In 1987, a game featuring a playable party of four characters took part in turn-based battles in order to save the world from the four Fiends. Those warriors were known as the Warriors of Light, and the game would be called Final Fantasy. The game from Square (before they were known as SquareEnix) would go on to popularize the role-playing game as one of the most well-known and loved genres of video game only a few years after the great video game crash of the early ‘80s, with rich storytelling and strategy beyond what games like Super Mario Bros. could offer. It would be considered the benchmark of RPG gaming and establish many traditions of the genre for years to come.

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Eiyuden Chronicles: Hundred Heroes poses the question, “What if early RPGs like Final Fantasy were released today?” It would then answer its own question by saying it would still be a good, solid play.

Eiyuden Chronicles Hundred Heroes Review

Title: Eiyuden Chronicles: Hundred Heroes
Developer: Rabbit & Bear Studios
Publisher: 505 Games
Players: 1
Genre: JPRG, Story Rich, Turn Based
Platforms: PC, Playstation, Xbox

Tradition at Its Core

Developed by Rabbit and Bear studios and published by 505 Games, Eiyuden Chronicles: Hundred Heroes not only does not shy away from the traditions established in early RPGs but wholeheartedly embraces it, with the very first screen reading as a dedication to all JRPG gamers before swiftly going into an anime-as-heck opening. The game has a feel of a greatest-hits album of your favorite musical act, hitting all the beats of a game akin to the original Final Fantasy or Suikoden, the latter of which the game’s creators consider Eiyuden Chronicles: Hundred Heroes a spiritual successor to.

Players begin as a group of four members from the League of Nations, tasked with the uncommon request to meet with members from the Imperial forces and team up to discover an artifact hidden in the Barrows of a nearby forest. The artifact appears to be a Primal Lens, a powerful version of the Runelenses that party members have that allow for magic. During the investigation, a lieutenant of the Imperial Forces confesses that in a premonition he saw the outcome of the discovery leading to conflict between the Empire and the League.

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If this review hasn’t made it clear yet, this is a traditional role-playing game in every sense of the word. It worked back in the day, and it works now. Battles are randomly encountered and turn-based, with the player selecting battle options from a menu. All player characters’s battle plans are selected before the turn commences. Dependent on the characters in the party, attacks can be teamed with another character for more powerful impact.

Eiyuden Chronicles: Hundred Heroes demands your attention. For those who like their games in short bursts, it may not have appeal, though it would be doubtful early RPGs would have been the genre of choice for those people. To exemplify, the game features the return of something long since dormant: the save point. Remember when we couldn’t save just whenever we wanted? The save point returns, and establishes the feel of pushing on until the player finds the next one, for fear of losing progress. Again, tradition in the truest sense of the word.

Eiyuden Chronicles Hundred Heroes Review – Last Word on Gaming Viewpoint

It’s tough to find criticism with Eiyuden Chronicles: Hundred Heroes without leveling criticism at the genre itself. One thing that I found detrimental was the encounter rate of battles; at times I felt I hadn’t moved five steps without another battle occurring. There is an “auto” battle feature but I didn’t find it quite as helpful as it tended to select moves that wasted skill points or moves whereas I could have set it up to not even require half-a-turn. I wanted to learn more about the developing story but consistently had to wait for another battle to pass. And yet, I find it hard to critique that because experiencing random enemy battles is literally one of the cornerstones of the role-playing genre; it’s a benchmark. How does one fault that?

It’s been said in the foodie world that to judge a pizza place, it all comes down to a slice of their cheese pizza. If that’s good, the rest will be too. Eiyuden Chronicles: Hundred Heroes is the RPG version of a slice of cheese pizza. It was good then, and it’s good now.

Eiyuden Chronicles Hundred Heroes Review – Verdict

7/10