Eiyuden Chronicle: Rising review

There are game series that everyone loves and respects, even if they haven’t played that much. For me, the famous J-RYO Suikoden series was one of them. (When they said the PS Vita market was closing, I picked it up and put it aside, but I’ll find a chance to check it out eventually.) In the summer of 2020, as Yoshitaka Murayama, who we can call the father of Suikoden, announced a game that will be the spiritual successor to the series, I’ve buttoned myself up. That’s how we encountered Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes, which was quickly funded by Kickstarter with the support of fans watching Murayama’s return to the series after having to cede the rights to Suikoden to Konami. After a few wallet-tossing actions, the side-game project, which unsurprisingly is one of the extended goals, was also funded within a few days. Eiyuden Chronicle: Rising is this side game. It’s not the main course, that’s for sure, but it’s actually an aperitif that comes before the meal. It may not fill your stomach well, but it will keep you from starving while waiting for the main meal.

The mechanics of city development are the focus of Rising to give a small preview of the world and characters of Hundred Heroes. A top layer of the sole has the platform parts where the action stands out, with a very light dusting of J-RYO powder on it. CJ is one of the game’s three protagonists who comes to New Nevaeh, the new destination for adventurers in search of a greater focal distance than his father found. Discovering and looting the treasures that lie beneath the city is the biggest favorite of adventurers like CJ, but of course it takes a thousand witnesses to call this ruined ruin a city. The buildings are falling into disrepair due to neglect, even the iconic clock tower in the square has collapsed into a pile of rubble due to the recent earthquakes, there is no sweeper… You can imagine there isn’t even an inn that the adventurers flock to the city can sit and rest when the environment is like this. As if that wasn’t enough, the deputy mayor says that in order to adventure here, we must buy licenses, and the town will get a share of the treasures we find! Of course, considering that it is difficult to see the inhuman price he desires for the license throughout the game, we find another method. If we can help the citizens and collect seals for our services and fill in the card that the chief gave us, we can get the license for free. Of course, as you can understand from the situation of the city that I just described, filling out the card is not an easy and quick matter, the demands and problems of city dwellers are endless …

At this point, the game actually puts you in a fairly minimal loop: accepting quests, adventuring, gathering resources, killing enemies, returning to town and completing the quest and seal license. You don’t deviate from that, and if you want to fill out and design your driver’s license in the best possible way, there are 160 steps to complete in total. I don’t know why this cycle usually gets too fast, but I managed to catch myself. Maybe the characters are funny, maybe my enthusiasm to understand the world of the game before Hundred Heroes, maybe none of the missions are so challenging that they will keep you busy for hours. Sometimes even those who come to town like that and say: “I need three mines of silver”, directly say: “I already have it, take it!” Collecting the seal by giving what you want within seconds or completing the accumulated tasks in a row will make you get lost in this cycle more easily. Well, you see the result of your actions right in the city. Buildings are repaired and new ones opened up as you bring the nation materials to rebuild the city. As the city grows and develops, so does the opportunity and business… everyone benefits, of course. Adventurers will find shops where they can take a break from the action, rest and eat, have their weapons repaired and access magic items; The economy is also booming for the city dwellers.

What kind of chief was he?

The character I call the Deputy Principal is also very different from the image you probably imagine; A blue-haired bookworm girl who’s just hit puberty, because that’s what it’s all about. He is one of the characters that you will be in contact with the most during the game and will not leave your side. Another is Garoo, a mixed kangaroo-human mercenary. The dynamics, conversations and stories of this trio are beautifully constructed; the more you play, the more you warm up to all three. As these three try to develop and develop the city and open it up to the rest of the world and unravel the hidden mysteries in the hill below campus, Rising tells you a story that isn’t very long (even if you play around for a long time), Rising tells you a story.

By the way, the first thing I said was that this is an action game; It’s really nice that the three characters that we manage have different characteristics and offer a deeper gameplay than a finger with a very simple control scheme. Since CJ is your most athletic and fastest character, you are usually in control of him as he shines in the platforming parts with his skills like double jumps and fast and hard combos in fights. Garoo is a heavier, dented character. It also has the beauty of completely blocking the enemy’s attacks (if you can hit them in time) and counterattacking. It can play an important role on some bosses, reflecting what they throw at you. Isha takes on the role of the team’s magician. In addition to his gliding and teleportation abilities, his attacks also change depending on the elemental rune you carry in battles. You can switch between these three characters by pressing the key assigned to them. In fact, if you’re well timed in the future, you’ll almost crush the enemy with linked hits called “Link Attack”.

Let me elaborate a little further: Since I was playing the keyboard, CJ Z, Garoo X, Isha were assigned the C -Keys. If I pressed Z, CJ would start his attacks. If you press X while the full attack animation is occurring, Garoo will launch the Link Attack this time; Then when the animation happens and you press C, Isha will attack, etc. The linked attacks you can perform increase by 1 each time you complete the license map. Even if you finish the game and complete all the side quests, for 160 seals you can get an item that will allow you to continue this indefinitely. Aside from this link attack mechanic, the elements are another factor that comes into play in the action portion of the game. You can customize your attacks and defenses with the runes you collect in the form of earth, electricity, ice and fire. At the same time, you can smash the obstacles blocking your path by using certain types of attacks to reach some hidden areas.

In short, Eiyuden Chronicle: Rising is a game that can be fun if you play it with the right expectations. I’ve seen a lot of negative comments on the internet, which they’re partly right about, but they seem to forget that this is an interlude made from time to time in preparation for the main game. Even the genre will be different (turn-based strategy). Well, if you get your expectations right and say, “Let’s play with this until it comes,” it’s a delicious snack for a relatively affordable price of 160 TL (even cheaper if you sign up for Kickstarter), but like I said the beginning. Oh, let me add it without forgetting that it’s included in Game Pass…