Suikoden Creators Reveal Spiritual Successor Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes

Suikoden fans have been waiting since 2006 for a new installment in the beloved franchise, and while they will have to wait a bit longer for another entry in the franchise, those looking for an experience from the people that helped make those games happen will be quite delighted by Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes. The new game is from Rabbit & Bear Studios, a studio that was formed by Suikoden veterans Yoshitaka Murayama (Suikoden, Suikoden II), Junko Kawano (Suikoden, Suikoden IV), Osamu Komuta (Suikoden Tierkreis, Suikoden Tactics), Junichi Murakami (Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow), and Michiko Naruke (Wild Arms) and Motoi Sakuraba (Tales Series). The group previously worked on games from across the Suikoden franchise and more, and now they are delivering a game that definitely has Suikoden vibes but also has innovations of its own to Kickstarter later this month.

Eiyuden Chronicle will be the first project these four creators have worked on together and will be the first time Murayama and Kawano have worked together in 25 years. As you might imagine expectations are high, and the Kickstarter will be aiming to bring in $500,000 to fund a PC release. It will also have one stretch goal to fund a console release on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X, and Switch, and all versions are planned. for release in 2022.

The Kickstarter kicks off on July 27th, and Murayama recently spoke to Gematsu about their hopes for the game and what they wanted to make, including what is staying intact from the Suikoden series. Thankfully that does include one of Suikoden's most loved features, which is to gather 100 heroes during your quest.

"Eiyuden Chronicle is about war, or more importantly, the intention and feelings of the 100 heroes who fight that war from a variety of perspectives and for a variety of different reasons," Murayama said. "And of course the drama that can only occur when a group of different people from different walks of life come together and must wage a war of life and death."

"And the many characters that participate in this war aren't just pawns added in as 'war fodder,' they have a living breathing soul and begrudgingly must fight to protect the things they believe in," Murayama said. "Additionally, there are non-combat specialists, researchers, and other 'heroes' on the periphery that can help win battles or lose them. Each and every one of them is a living breathing character that the player gives life to through their choices."

"Some characters are good are some things and bad at others," Murayama said. "But if you combine them with other characters that can strengthen their weaknesses, you can end up with a really balanced team. And based on that delicate balance your team make be more apt at mining or adventuring which will affect the overall game progression loop. One of the core game loops in Eiyuden is to experience the wide variety of different characters and personalities in your 100 person army."

The new game will also bring over the Fortress concept from Suikoden, as every person you add to your team will call your Fortress home, and before long you'll have quite the thriving and unique community.

"With each new character your 'fortress town' grows in size and ability," Murayama said. "It is a key system in the game. As you increase your teammates, some members will be blacksmiths, some chefs and whether on the battlefield or not, each character will play a role in strengthening your resolve as an army. There are guilds that you can join which will largely change the visual make-up of your fortress town and grant different abilities. The more people you recruit, the stronger the snowball effect. As you level up, new trade options appear along with enemies and thieves that randomly attack your town in an effort to impede your progress. You need to make choices whether to strengthen your walls or hasten your progress. Each choice will make every play session feel different and have its own consequences."

Other things we know from the screenshots is that the characters will be pixel-based with a 2.5D approach, and you'll have a full Guild System in the game, which will affect your Fortress attributes. There will be turn-based combat with a team of six characters, though the boss battles look to be much more cinematic than in previous games.

We can't wait to see this happen, because we've been missing Suikoden since we finished Suikoden V, and it appears this will be the perfect fix. for that.

Are you excited for Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes? Let us know in the comments or as always you can talk all things gaming with me on Twitter @MattAguilarCB!