Eiyuden Chronicle: Rising is an inviting and enjoyable preamble to Hundred Heroes when it arrives in the future. Though this prologue feels relatively limited in scope, one can't help but be excited for the expansion of its ideas in the full game.
Taking Eiyuden Chronicle: Rising at face value may be difficult for some.
Meant as a spin-off or prologue or introduction to players before the arrival of Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes potentially sometime next year, Rising sets its sights as a “full game” despite its initial appearance. There is a world where I could imagine Rising as a free-to-play mobile game that gatekeeps progression behind a paywall or tedious ads and bloated item merging.
Thankfully this $15 dollar gem is a delightful foray into a world that will be fully expanded upon, a combat system that holds significant promise, and an aesthetic that does no wrong.
Suikoden and its numerous sequels was another classic RPG series that whizzed right past my young head when I was busy obsessing over my Nintendo 64. As has become more common, spiritual successors to beloved franchises find new life when their creator leaves a big studio and asks players to fund new ventures. Rising was a promise made when Hundred Heroes reached a certain goal and promises to offer an early taste of what’s to come.
What intrigued me the most about Rising was that it was a relatively brisk story bolstered by town building and management. And while those aspects are a part of the game, it’s important to set proper expectations.
Players take on the role of CJ an adventurer who has arrived at the town of New Nevaeh after it has been devastated by earthquakes. However, the town adventurers and treasure hunters flock to the town in hopes of plunging the newly unearthed ruins around New Nevaeh for untold riches.
The simple premise remains as such for most of the game. What I grew to enjoy more than anything was the slow rollout of new NPCs and party members that brimmed with personality. A passing glance at Rising is all players need to recognize the game’s expressive sprites and environments that blend nostalgic style with HD visuals. The cast is distinct and striking such as Garoo, the kangaroo party member who wields a massive sword and sports an eye patch.
For the limited amount of real estate the game gives to players, it’s hard not to be astounded at the amount of material and personality given to make the few dungeons, enemies, bosses, and characters be as distinct and recognizable as possible. More so, it’s a tantalizing glance at what is to come when Hundred Heroes arrives with its massive cast and scope.
But a large portion of the game and the progression of its story is devoted to a series of main and side quests that task players with delving into ruins, conversing with NPCs, and collecting items. Initially, this loop is meant to get players accustomed to the town and learn about CJ as a character. It works admirably because I warmed up to the world within minutes and learned the mechanics of combat fast.
Yet as time goes by, players are going to recognize the amount of repetition that is inherit in Rising‘s design. Building the town is relatively limited. Buildings are placed in a singular location and players don’t actively work towards shifting around homes, stores, and amenities. Progression is dictated by collecting stamps in a stamp book. More stamps and more completed pages reward players with a drip feed of unlocks. More villagers in the town will ask for CJ’s help, more people will arrive to the town, more of the world can be explored, and more items are unlocked.
Skills and combat abilities are expanded for each party member that increase fighting effectiveness but also allow for better locomotion and transportation through the game. CJ can air dash and even get a double jump which makes movement a bit quicker and the treks between fast travel points a bit less grueling.
While it’s easy to become invested in the progress of New Nevaeh as a whole and the dozen or so hours it takes to finish the main story, the tasks they ask of CJ may grow stale after awhile. Players are going to be killing the same enemies, visiting the same locations to kill those enemies, and collecting items tied to specific locations constantly. It’s a tactic used by MMOs and time consuming mobile games for years. Players may trek back into town to fulfill a quest and get a stamp, only to get another quest asking them to revisit the same place yet again.
This kind of repetition can be somewhat damning for a game because it feels like a mediocre excuse to stretch out the run time. Rising can reach those lows at points but the game isn’t maddeningly passive or egregious, especially considering its bite-size nature.
Combat is the secondary glue that elevates this brisk journey just a bit more. Players eventually add Garoo and magic-user Isha to the party. This equates to three individual health bars and three sets of spells. Interestingly, each party member is tied to a face button and hitting one will summon that member of the party to attack. The most enjoyable way to layer combat is stringing together each character for a combo, often bashing enemies with Garoo and CJ while Isha closes the distance with magic.
Rising does not overtly challenge players unless they access the game’s hardest difficulty when beating the story once. Cycling in quest completion and combat, I never found myself truly challenged but still enjoyed the experience I had with the game merely because of its relaxing pace and charming atmosphere.
Eiyuden Chronicle: Rising is an inviting and enjoyable preamble to Hundred Heroes when it hopefully arrives in the near future. For some players, this prologue will feel relatively limited in scope, especially when the repetitious side quests pile on. Regardless, this world is inviting enough that one can’t help but be captivated by what will happen when all these ideas are expanded upon in the full game.
