Eiyuden Chronicle: Rising Gets First Gameplay Reveal – Tokyo Game Show 2021

The first extended gameplay footage for Eiyuden Chronicle: Rising, an action role-playing game derived from the upcoming Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes, has been revealed.

During a special video presentation from publisher 505 Games at the Tokyo Game Show 2021, Yoshitaka Murayama and Junko Kawano introduced a trio of playable heroes: JB, Isha, and Garoo.

JB is an athletic young woman, Isha is a wielder of magic, and Garoo is, well, an anthropomorphic kangaroo (with a bag on his shirt). In the story, these three meet in a village called “New Never” and go underground exploring ancient ruins recently discovered by an earthquake. The heroes seek both the treasure and anyone who may be trapped underground.

The game is 2.5D and fast-paced, and players can switch between characters at will. The trailer shows one hero fading smoothly while another fades, their attacks chaining together to deal massive damage to monsters roaming the environments. For example, Isha can fire magic bolts at enemies out of range and then exchange them for Garoo, who leaps into the air with his giant sword to smash them to pieces.

The trailer features a couple of boss battles: first a fierce giant tree, then a huge rock figure. The tree attacks with roots from below the ground, as well as insects descending from its branches, requiring the heroes to move fast to dodge all the dangers on screen. Finally, a worm emerges from the trunk, which is vulnerable to direct attack. When all three leaders band together and go on the offensive, the battle is quickly over thanks to all the damage they can deal.

The trailer focuses on the action aspects of Eiyuden Chronicle: Rising, but the developers outlined the connections between this title and the main game, Hundred Heroes. At least seven characters from that game will appear in Rising, and all three Rising heroes will appear in Hundred Heroes. References to a “conspiracy beneath the surface” came up more than once during this conversation, so the stories of the two games are definitely intertwined.

The developers hope that Rising will appeal to both action game fans and RPG fans alike, with Murayama adding that he hopes this Hundred Heroes spin-off will “fill the gap” between now and that release. Long-awaited game in 2023. Eiyuden Chronicle: Rising is scheduled for a simultaneous release in Spring 2022 on PlayStation 4 and 5, Xbox X | S and One, Steam, Epic Games Store and Nintendo Switch.

Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes will also be cross-platform, though Murayama said the team is “investigating” a Switch release. At the time of the original Kickstarter, the campaign text said that the game could make its way to a “next-generation Nintendo console.” Both versions of Eiyuden Chronicles have been confirmed as day one releases on Xbox Game Pass.

Diamond Feit is a writer / podcaster in Osaka, Japan who uses Twitter and Twitch as feitclub.