Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes has a fantastic political-driven story, but it’s bogged down by quality of life issues and performance problems.
It was only near the end of Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes that I began to grow accustomed to its retro design. Throughout the RPG, I learned that I should pack as many healing and revival items as I could before a boss fight, but it still didn’t prepare me for what I was about to experience.
I sighed in relief as I finally beat a late-game boss I was struggling with, only to see it pull out a second phase. That was normal for an RPG, but I certainly wasn’t expecting to be stuck in a pseudo time loop. The boss fired off a huge cinematic attack that my wounded and battered party had no chance of withstanding, which led me to a game over screen with the option of a rematch. Attempting to reverse my fate, I faced off the boss again, only for it to start with the same devastating attack once more. No matter how many times I repeated this cycle, the outcome was the same, until I just gave up and decided to load my game from the previous save point.
That small moment exemplifies every little frustration that drags down Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes, a retro RPG that acts as a spiritual successor to the Suikoden series. Despite an engaging story, colorful characters, and solid turn-based battles, its lack of quality-of-life consideration and poor performance on Nintendo Switch drag this promising throwback down.1 vs. 100
Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes follows Nowa, the resistance leader of the Alliance, as he gathers heroes from around the continent of Allraan to fight back against the tyrannical Dux Aldric and his Empire. What makes that story so engrossing is its constant shifts in allegiance between multiple parties. Some see the light and defect to Nowa’s side, while others betray the Alliance for their own selfish reasons. There’s a constant tug-of-war between both sides that kept me guessing until the end.
Dux Aldric makes for a compelling villain. While he mostly comes off as a brutish dictator, his motivations seem agreeable. He’s in search of more Rune Lenses, which give people special abilities. However, many of them are in the hands of the privileged few, and Dux Aldric wants to democratize them. It’s noble, but tainted by violence; to him, the ends justifies the means. It adds quite a bit of depth to Dux Aldric as a villain, and with Hundred Heroes’ great pacing, it kept my attention through the entire game.
Hundred Heroes is similar to this year’s Unicorn Overlord in terms of its story setup and character roster. Like the latter’s protagonist, Alain, Nowa can recruit new characters throughout Allraan. They have colorful personalities that make them feel distinct, even though there are so many of them. Some of my favorites include Francesca, a nurse with an ironically short and violent temper, as well as Goldsmid, a goat-giant hybrid who is reminiscent of the satanic Baphomet (but is actually the gentlest guy ever who likes to pick stuff up for you).
Not everyone is fit for battle, but they can be used as support characters with special abilities. The maid Yulin doubles experience gained when in the party while the butler Janquis doubles money earned at the end of battle. Since players can only carry one support character at a time, they’re required to thoughtfully consider what they want to prioritize in their party setup.
