Review: Eiyuden Chronicle: Rising

destructoid.com:

Sometimes when games hit Kickstarter, I completely tune them out. I mean a few of them don’t even see a hint of progress for years, but Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes (read: the “main” game due in 2023) seems to be in good shape if the Eiyuden Chronicle: Rising prologue is anything to go by.

Eiyuden Chronicle: Rising (PC, PS4, PS5 [reviewed], Switch, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S)Developer: Natsume AtariPublisher: 505 GamesReleased: May 10, 2022 MSRP: $14.99

Eiyuden Chronicle: Rising is a great little taste of what we’ll likely be able to expect from the world as a whole. Silly, fun writing that isn’t afraid to let loose every so often and forge cute bonds between characters. A beautiful aesthetic that hearkens back to old-school SNES and PS1 sensibilities. As a full-on action-RPG prologue, it also has a distinct vibe to differentiate itself from what we’ve seen of Hundred Heroes so far.

Rising‘s biggest strength is small-scale character-based moments. Sure, there’s a greater “save the world” plot afoot, but much of the narrative deals with small-time activities like brokering a deal between a farm and an inn for egg production. It’s a cleaner, more personal feel that elevates Rising above a lot of other similar games — though it’s not going to be for everyone.

You start the game off as CJ, a treasure-hunter that gets embroiled in a town’s day-to-day life after meeting the acting mayor and dealing with a recent earthquake that rocked the town. There are a lot of fun character interactions, and the writing allows for cheeky callbacks, amid a colorful cast that’s fun to discover. There’s a kangaroo adventurer with a magical pouch that can store a Berserk buster sword. There’s a literal anime magical girl a la Sailor Moon.