One of my favorite RPG franchises of all time also happens to be a franchise most people don’t know about. Konami’s Suikoden franchise wove masterful storytelling with solid RPG mechanics. Now, many years later, Yoshitaka Murayama (the franchise creator) has moved on from Konami but has created a spiritual successor to the franchise. Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes merges classic RPG gameplay with beautiful HD-2D environments for a brilliant experience.

Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes puts you in the shoes of Nowa, the new captain of a mercenary organization. Nowa is from a remote village, and quickly discovers the true meaning of leadership as his organization and country are thrust into war with an opposing (and power-hungry) empire. However, what happens when Nowa is on opposite sides with someone he thought was a friend? It will be up to Nowa to gather allies (from both sides) to try and stop this needless war.

The gameplay of Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes is reminiscent of classic RPGs. You’ll explore environments, solve puzzles, and fight in turn-based battles. Each character takes up a spot in your party, including some characters that are large enough to take two spaces. Some party members also are non-combat support members.

At certain points throughout the story, there are also turn-based strategy segments akin to the Suikoden army/war mechanic. Essentially, all of your recruited characters will be utilized to measure the strength of your army during a war that begins during the story. This means that recruiting allies along the way is vital not only for your RPG dungeon-crawling endeavors, but for the over-arching war effort.

Recruiting characters can be as simple as giving them items they need, or as complicated as having the right character with you at the right time, in the right place. Recruiting characters is just as much of a progression system as maintaining your weapons and armor. Additionally, as your characters level, they unlock slots for rune lenses, giving you even more options to expand character and party builds.

That’s the main thing I love most about Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes. Most RPGs have lost that “classic RPG” feel that games like Suikoden and the classic Final Fantasy games had. In Eiyuden Chronicle (much like those classics) It feels like the world is full of secrets and things to discover. Secret party members, secret dungeon environments, and all sorts of things are available if you look hard enough.

Some may dislike that certain characters are “missable” if you progress the story too quickly, but that level of detail makes you question how you play. Do you backtrack and revisit old areas to make sure that you aren’t missing characters? Or do you progress the story and risk losing access to some? Granted that backtracking might be a turnoff, but it also gives you opportunities to experiment with other party setups.

There are also a variety of mini-games and side-content elements like fishing, cooking, and more. The combat also brings back the classic idea of RPG boss gimmicks as well. It is all of these details that make Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes worth the wait since its’ Kickstarter. I hope it also is what builds a franchise because I could easily see this being a world that could be revisited in stories for years to come.

Overall, if you want a classical RPG experience akin to Suikoden or the older golden age of RPGs, Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes will scratch that itch. Between a fantastic story, a wonderful art style, and strategic combat, it will satisfy any RPG lover out there. If you’re looking for a new RPG to sink your teeth into, you can’t go wrong with Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes.

A Nintendo Switch Review Copy of Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes was provided by 505 Games for the purposes of this review.

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Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes

$49.99 USD

9.5

Score

9.5/10

Pros

• Great RPG gameplay
• Lots of secrets and lore
• Beautiful art style
• Wonderful story

Cons

• The classic sensibilities can be a turnoff