Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes is exactly what its lofty crowdfunding campaign promised it would be: a Suikoden successor in all but its name, built by a team of veterans who first made that classic in 1995. And so Hundred Heroes is another impossibly massive, turn-based, party-centric RPG. It tells another wartorn story about resisting an empire, cut through with goofball moments where an eyepatched Aussie kangaroo might yell made-up words.
And – because doing anything else would be blasphemy – there’s another 100-plus party members to find, cosy up to, and experiment with in your six-character party. Reclusive hunters, kings, talking sharks (shi’arcs here), a literal travel bag with glowing Jawa eyes, your cute auntie who does nothing but bake cherry pies – they’re all here, and the cast’s staggering size is still what sets the Eiyu-Suiko-den group of games apart.
Trying to catch ’em all recalls the pleasures of a collectathon as you rapidly scan the screen for signs of unusually detailed NPCs to recruit. (No interview process required – everyone’s allowed in, accused criminals included.) They can pretty much be found anywhere. You’ll get dozens by just following the main quest. Dozens more are in towns on standby mode until you walk into their presence. Some will only appear in the open world when you’ve progressed to a certain point or met prerequisites.
