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When Bear & Rabbit Studios announced that they would be reviving the essence of the Suikoden series with those who were part of the original team in a new adventure on Kickstarter, I couldn’t back the project fast enough. Riou and Tir from the first two Suikoden games are two of my favorite JRPG protagonists of all time, and the thought of being able to relive a new version of the Water Margin story filled me with the utmost excitement. I almost wish I had been one of those who paid for the tier to include my name or my pet’s name as an NPC within the story to ensure that I would somehow forever live within the spirit of the game. The only thing I wish for more than that is to thank Yoshitaka Murayama for being alive long enough to finish the story of Eiyuden Chronicles: Hundred Heroes before his passing earlier this year.
“A Modern Take on a Classic JRPG Experience”
Rabbit & Bear Studios was created in March 2020 with superstar character designers, art directors, and creators from the original Suikoden series, including Junko Kawano, Osamu Komuta, Junichi Murakami, and, of course, Yoshitaka Murayama. A few months later, an incredibly heartfelt trailer showing the conception of the Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes Kickstarter featuring the creators in cosplays was released. The trailer alone unlocked a happiness in me that I feel most modern JRPGs don’t produce or have difficulty encompassing: manifesting a love of the game by those who created it. There was never any doubt that Murayama-Sama and his team loved what they were creating, and it showed in the coming months and years.
Within 30 days of the Kickstarter beginning, their goal of $347,993 was absolutely smashed; they earned over $3,114,773 and reached every milestone given. Did you enjoy the companion game, Eiyuden Chronicle: Rising from 2022? You can thank backers for helping the team reach the final stretch goal! Through that game, we were able to get an inside look at seven of the characters that ended up appearing in Hundred Heroes two whole years before its release.
Thank You, Murayama-Sama
While I can forever talk about how meaningful the release of Eiyuden Chronicles: Hundred Heroes is to me, its conception is far more meaningful. The Kickstarter and the subsequent Discord community made me realize just how many people appreciate Yoshitaka Murayama’s work. I even discovered that there is a yearly art contest that spans all the Suikoden games where fans submit their work and vote for their favorite characters (Flik has been a winner now for several years in a row).
The only thing better than having the team make games that were essentially a nostalgic throwback for modern audiences is the fact that no game similar in theme, gameplay, or story was released in the time between the release of the first Suikoden game and Eiyuden Chronicles: Hundred Heroes. It was almost as if everyone in the JRPG universe understood that the classic couldn’t be replicated faithfully. If someone recommends a game to you with the description that it’s “like Suikoden,” then they are lying. There’s a reason that the game’s description quite literally says it’s “a modern take on a classic JRPG experience.”
Eiyuden Chronicles: Hundred Heroes is available on PC, PlayStation, Nintendo Switch, and
