore more as they traverse towns and forests interacting with other characters and recruiting more heroes to their cause.
Gameplay in Eiyuden Chronicle Hundred Heroes involves turn-based battles involving a rather large party of characters. There’s a front line and a back line of supporting characters and players will be able to pull off extremely flashy rune-lens skills as well as later unlocking hero attacks which involve combining the abilities of characters with each other to deal massive damage. These attacks are the star of the show and look incredible in action.
Whenever these are available, you’ll want to use them since not only are they a spectacle to behold but they deal so much damage that they become invaluable tools in your arsenal in defeating tough opponents.
Eiyuden Chronicle Hundred Heroes involves adventuring out into the wilds and discovering new things as you go along. The story goes on at a steady pace while not feeling rushed at all. Players can take their time to explore and discover more about the world as well as find items hidden in chests or simply try to fight enemies out in the field to level up their party.
Battles are random and you’ll encounter enemies while running around though so if you’re a person who dislikes not being able to see the monsters on the map, you may find this a tad annoying. However, if you’re a fan of old-school style JRPGs, Eiyuden Chronicle Hundred Heroes is definitely a title that will appeal to you.
Eiyuden Chronicle Hundred Heroes balances the right amount of classic JRPG nostalgia with many modern systems that results in a game that I can wholeheartedly recommend. Visually, Eiyuden Chronicle Hundred Heroes is flat out gorgeous with some of the best sprite work I’ve seen in recent years as well as some truly breathtaking special effects applied to not only the attacks but to the way the game presents its story aspects.
The camera movement, the scenes, the environments… All of it is so beautiful and Eiyuden Chronicle Hundred Heroes is a captivating game.
The soundtrack of Eiyuden Chronicle Hundred Heroes is also filled with great music from start to finish. And this complements the game’s visuals perfectly introducing a sense of wonder and fantasy that permeates the entirety of the game.
Final Verdict
Yoshitaka Murayama and his team have crafted a masterpiece of a game here and it was well worth the wait. Eiyuden Chronicle Hundred Heroes runs great on PC and I couldn’t help but think that this game would be perfect for playing on the Steam Deck or Nintendo Switch in bite sized chunks thanks to the steady pace that the story moves forward at. This is a must-play JRPG and I strongly recommend it to fans of classic JRPGs to play.
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