Suikoden is a practically legendary series if you break the JRPG, and while it has an unlimited reputation in the environment, it’s one of those series that Konami stopped supporting until it was forgotten at some point. Creator Yoshitaka Murayama left Konami in 2002 about a month before the release of Suikoden III, embarking on a freelance path, first forming Blue Moon Studio and then moving to Rabbit & Bear Studio, where he joined forces with his former partner. Collaborators on a new JRPG intended to be the spiritual sequel to Suikoden.
Eiyuden Chronicle: One Hundred Heroes hit its initial goal on Kickstarter in less than three hours, and in a matter of weeks it surpassed all tough goals, including funding a prequel to the upcoming Eiyuden Chronicle: Rising.
we had the opportunity Interview with head of Eiyuden Chronicle Yoshitaka Murayama and just to ask for some information about this new franchise, which will be resolved with the main release in 2023, and its relationship with the JRPG series that made it famous.
Talk to Yoshitaka Murayama
Where did the idea to develop a new Suikoden-style JRPG come from right now and why?
The Eiyuden Chronicle project started on Kickstarter in 2020, but over the years we’ve had tons of messages from Suikoden fans who continue to follow our work even after I left the series. We’ve put together the cornerstones of Rabbit & Bear Studio and, after discussing them, decided it was time to get back to the game that started it all and still love today.
Suikoden is a beloved series that is slowly disappearing from the radar. We understand that the Eiyuden Chronicle is a kind of spiritual successor …
Several people who created Suikoden are working on this title; however, our goal is to create an entirely new JRPG. Eiyuden Chronicle is not a sequel, but it embodies some of the elements of Suikoden that I love, and we can say that they are very similar in a way.
So what makes Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes so special compared to many JRPGs like Suikoden?
We develop Eiyuden Chronicle as a JRPG full of fun features for all tastes. For example, we have invented an innovative game dynamic that will be a real challenge but unfortunately I can’t talk about that yet…
JRPGs are now increasingly turning into real-time combat. Why did you decide to develop a turn-based combat system?
One of the most important features of Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes is that the player can choose their favorite fighters from a large list of characters, so we decided to adopt a system that allows you to team up with six characters plus one extra. This way, players will be able to try the weirdest combinations that would not have been possible if we had added the action in real time.
Let’s talk about Eiyuden Chronicle: Rising. How did you come up with this idea?
First of all, it should be noted that the story of Rising takes place before Hundred Heroes. That’s why we focused on a single border city that describes its development and history. Our goal was to create a bond between the players and these characters, which is one of the main features of Hundred Heroes, so we thought of a horizontal scrolling RPG where three characters are used simultaneously in battle.
But is playing Rising so important to understanding the overall narrative of the Eiyuden Chronicle?
Rising takes place in the same world as Hundred Heroes, and their heroes actually appear in the real game as well. Despite that, Rising’s story is autonomous, but we thought we’d include some references that will make you smile when you play Hundred Heroes.
Any particular reason to choose HD-2D graphics?
We are working carefully on the expressiveness and animations of the 2D sprites: in our opinion, they stand out better with this type of graphics technology, which we did not choose just for a nostalgic factor.
So, what are the most important features of Rising and Hundred Heroes that JRPG fans should definitely consider?
We’ve developed Eiyuden Chronicle: Rising so that even players who aren’t exactly the best at action games can have fun, and we hope you enjoy this dynamic and gorgeous yet easy-to-control battle system. Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes is an RPG with many different characters. We’re sure every player will find their favourite, because we’re designing a system that will take care of them not only in the fight but also in the cutscenes of the story.
Is there anything special we can transfer from Rising to Hundred Heroes?
Yes, for example in Rising you will be able to baptize the weapons of three heroes and these weapons will have the same names in Hundred Heroes. The same goes for the characteristics of the city where the story takes place: At some point you’ll be able to decide what to name them, and you’ll find them in Hundred Heroes when it comes out in 2023.
Source: Multiplayer
