Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes Review – Outlaws of Allraan

Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes is the first title from Rabbit and Bear Studios, crowd-funded nearly four years ago and ultimately becoming the third highest-funded Kickstarter project. The promise was simple – a Suikoden spiritual successor from the minds that made some of the best entries possible, Yoshitaka Murayama (who sadly passed away in February) and Junko Kawano. It’s a throwback, a nostalgia play, but you would usually expect some contemporary twist, be it in the design, combat or quests.

However, Eiyuden Chronicle keeps things aggressively old-school, from the turn-based combat, which features a timeline and Hero Combos, to the random encounters with enemies (though the Auto combat option is deeper than expected); from the simple yet charming sprite-based characters and their expressions to the overworld exploration.

"Perhaps even then, however, it’s a perfectly competent role-playing experience – one that I like and find myself smiling at occasionally but can’t love for many reasons."

There’s an earnest attempt to emulate the charm that made Suikoden such an essential part of RPG history, be it in the hundred-plus heroes or its take on Army Battles, known as Wars. The 3D environments shine, while the voice acting is enthusiastic and peppy when required but weighty and emotional in equal measure.

Maybe it would have been a more fitting experience on the Game Boy Advance (or Nintendo 3DS, given the sheer scale) as you meet and level up new characters, discovering locations with enemies that almost one-shot as you grind out levels to humble them. Perhaps even then, however, it’s a perfectly competent role-playing experience – one that I like and find myself smiling at occasionally but can’t love for many reasons.

Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes is set in Allraan, where the League of Nations and Galdean Empire coexist. You start as Nowa, a humble, likeable teen who joins The Watch in Grum. For his first mission, he and his allies, Lian, Mio and Garr, team up with members of the Imperial Army, Seign and Hildi, to investigate the local Runebarrows. The empire looks to consolidate its power, and the Primal Rune-Lenses in these barrows are a huge factor.

Of course, even after a successful joint mission between the Watch and Imperials, tensions mount. Six months pass, and while the emperor of Galdea still rules, Dux Aldric holds the cards, garnering a fierce reputation. The League of Nations insists on assuaging the Dux, with only one member – Perrielle, the Countess of Grum – showing any opposition. Eventually, Nowa and his friends embark on a mission to recruit more members of the Watch before being tasked to hunt down some bandits in the region. One thing leads to another, and suddenly, Euchrisse is at war with Galdea, and you need to cultivate a rebel Alliance to fight back.

"The cast of Eiyuden Chronicle is well-rounded overall…except for Nowa. Though initially quite likeable, he can feel a little too milquetoast at times…"

It’s a fairly typical tale – the sheer typicality of it is even a factor for Perrielle naming Nowa as the Alliance’s commander and using his underdog status to garner support. This isn’t to say it’s bad – just that several tropes are as you’d expect in the early going.

However, give it some time, and the world of Allraan slowly opens up. We’re introduced to Marisa and the Guardians, tasked with guarding the Runebarrows until those destined for the Primal Lenses appear. Seign’s role and how he deals with the Dux’s plans is also compelling, torn as he is between his principles and loyalty to the empire.

It’s backed by solid writing, even if Lian’s snappiness and Pohl’s lovingly talking about a giant rune tank are sometimes overdone. All the heroes are fairly distinct, whether it’s Perrielle’s fiery attitude and snark, Mellore and her over-the-top magical girl personality, Zabi’s laughing fits at almost every turn or Carrie, a teleportation specialist who insists on perfection.

However, as often happens with titles of this scope, only select heroes receive extensive character development or screen time. Those introduced as part of the story get their time to shine, but others you recruit are typically brought on by just talking or giving them something. Voila, instant ally. Some develop further when recruited (more on that shortly), but they’re often the exception to the rule.

The cast of Eiyuden Chronicle is well-rounded overall…except for Nowa. Though initially quite likeable, he can feel a little too milquetoast at times, especially when his competency in leading the Alliance comes up repeatedly. The emotion is there when it counts, and Andrew Wheildon-Dennis does his best to add layers to the character, but he comes off as uninteresting, especially compared to Seign and Marisa. The plot is evenly paced, at least, and doesn’t feel like a slog at least.

"There are also Hero Combos, where two or more characters execute a joint attack move, though they each need a specific amount of SP."

Upon recruiting a hero, they can serve as a party member in combat or act as support, providing passive benefits like increased resources gained, raising attack and speed before combat and more. When the Keep becomes available, you can acquire different upgrades for resources and funds, but certain characters are required to maintain those facilities.

Upgrading the Keep further unlocks even more facilities and options and can make for interesting new additions, like mini-games. For example, when Kurtz arrives, he’ll serve as the chef, cooking meals you can use in battle. However, he also has a cooking mini-game attached, where Nowa assists in cook-offs against rivals, selecting dishes best suited for the judges.

The problem with this – and even the fishing mini-game – is that it boils down to little more than button-mashing. Not that I expect all of these to have Queen’s Blood or Gwent levels of depth, but a bit more nuance (and less guesswork in the case of the cook-offs) would have been nice. As such, I appreciate the extra effort in developing these side characters, especially when so many have such throwaway side quests.

Combat is turn-based, but there’s also a timeline of the turn sequence based on each character’s speed. Your party and enemies have a frontline and backline with three characters each. Typically, the frontline can only damage enemies in the first row, with some exceptions. Meanwhile, the backline characters can attack those in the front and back rows but are typically less durable than the frontline fighters. So it follows that the evasive or tanky fighters are in the front while your archers, healers and mages are in the back.

Some heroes have Rune-Lenses, which can activate different Elemental Magic and Skills. Depending on the Runes equipped, you could have characters specializing in multiple kinds of magic, learning new skills (like sleep-inducing slashes that seemingly never work) or receiving slight stat increases. There are also Hero Combos, where two or more characters execute a joint attack move, though they each need a specific amount of SP.

"Some battles have gimmicks, and while they often consist of opening a treasure chest for an additional reward, they get more complex in boss battles."

The system is initially robust, and you’ll weigh different strategies as more enemy types emerge. Do you eliminate the Rabbit Witches in the back row to prevent them from casting area-of-effect spells and damaging the whole party? Do you focus on the heavy hitters in the front? Sadly, as time progresses and more Hero Combos become available, some problems with the system emerge.

First, the enemies, especially in newer regions that are part of the story, feel slightly overtuned. Some leveling and purchasing equipment helps to even the playing field. However, even on Normal difficulty, they often feel like they’re attacking first all the time (which becomes all the more irritating if they focus on a single party member, like a mage, and take them down quickly) and deal too much damage.

SP is essential for unleashing Skills and Hero Combos, but each character generates them separately. If you want to perform a triple-hero combo and each doesn’t have three SP, then forget about it. It’s not that big of a deal with two heroes and lower SP costs, but it all boils down to the party members available (and you won’t always decide the party composition).

It also doesn’t help that some characters don’t have Hero Combos. You might want to stick with Yusuke for his ability to Charge Up, increasing damage for his next attack, but despite being so indebted to Nowa when recruited, they don’t have a Hero Combo. Heck, many characters who owe Nowa don’t have Hero Combos with him, which is baffling.

Some battles have gimmicks, and while they often consist of opening a treasure chest for an additional reward, they get more complex in boss battles. It usually boils down to a character picking the Gimmick option, and while there is some decent usage of it – like attacking a boss’s supports and causing it to topple – there are other times when it’s completely random. Nothing says engaging like flipping a coin to select a grimoire and summon a magic hammer for some whack-a-mole against a boss burrowed underground…only for them to re-emerge on the other side and take no damage because there’s no indication of their location.

"You have limited inventory space for the first dozen hours or so, and even after gaining some more, having the same items resolved into separate stacks feels off."

The last issue is how the game handles magic. With how much damage your party will be taking, healing is a must, yet the more potent healing spells (which still don’t feel like they’re enough) cost lots of MP. Aside from items and resting at an inn, there’s no other way to regain MP.

You have limited inventory space for the first dozen hours or so, and even after gaining some more, having the same items resolved into separate stacks feels off. Since inns can cost a good chunk of Baqua, resting after every couple of skirmishes isn’t feasible. It isn’t until you unlock teleportation, return to your Keep, trek to its inn and rest for free that you can truly breathe easy, and even that’s not an option in some story sequences.

The game does help with the cash crunch in some ways, with new heroes often having good armor and equipment, but you still need to upgrade their weapons multiple times, which can get expensive. You can also indulge in trading at an early point, selling some items in demand for a premium price, but those don’t become available until you’re further into the game.

Overall, some changes are needed for the economy and overall combat balance, especially enemy damage and magic costs on the lower difficulties. On the bright side, the Auto battle option allows for setting various commands akin to Final Fantasy 12’s Gambits to execute depending on different conditions. I didn’t fool around too much with it, but it’s a worthwhile option, even if I would have also preferred speeding up battles.

On top of regular battles, you also have duels – which involve selecting attack, counter and break options against a single opponent – and War scenarios. The latter is interesting since you essentially control groups of units led by characters with unique skills on a grid-based map.

"Whether it’s the Suikoden successor that fans have waited for or something more, Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes is a solid RPG with an old-school appeal that’s worth a look."

Move a unit to a space with enemies, and they’ll engage in combat until one of them retreats due to taking too much damage. It’s simplistic at first, but there are several tactical opportunities, like skills to bolster nearby units, immediately joining one unit to another without taking a turn, causing enemies to miss a turn, and so on. Though more of a side dish to the game’s main combat course, it works well enough and generates some hype, especially as you’re informed of all the soldiers, likely named after Kickstarter backers, that fall in battle.

In terms of exploration, Allraan looks pretty good, and though the environments consist of familiar forests and deserts, they’re still full of eye-popping detail and effects. The Runebarrows are perhaps the standouts and even have some interesting puzzles, like rotating a corridor’s sections to access different rooms and trigger the way forward.

They aren’t all as intriguing, but at least they break up the pacing differently. Now, if only there was an option or an item to reduce random encounters so that backtracking to figure out certain puzzles didn’t get so tedious. There’s also at least one forced stealth mission, which is an absolute chore, so be prepared.

Though I like the overall look of Eiyuden Chronicle, there’s this odd depth-of-field effect (at least on PS5), which renders the top half of your screen blurry until you move up. It’s more than a little annoying, especially in the big locations, making it difficult to discern some open doors and pathways. At least the music is solid overall, with sweeping orchestral tune and retro-esque beats that mesh together well.

There’s no denying the atmosphere, pleasing aesthetic and music, or intriguing heroes, and the story, despite its tropes, does become more compelling with time. It’s just that the shortcomings are undeniable, especially when it comes to combat and the overall game balance or the side quests and development of some heroes. Whether it’s the Suikoden successor that fans have waited for or something more, Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes is a solid RPG with an old-school appeal that’s worth a look.

This game was reviewed on the PlayStation 5.