Eiyuden Chronicle Rising acts as a starter and this is to entice us to play the main installment of the game Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes.
Brought to us by 505 games Eiyuden Chronicle Rising is giving us a taster of what is yet to come for the series. This charming JRPG features real time combat and interesting characters. The world of Eiyuden Chronicle Rising is just begin on current gen consoles and PC. Rabbit & Bear Studios, the gracious devs of this series, initially started their journey on kickstarter. Fans loved the idea of this and poured a steady amount of money in. As a result of this, Eiyuden Chronicle Rising: A hundred Heroes was given the green light. Not many people expected this installment which is currently acting as a bridge into the new series. Read on here at VIBE as we review a game, I was personally really hyped for.
Adventure Awaits
The player takes control of a character named CJ who is an avid and keen adventurer. CJ is on search for treasure and wants to carry on her father’s legacy. This game is a rare occurrence as it is a prequel to Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred heroes. This game has not been released and is set to release next year. It may mean that the devs wanted something to tide us over and test the waters with.
CJ stumbles across the town of New Nevaeu which features several interesting characters. Some of the characters are human and others are anthropomorphic individuals that have the body of a bird or a kangaroo. These character aid CJ in her adventure by allowing her to earn stamps by assisting them. Quite similar to some of your favourite eateries rewards systems! Once she has collected enough stamps she gains the title of adventurer and gains recognition. Her main goal is to uncover a treasure her father once hunted named lenses. The more quests completed the more the town begins to flourish. As a result of this, its rewarding to see it unfold!
CJ starts off her adventure alone but is soon joined by two other unique and interesting candidates. One is a kangaroo mercenary who brandishes a menacingly large broadsword and the other is Isha a unique spell caster. All three of these characters work together to create a fully complemented band of adventurers.
Picturesque Places
Eiyuden Chronicle Rising boasts a charming sizeable map that introduces us to the games world. The game falls in line with a more metroidvania approach. As a result of this, certain areas are not accessible until you have the ability to traverse through them. This gives players something to work towards and explore for more treasure or to acquire resources. However, for the first couple of hours of gameplay the forest area is somewhere the player frolics through constantly. As a result of this, it left a tedious and repetitive element to the exploration.
Comfortable Combat
Combat is ridiculously easy. Playing on PC so far in the first few hours it has been a button press of Z and that is the entirety of it. There has been several moments where I found the combat to be mind numbing. As a result of this, a more challenging system or even more difficult foes would have been preferred. However, later on in the game they introduce link attacks. This is when the player is able to add different party members to their band of merry adventurers. Therefore, this allows clever combos when facing enemies. This does increase the combat element slightly but not enough to really act as a salvation. Magic is also infused into the combat and as a religious magic wielder, I did enjoy that aspect of it. Magic is a unique innate ability in this world and the caster capitalises on this when engaged in combat.
Questionable Questing
The game features a repetitive gameplay loop. This is players questing, collecting resources and dungeon crawling. The quests are not as unique as most of them entail fighting generic monsters in a dungeon or collecting resources for the townspeople such as timber. Speaking with the characters is the only saving grace from questing. The dialogue between the townspeople and the players party help spice things up. Some townspeople can be hilarious, especially an older resident who enlists CJ to help him reinstate the clock tower. He is an angry elderly man who seems to have a strong aversion to adventurers coming into his town. There is no shortage of quests but with the game clocking in at roughly 15 hours, you would expect a lot more diversity in them. When Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes releases the hope is because its the main installment of the series, that there is a more indepth questing and story development.
Beatable Bosses
The first boss the player faces is a horrific tree deep in the forest. The tree features terrifying jagged teeth and zaps the player with red lasers. Additionally, a worm comes out from the mouth of the tree and also attempts to attack the player. On arriving at the boss fight, I expected a lot more difficulty to what was presented. The boss’ weak spot was the worm and once this was identified the fight was over in a matter of seconds. Other bosses also had this problem. As mentioned before, the combat is increasingly simplistic even with combos and additional party members. Therefore, this is something that should be considered with Eiyuden Chronicles: Hundred heroes. The game would benefit from even a slight difficulty increase and more challenging combat.
VIBES SCORE
6/10
THANK YOU
Thank you for joining us here at VIBE to talk you through Eiyuden Chronicle Rising. Despite all its flaws this game does shape up to be a charming JRPG. The music and general vibe of the game will entice players in, so it’s worth checking it out even if just for that. Additionally, if you’re anything like me, the kangaroo with the big shiny sword will be a deal breaker! Check out the trailer below and don’t forget to form your own opinions and let us know in the comments.
It’s important to note that this installment of the Eiyuden Chronicle Rising is a prequel to Eiyuden Chronicle Hundred Heroes developed by Rabbit Bear Studios and published by 505 Games . Information on that installment can be found here. https://store.steampowered.com/app/1658280/Eiyuden_Chronicle_Hundred_Heroes/
26, Indie Game connoisseur. Also a hamster mum, fiancée & working in the addiction field. Gaming and writing are my escape and comfort for when the world gets too much!
