Eiyuden Chronicles: Hundred Heroes Reviews
Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes gets a lot of things right for fans of Japanese role-playing games. It has great visuals and a great soundtrack that complements everything. But poor design choices from the classic games that inspired it can negatively impact the whole experience. The main story may also not be that good for everyone, which can take a long time to play through.
A joyous adventure and fitting swan song for one of Japan's great RPG directors.
A big throwback RPG that doesn't meaningfully mess with Suikoden's 30-year-old formula.
One you get past its slow start, Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes mostly succeeds in weaving the stories of multiple countries and characters together into a sprawling epic.
Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes is a good reminder of why the RPG genre left some parts of its Golden Age behind. It’s also a testimony to what makes the genre special and the power of good storytelling to move and inspire. Admittedly, rigid adherence to archaic structures makes those first impressions tough to look past, but a creative battle system, extensive party customization, and top-notch writing make up for the retro jank.
Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes is a retro-JRPG throwback that delivers with great characters, an engaging story, and fun gameplay progression.
What could have been the best strength of Eiyuden Chronicles: Hundred Heroes is its greatest weakness. With the amount of things to do, types of gameplay available, and sheer number of heroes to recruit, the game feels unfocused and inconsistent. Some of what it does, it does very well, but it doesn't quite overcome the negatives. Those who truly love classic JRPGs like myself will find plenty to feast on, but those who don't should go Nowa near it.
Eiyuden Chronicle Hundred Heroes is a great journey back to the golden age of the JRPG and a tribute to all the good things Suikoden gave us. With nostalgia as its flag, this game manages to overcome its lack of innovation to deliver a great adventure that will take you back to simpler times.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
Maybe Hundred Heroes doesn't have me ready to run outside screaming about miracles, but I'm plenty satisfied and ready to go back and fill in some old, classic JRPG blind spots. Well, after I replay Tierkreis.
While Suikoden II and IV remain on another level, Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes takes the formula of these classics to some extent and repurposes it in a JRPG that is certainly interesting but perhaps not as beautiful and accomplished as we would have hoped.
Review in Italian | Read full review
Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes is a truly memorable experience that absolutely will stick with you when it's over.
A turn-based JRPG that accommodates those familiar with Suikoden or those who don't know what a Suikoden is. Embrace the old-school quirks and there's a wonderful journey to be had here.
While not every gambit succeeds, Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes delivers us the spiritual successor we all dared to hope for, but never expected to get. While things like the War Mode and some balance issues and bugs will require additional attention, there's a great JRPG here worth playing.
The dialogue is warm and chatty, and while the storyline and voice-acting have the unsophisticated quality of a Saturday morning cartoon, this only compounds its evocative PlayStation-era appeal. Murayama, who fell ill during the final stages of the game’s development, did not live to see its release, dying in February this year, aged 55. Eiyuden Chronicle stands as a monument to his singular design sensibilities, and a testament to the power of a determined community, both within the game’s fiction, and by its very existence.
Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes is an enjoyable JRPG that old-school and new JRPG fans alike will enjoy. It has dozens of playable heroes to recruit and sidequests to complete, the combat system is intuitive and satisfying and the 2D-HD graphics are pleasing to look at. While the storyline, characters, and mini-games are relatively simplistic and there’s lots of micro-management required, these issues do not deter from the game’s positive qualities.
Eiyuden Chronicles: Hundred Heroes is a good, deliberately old-fashioned JRPG with all the pros and cons. As a love letter to Suikoden it hits the mark despite some uncertainties, but the biggest problem at the moment are the bugs we encountered during the review, some very serious and impossible to ignore. Wait patiently for the bugfixes.
Review in Italian | Read full review
While its premise, story beats and main characters echo Suikoden II a little bit too much, Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes manages to stand on its own with a compelling tale, excellent characterization, classic JRPG gameplay and great presentation, which make it easy to look past some of its shortcomings, such as balancing and minor gameplay issues. The world of Allraan may never get into the spotlight again due to the unfortunate departure of its creator, but it is undeniable that it couldn't have been introduced to JRPG fans in a better way.
Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes is the true spiritual successor to the Suikoden series, capturing what made those games magical and expanding on the premise a hundred-fold. It tells a well-written and verbose tale of courage and endurance, but adherence to some fairly brutal old-school design precepts means it won't appeal to everyone.
As far as homages go, Hundred Heroes is an exceptional one. That old-school sensibility is captured perfectly, almost to its detriment. The sprite art is exceptional, the voice work is fantastic, and the character designs are excellent. I wish the pacing was more modern, though. And I’d be fine with an updated approach to inventory management. But all that is what makes this such a faithful successor to the Suikoden series. Well, that and the establishment of your own kingdom full of heroes. If you’re looking for the next Suikoden game, this is it! Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes is a worthy ascendant to the Suikoden throne.
Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes has had a rocky road to release. The latest (and, sadly, final) game from legendary Suikoden creator Yoshitaka Murayama is a beautifully executed JRPG that feels both modern and nostalgic. Above all else, it's a game where the developer's passion for the genre is evident in everything from the storyline to the battles.