Hey, remember Suikoden? Remember how freaking great those games were? Well, it just so happens that creators of those games have started a new Kickstarter campaign to make a spiritual successor with Eiyuden Chronicles: Hundred Heroes.
Spearheaded by Yoshitaka Murayama (Suikoden I&II) and Junko Kawano (Suikoden I&IV), as well as the rest of the staff at Rabbit & Bear Studios, Eiyuden Chronicles: Hundred Heroes seeks to capture what made the Suikoden games so special while also providing a brand new experience with a brand new IP. Much like the classic games, Eiyuden Chronicles will feature a 6 character battle system with 100 party members to encounter and join your ranks throughout the game. It will also feature a blend of 3D backgrounds with 2D, hand drawn, sprites for a look that is both modern and reminiscent of the games that inspired it.
The games tells a familiar story of a region at war, an empire hungry for power and two friends caught in the middle: Nowa, our protagonist, is a young warrior recruited by the League of Nations in their joint efforts with the Goldean Empire in an expedition, eager to prove his worth. Siegn Kesling is the son of a prestigious noble house within the Goldean Empire who, while serving as an officer, has proven to have a sharp strategic mind. The two of them make fast friends, but the discovery of a rune-lens, a very powerful magic item, quickly creates tension between the League of Nations and the Goldean Empire.
In addition to the normal gameplay one would expect to see in a JRPG, Eiyuden Chronicles will also feature an expanded take on the fortress mechanics from the Suikoden games. For the unfamiliar, once you progress to a certain point in Suikoden, your party seizes control of a fortress that becomes the base of operations for your efforts against the empire. This looks to be returning here as well, but if the campaign page is anything to go by will be greatly enhanced, featuring more management style gameplay to research new weapons, cultivate fields and conduct business. It will even feature a guild system where party members can be sent out on their own to complete quests for rewards.
By the way… did somebody say rewards? Let’s talk backer rewards!
Eiyuden Chronicles features quite a few reward tiers, but snagging a copy of the game starts at right around $40 for a digital copy, and $60 for a physical copy. Many higher reward tiers exist with a lot of different rewards and goodies such as soundtrack (including both CD and vinyl), badges, Discord roles, beta access, figures, and even the option to have your own real life cat’s likeness immortalized in the game. Be sure to give the campaign page a good once-over for more details.
Eiyuden Chronicles: Hundred Heroes has already smashed it’s goal of $509, 639 USD, currently sitting at just over $2 million and counting (converted from yen) and still has 31 days to go. Still, I’m sure you know by now that the more money these projects bring in the better the final product typically is, so if this is up your alley, maybe consider backing.
Eiyuden Chronicles: Hundred Heroes plans to release on a PC, XBox One, XBox Series X, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, and a Nintendo console near you in the not too distant future.
