1 person found this review helpful
Recommended
0.0 hrs last two weeks / 11.6 hrs on record
Posted: 21 May, 2022 @ 7:07pm

Treasure Awaits?
Basic premise/Story

From developer studio, Natsume Atari and Rabbit & Bear Studios and directed by Hirohisa Ota. Eiyuden Chronicle Rising is set in the same world as Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes. A prequel where you play a very small cast of characters, participate in town-upgrading elements and unravel what secrets the town has.
Welcome Scavenger!
Unique Gameplay
In the beginning, you can only control one character. CJ. is a young budding scavenger who is looking to get rich by finding treasure. She’ll have to help out the townspeople before qualifying to get a license to travel deeper into the surrounding areas nearby. But along the way, she won’t be alone. The gameplay is pretty simple. You can jump and attack with upgrades to the combat as you gather materials from the environment and enemies to acquire the necessary materials to buy upgrades. Thereby improving your combat repertoire. Sooner or later more companions will join you on your adventure. Making the gameplay fresh in some way.

A Rough Diamond
Final thoughts/Ruminations

Did not experience any bugs or crashes during my playthrough. Honestly, the game is good. Just don’t expect a lot from it. The main cast of characters sold me on their interactions and i'm looking forward to seeing these characters again in Hundred Heroes. However, I did have some gripes on the main game as a whole.

First, the enemy types. Pretty good in the first couple of hours. But once I got around the five and ten-hour mark I could already guess what enemy I would face again. Just a different variation. Granted there was one new type of enemy once I traveled to a new biome. But the game recycled the same enemy type with little variation to differentiate. I think the game could’ve benefitted from different enemy races instead of going back to reusing the same old base model.

Second, a pretty simple combat system. You could technically change characters during combat and perform link attacks along with a unique ability for each character. However, the main combat formula becomes stale as you go through the game. You’ll hit the same three buttons continuously again and again. Didn’t bother me a great deal, but I think readers should know about this if they’re expecting great combat gameplay.

Third, Music could use some more tracks when venturing off into different zones. You will go back to old areas to unlock new paths once you progress further into the main story. But this coupled with the repetitive combat and seeing the same enemy types can dull your experience quickly.

Fourth sidequests need to be trimmed. Less on the go kill ‘x’, gather ‘x’ type, meet person ‘a’ then go back to person ‘b’ then repeat until done can quickly become a chore. If you want real sidequests, inject some flavorful side quests. Head into a zone to kill a unique monster type. Meeting NPC, who has a relationship with one of our playable characters. Detective sidequests, puzzles, escort with telling lore in the background, and more I could list which would elevate the game far more.

Thankfully the main story can do wonders to alleviate the main tedium. And the town upgrades you can do while on the road to complete a sidequest are a nice way to pass time for a small distraction and rest from the main story.

Now for the good parts. The environments and graphical style for the game are eye-candy and I constantly found myself walking through the world seeing the new biomes and would be giddy when a new part of the town is unlocked for you to tread through. Seeing new shops, and new NPCs and upgrading them as you progress through the story is a treat.

Likewise, there are plenty of shops around to upgrade your weapons, armor, special abilities, consumables, accessories, and a bunch more to sink your teeth into. I would usually after finishing some sidequests peruse through the shops to see if I could upgrade my characters further and honestly didn’t have problems scrounging up materials I attained from enemies and the environment.

The main strength I feel is the characters. While you control CJ you do have more companions who join you and learn more about them. Their personality, habits, quirks, and more is such a delight I couldn’t stop playing through the main story to see what more I could learn. In addition to these characters, you will also meet a colorful cast of NPCs within the game which I cannot wait to see again in the future. There were countless times I chuckled and rose an eyebrow at scenes that would pop up. By the time the end credits rolled. I couldn’t believe how fast time flew by. Despite some gripes I have with the game overall I still recommend Eiyuden Chronicle Rising for the simple fact of making me become much more invested for Hundred Heroes to release. There were surprises in store in this hidden gem. And I adore the main cast and greatly look forward to seeing them once more in the future.

Total Times Beaten: 1
Score: 7.5/10
Date Finished: 5/21/22
Date Reviewed: 5/21/22
Hours Played: 12
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