Eiyuden Chronicle Hundred Heroes in the test: This JRPG probably only wants to be something for nostalgics

Eiyuden Chroncile Hundred Heroes is a brand new JRPG from the brains behind Suikoden, who have broken away from Konami and dedicated a spiritual successor through a Kickstarter campaign. This project wants to embody the classic JRPG from the 90s and, above all, make Suikoden fans happy. Eiyuden Chronicle: Rising from 2022 was just a small gap filler that was supposed to tell the backstory to Hundred Heroes.

However, I'm not approaching this test from the perspective of a Suikoden fan, but rather from the perspective of a JRPG player who appreciates the genre. I haven't played a Suikoden installment before, but I would like to understand the magic behind the franchise, which is what Eiyuden aims to do. Also, I assume that Suikoden fans who backed the Kickstarter already own the game anyway and are perhaps already celebrating the full dose of nostalgia. So as a non-backer of the Kickstarter: Is Eiyuden Chronicle Hundred Heroes worth it from today's perspective?

We begin our journey as the adventurer “Nowa”, who finds a group of mercenaries early on, which he immediately joins. Including an excited pugilist and a strong wolf who quickly introduces us to our first mission in the military. Already in the first few hours we discover important places and characters on a long journey full of intrigues and wars, which will cost us at least 40 hours of play. The pace of the narrative is pleasant and often provides motivation by changing the perspective of the main characters and even introducing completely new cities and peoples.

Unfortunately, Hundred Heroes fails to create an emotional connection to the main characters or the over 100 other playable characters that goes beyond a first impression of sympathy. Of course, this means that the plot twists that Rabbit & Bear Studios often try to create don't shock as much as they perhaps should. You can see that the localization is not very helpful, as well as other points of criticism, in the video above.

Unfortunately, the gameplay, which often sticks too tightly to JRPG elements from the 90s, leads to further problems. This has a negative effect on the speed of the game. Be it unpredictable random battles, backtracking that you would rather do without, other little things that destroy the immersion, unskippable animations in large battles or a limited inventory. All of this reminds me that I should appreciate today's JRPGs more. Deliberately omitting quality-of-life options so that the game seems nostalgic and then introducing them way too late in the game in the form of collectible figures only makes sense to me if you do it cleverly and creatively enough. Unfortunately, this creativity is missing in many places in Hundred Heroes.

By the way, if you want to save your nerves: You can find out how to unlock fast travel right here.

But of course that doesn't make Eiyuden Chronicle Hundred Heroes a failure. I had no graphics problems on the PlayStation 5 and the performance is definitely impressive. There are strange passages in which dialogue gets stuck unexpectedly and you have to wait a few seconds until it continues, but on the whole that's not really a negative thing. The game also impresses with its dreamy style.

The mix of 2D pixel characters and 3D backgrounds comes into its own during round-robin battles and dungeons. For example, although I find Star Ocean: The Second Story R to be a prettier version of this aesthetic, the developers at Eiyuden Chronicle clearly knew how to take such a design to a new level during combat. You just enjoy watching the 3D animations of certain attacks while you keep changing the group of six fighters. There are also creative hero combos that can later be carried out by more than two characters at the same time. The many animations in battle not only encourage exploration, but also to collect more figures. As the story progresses, the characters sometimes form their own cliques, which is also reflected in the fights.

You quickly get used to this dynamic in the rather easy random battles, but common battles seem rather annoying despite the auto mode and the option to let weak opponents run. In contrast, the boss fights, in which you can also interact with the environment, are real highlights because they make wonderful use of all the positive elements of the combat system and the design.

Equally enjoyable are the many mini-games that you open up as the story progresses. Even small things, such as stock-like trading with objects or the use of resources, enliven the world. By the way, there should be up to 120 characters, so the number of playable characters goes well beyond the announced 100 characters. By no means all of the characters are relevant to the story. Still, it's nice to see how every dialogue was put to music. The musical background also stands out positively in many places, but overall its quality fluctuates strangely.

Eiyuden Chronicle Hundred Heroes in the test – conclusion

Nowa's heroic story, which is reminiscent of stories from childhood, lacks the depth to stay in the memory for a long time. Nevertheless, Eiyuden Chronicle Hundred Heroes contains a lot of fun in the form of mini-games, exploration, the distinctive style of Suikoden and, above all, collecting countless figures with their own characters, attacks and stats. While the random fights can be just as nerve-wracking as the lack of comfort options, the boss fights are a real highlight that brings together many positive elements from the rest of the game. This fluctuation between fascination and fatigue is negative in many areas.

Overall, Hundred Heroes is a deliberately old-looking JRPG that clings a little too tightly to the past. Nostalgia doesn't always mean leaving out comforts. But since Suikoden fans who co-financed this project wanted exactly that, you can't necessarily turn the game around. However, for JRPG fans who are already used to better speed and more creative solutions to random battles, there are other games that better nostalgically use individual elements from Eiyuden. The game, which was developed with a lot of passion, unfortunately does not manage to join the particularly strong contenders in this strong JRPG year.