Board 8 > Eiyuden Chronicle Rising Review Zone

(+) Yeah! (+)

The side scrolling prologue to the hotly anticipated kickstarter game from former Suikoden devs! I forgot it was even a thing until it popped up on this month's release schedule

https://opencritic.com/game/13113/eiyuden-chronicle-rising/reviews

It's got a 69 through 12 reviews so far. Nice!

Seems like it's a fairly basic side scrolling action rpg, but with a town building element to it. The combat is fun, but maybe has too much backtracking and sidequests that slows down the main story progression. Scores seem to range from 5/10 to 8.5/10 so there certainly are some publications that did enjoy it. For only $15 though it's cheap enough that I'd still be willing to try it, especially since I'm already all in on the main game next year.

IGN Spain - 6/10
Eiyuden Chronicle: Rising is a two-dimensional action game built on the precepts of Japanese role-playing. It is an enjoyable "JRPG lite" that doesn't require a great deal of commitment, and presents an interesting and enjoyable universe in which you want to linger. A game that doesn't do anything wrong, but doesn't do anything particularly remarkable either, and which serves as a prequel to the eagerly awaited Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes.

Playstation Universe - 8/10
A great start to what I'm hoping will be a great franchise. Eiyuden Chronicle: Rising doesn't do anything to move the side scroller action RPG genre forward, but it does everything to make it fun. Rising reminded me a lot of old school 2D action platformers but with an entire town-building mechanic. It's also one of the most visually impressive indy titles I've seen in a while. Overall, Eiyuden Chronicle: Rising is a great starting point for what's set to be an epic JRPG, with Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes releasing in 2023.

Nintendo Life - 5/10
Do you enjoy waiting for public transit in the rain? Could you bear sitting next to a screaming toddler on a transatlantic flight? Do you think you'd derive pleasure from chopping down trees in the Great Forest over and over again until you had enough light lumber to fulfil three or four requests? If so, Eiyuden Chronicle: Rising has a delightful little adventure hidden beneath a lot of tedium just for you. If not, we wouldn't begrudge you for staying clear and hoping Hundred Heroes doesn't follow too closely in its predecessor's footsteps. This game certainly has charm, but it makes you work too hard for it.

RPGFan - 8.5/10
While Eiyuden Chronicle: Rising may simply serve as an appetizer for Hundred Heroes for some, its excellent writing and characters, fun exploration, and fantastic sense of community make it worth playing regardless of its status as a "prequel."

NintendoWorldReport - 6/10
The too-frequent backtracking, mind-numbing side quests, and overall lack of variety make for an experience that is tough to recommend. An unlockable hard mode, 50 in-game achievements, and the promise that Rising saved data will yield bonuses in Hundred Heroes are feathers in its cap, but Rising on its own is just too much of a slog. Here's hoping that Eiyuden Chronicles: Hundred Heroes lives up to the success of being the number one video game Kickstarter of 2020 because its prequel certainly does not.

XboxEra - 5.5/10
Eiyuden Chronicle: Rising is a really good 10 hour game stretched to be nearly three times as long. If you find yourself loving it early-on then it might just hold up for you. Sadly I was done by then and had to force myself to go any further despite loving the story, writing, and characters. The gameplay eventually becomes something close to good, and its really damned pretty. For either $14.99 or a download on Xbox Game Pass its not the worst way to spend your time and money, but I cant help but feel like the developers and Rabbit & Bear Studios bit off a little more than this game could chew.

Hm, not what I'd hoped but it's Game Pass so I'll play it anyway!

Seems about what I expected from the pre release stuff for it. Hopefully its not indicative of quality of the main game.

Also wtf its 30 hours long? What kind of 2D platformer is even remotely close to that length?

ninkendo posted...

Eiyuden Chronicle: Rising is a really good 10 hour game stretched to be nearly three times as long.

Nintendo Life went ham on this game, lol.

It sounds like my kinda thing tbh, Ill definitely play it.

yeah I was expecting a six hour game so this leads me to believe some of these reviewers are grinding too many side quests

I'm gonna play it regardless because we're in the dryest of dry spells but yeah

One of these days games will realize that side quests that arent fun are worse than no side quests. Some day.

Like good grindy games can exist. Ive put 40 hours into rogue legacy 2 which is obscenely grindy. But the grind is the fun part. If your core gameplay is fun it works.

I had not kept up with the development of this other than it supposedly being a spiritual successor to Suikoden. And now that I've actually looked at the gameplay I am disappointed because that does not look like Suikoden gameplay

ShatteredElysium posted...

I had not kept up with the development of this other than it supposedly being a spiritual successor to Suikoden. And now that I've actually looked at the gameplay I am disappointed because that does not look like Suikoden gameplay

This is not the main game. This is a prequel side game that was reached as a Kickstarter stretch goal, and it's not even the same developer as the main game. The point of it is just to establish lore and worldbuilding for the main game.

I haven't really kept up with the news about this game, but have they mentioned or hinted at how much the story to this might connect with the main game? I'm still eagerly awaiting more information about the main game but the little I've seen of this hasn't really piqued my interest.

Do you enjoy waiting for public transit in the rain? Could you bear sitting next to a screaming toddler on a transatlantic flight? Do you think you'd derive pleasure from chopping down trees in the Great Forest over and over again until you had enough light lumber to fulfil three or four requests?

Except for this. One or two of these things is a positive for me.

Camden posted...

I haven't really kept up with the news about this game, but have they mentioned or hinted at how much the story to this might connect with the main game? I'm still eagerly awaiting more information about the main game but the little I've seen of this hasn't really piqued my interest.

Here's the Q&A from their emails...
Q3: I'm not a fan of action JRPGs and aren't particularly interested in Eiyuden Chronicle: Rising. Will this diminish my experience playing Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes?
A3: Eiyuden Chronicles Rising is a supplemental experience to Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes. While it provides additional back story for certain characters, you'll still be able to enjoy the full adventure waiting for you in Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes!