Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes review

Our VerdictA joyous adventure and fitting swan song for one of Japan’s great RPG directors.

Our Verdict

A joyous adventure and fitting swan song for one of Japan’s great RPG directors.

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Need to knowWhat is it?A throwback RPG with over 100 recruitable weirdosExpected to pay:$50Developer:Rabbit and Bear StudiosPublisher:505 GamesReviewed on:Windows 10, AMD Ryzen 5 PRO 4650G, 16G RAMMultiplayer?NoSteam Deck:Not VerifiedLink:Steam

Need to know

What is it?A throwback RPG with over 100 recruitable weirdosExpected to pay:$50Developer:Rabbit and Bear StudiosPublisher:505 GamesReviewed on:Windows 10, AMD Ryzen 5 PRO 4650G, 16G RAMMultiplayer?NoSteam Deck:Not VerifiedLink:Steam

Mainly following Nowa, a young man thrust into leadership of a rag-tag alliance fighting against the empire, the set-up reads almost like parody. How cliché can you get? It also probably gives anyone familiar with Murayama’s Suikoden series a serious case of déjà vu. The setup was tropey even then, but what’s important isn’t radical originality or constant subversion. It’s the way this familiar structure and story is told, and Eiyuden Chronicle tells it with supreme confidence.

Each character is wisely defined with simple strokes, motivation and personality always so clear that even at its most complex, there’s never any question about who stands where. That they’re all deeply lovable certainly helps: More than once someone I thought was just a one-off side character would show up hours later in the middle of a high-octane climax and have me jumping out of my chair, celebrating as if I just beat the hardest boss in the game.

Image1of4(Image credit: Rabbit and Bear Studios)(Image credit: Rabbit and Bear Studios)(Image credit: Rabbit and Bear Studios)(Image credit: Rabbit and Bear Studios)

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(Image credit: Rabbit and Bear Studios)(Image credit: Rabbit and Bear Studios)(Image credit: Rabbit and Bear Studios)(Image credit: Rabbit and Bear Studios)

(Image credit: Rabbit and Bear Studios)

Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes

(Image credit: Rabbit and Bear Studios)

Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes

(Image credit: Rabbit and Bear Studios)

Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes

(Image credit: Rabbit and Bear Studios)

Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes

In theory, at least. In practice the default setup is tuned a littletoowell. On the normal difficulty I was able to auto-battle my way through nearly everything without a thought. Fights still have personality, though, with unique AI settings highlighting personality quirks with clever light touches. The violent healer Francesca prioritizes attacking, converting SP—which is gained each turn to use skills—into magic buffs, while the strategist Melridge focuses on spells and damaging large amounts of enemies at once.

Everyone expresses themselves differently, but the result is always delightfully big. Two feisty girls try and fail to seduce a horrifying flesh monster, a rabbit dressed like a wizard gets punched into the atmosphere, a horde of zombies are blasted with giant hearts—there’s a flashy surprise waiting at every turn. It all hums along nicely, battles acting as comfortable breaks in dungeons filled with light puzzles and a gentle encounter rate.

Every five hours culminated in a fist-pumping climax that had me saying “god I love video games,” out loud to no one. And once the dust settled and I could breathe again, I cooked a meal with characters I’d grown closer to.

Image1of6(Image credit: Rabbit and Bear Studios)(Image credit: Rabbit and Bear Studios)(Image credit: Rabbit and Bear Studios)(Image credit: Rabbit and Bear Studios)(Image credit: Rabbit and Bear Studios)(Image credit: Rabbit and Bear Studios)

Image1of6

(Image credit: Rabbit and Bear Studios)(Image credit: Rabbit and Bear Studios)(Image credit: Rabbit and Bear Studios)(Image credit: Rabbit and Bear Studios)(Image credit: Rabbit and Bear Studios)(Image credit: Rabbit and Bear Studios)

(Image credit: Rabbit and Bear Studios)

Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes

(Image credit: Rabbit and Bear Studios)

Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes

(Image credit: Rabbit and Bear Studios)

Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes

(Image credit: Rabbit and Bear Studios)

Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes

(Image credit: Rabbit and Bear Studios)

Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes

(Image credit: Rabbit and Bear Studios)

Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes

Because I believed them. I’d laughed at their hijinx, struggled with them in fights, bonded with them in moments of quiet and imprinted so much of myself onto these simple, wonderful, canvas-like characters.

The Verdict85Read our review policyEiyuden Chronicle: Hundred HeroesA joyous adventure and fitting swan song for one of Japan’s great RPG directors.

The Verdict

85Read our review policyEiyuden Chronicle: Hundred HeroesA joyous adventure and fitting swan song for one of Japan’s great RPG directors.

85Read our review policy

Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred HeroesA joyous adventure and fitting swan song for one of Japan’s great RPG directors.

Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes

A joyous adventure and fitting swan song for one of Japan’s great RPG directors.

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Our Verdict#

Our Verdict