KickStarter Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes - From Suikoden creators - coming April 23rd

[Hyperion]

It needs the Working Design touch.

 

[aweigh]

Suikoden 3 is great.

 

[Val the Moofia Boss]

It is. Unique setting, likeable characters, and the Flame Champion mystery was pretty gripping. It's also one of the very few JRPGs that lets you play as a party of mostly 30 and 40 year olds, and they're pretty memorable. Is also one of the few JRPGs that lets you play as a protagonist isn't yet another naive teenage pretty boy

I have some issues with the story (mainly chapters 4 and 5, or how short the last PoV is, but that can be attributed to development issues), but the main problem with S3 is the sheer amount of busywork. The open world map of S1 and S2 has been replaced by a menu that sends you down FFX style corridors. Most of them are uninteresting. Some of them are scenic (particularly the wooded areas) but they become a chore after the 50th time you're back tracking down one on the way to kill a treasure boss or recruit another character or reporting back to the Zexen council.

There are also aggravating layers upon layers of RNG. Farming in the Ancient Pathway for 5 hours trying to get 6 fury runes is not fun, even with Kidd as a support. Or constantly backtracking to the different towns checking the rare item sections hoping to find that special rune or armor you want, only to find that the RNG rolled poorly so you'll have to check back again in 30 minutes and hope it's there.

Overall very good, though.

 

[Humanity has risen!]

V is the best in the series.

 

[Abu Antar]

Suikoden 2, followed by 1, are the best. 3 is the third best.

 

[Duraframe300]

I love 3.

But I hate the walk cycle animation the game has. Makes it seem like the game stutters every few seconds. I can't unsee it either.

 

[Duraframe300]

Oh cool, I hadn't heard about this one yet. Y'all know if there's any good way to play the Suikoden games right now? Emulation, probably? I'd prefer to find a way to play them handheld, but if I have to sit at a PC, I can.

Any tablet/phone or PSP can emulate first two PS1 games. 3,4,5 are PS2 and PS2 emulation is best on PC but you can always stream form PC via moonlight app if you have nvidia.

If you have a modern android, AetherSX2 does the job just as well. (On account of it being an updated port of PCSX2)

 

[Rephyrnomicon]

Oh cool, I hadn't heard about this one yet. Y'all know if there's any good way to play the Suikoden games right now? Emulation, probably? I'd prefer to find a way to play them handheld, but if I have to sit at a PC, I can.

Any tablet/phone or PSP can emulate first two PS1 games. 3,4,5 are PS2 and PS2 emulation is best on PC but you can always stream form PC via moonlight app if you have nvidia.

If you have a modern android, AetherSX2 does the job just as well. (On account of it being an updated port of PCSX2)

Nah, I'm an iPhone guy. Too invested in the Apple eco-system at this point to switch to Android, but I do wish I'd gone in that direction initially back in the late 2000's.

 

[Taim]

I thought the Suikogaiden visual novels were never translated. Have I been living under a rock or something?

 

[Robber Baron]

I thought the Suikogaiden visual novels were never translated. Have I been living under a rock or something?

https://www.romhacking.net/games/1813/
https://www.romhacking.net/translations/2033/

 

[cyborgboy95]

https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/1658280/view/3333241790226960729

Eiyuden Chronicle June 2022 Update (26th)
Hey there heroes,

We’d like to start with an update on the Eiyuden Chronicle: Rising product codes. We are getting close to clearing the last of our customer service ticket backlog and we’d like to thank everyone for their patience so far.

If you purchased a copy of Eiyuden Chronicle: Rising as either an add-on via Kickstarter or by purchasing it via the Backer Store and still have not received your product code, then please reach out to The Yetee Customer Service team for assistance.

Once this has been cleared we will be doing an analysis of what happened in order to find out what caused this shortage and delay, however we can already see that our efforts weren’t enough and that we’ve damaged some of the trust the community has given us. Our goal is to use what we’ve learned here to ensure the same thing doesn’t happen again.

We can’t thank you enough for your continued trust and support, and we will continue to keep working hard to ensure fulfillment of Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes goes much smoother.

**Production Updates**
Character Profile
Maureus

Profession: The League of Nations
Gender: Male
Age: 32
Favorite Food: Sautéed chicken breast

Despite not knowing a lick of magic, Maureus has decided he's a mage. The "staff" he swings around—a hunk of steel that's thicker than he is and that most observers would correctly call a mace—is strong enough to smash through solid rock. And folks, if that's not magic, what is? (Answer: actual magic.)

Maureus works hard at "attuning himself" (really, he's just pumping himself up) so he can "wield advanced spells" (break more of his enemies' bones with each strike).

"Behold, the wonders of magic! By channeling destructive energy into a single point, I have reduced this boulder to rubble. Are you not amazed? Follow me, and these powers could be yours!"

Kawano’s Comment:
A meathead wizard...is what led me to the character image you see here. I wanted to give the impression that he somehow built huge muscles despite having no intentions of actually working out, so I had a lot of fun designing a really heavy cane and wristbands for him (heavy enough to shock other characters if they tried to pick them up themselves).
Is the source of his power magic or muscle...?
Personally, I can’t wait to see him in action!

Murayama's Monthly Development Report
Not long from now I’ll probably be able to write something more specific about the systems we're implementing in Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes, but for now please bear with me as I keep writing about my personal life.

I personally believe that game creators should be knowledgeable about games.

To that end, I try to stay connected to games in any way I can. It's not easy though, when I'm busy with development. Especially when I'm devoting a lot of my time and attention to working on the story. I don't want to use too much brain power worrying about other things.

An amazing story written by another human being can often be a great source of inspiration, but it can also be a source of distress for me when I'm working on a script of my own.
So when that happens, I have fun playing quick games or games that don't linger longer than they need to. Right now, I'm mostly playing...

Hexcells, which is a puzzle game you can play in short bursts and has a function that automatically creates new puzzles. I try to solve one puzzle per day which gives me a nice sense of accomplishment.

One Finger Death Punch is another action game with really simple rules that is good for relieving stress in a short gaming session. It feels really good to mow down all the enemies.

Heroes of Hammerwatch is a game about grabbing money and resources hiding in dungeons. In a short amount of time I either clear a dungeon or die, and it even has a village builder in it.

Enjoying games in short sessions is how I’m enjoying games at the moment.

A Word from the Team
Hello everyone. This is Kawano and it looks like it's my turn.
I can't believe it's been nearly two years since the Kickstarter campaign! I dread to think about how much time has passed, but I'm still working on character designs to this day.

Hypothetically, if it took me three days to finish one character illustration then I should be able to complete more than 100 in a single year. But of course, I'm not that fast and I get time off every week, so the designs remain a work in progress.

Nonetheless, I think we're finally seeing the light at the end of the character design tunnel. (In regards to the development of the game, there is a lot of work that needs to be done after the illustrations are completed, so I need to finish the illustration work a bit faster than other tasks.).

Once the bulk of the illustrations are done, I will keep working on finer extra details and expressions as necessary. For now though, I want to focus on coming up with ideas for the remaining characters. I'm almost done with all 100 heroes!

Until next time!

 

[cyborgboy95]

Gamescon trailer

 

[Terra]

That bridge duel is giving me some strong Suikoden vibes, it all looks like it's coming together nicely.

 

[cyborgboy95]

https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/1658280/view/3219531607133181360

Eiyuden Chronicle August 2022 Update (28th)
Hey there heroes!

Gamescom has begun so we are sharing some of the key assets that we will announce at the show. While we continue to polish the game, we hope these new assets will get you excited! Also, please keep your eye on IGN for a new trailer of the game!

As always, let us know your feedback in the comments section!

**Production Updates**

Monster
Hardknock

These rune golems roam the Barrows, seeking out hapless intruders and then using their powerful arms to smash the life out of them.

Murayama's Monthly Development Report
As you've probably already seen in this update, a new Eiyuden trailer will be released at Gamescom 2022! We're still right in the middle of development, which includes work on the appearance of the game itself, so certain things may change... But I hope it still gives you a better idea of how the finished product will look.

Currently in the dev cycle, I'm personally at a stage I often reached when working on the Suikoden series... A stage I like to call the 'manual labor' part.
Eiyuden features over 100 unique characters, and its large cast is one of its biggest draws, so a large quantity of text has to be created for all the different scenes.

For example, when you choose a character for your battle party, if we decide to have the characters say a line there, we'll naturally need to make a line for each character.

Part of the fun of going through a story comes from the personalities of the characters. What sort of personalities do all these characters have? What sort of values do they have, what sort of things do they like, and what sort of goals are they trying to achieve? These aspects are actually deeply entwined with the game's systems.

As I wrote above, if we decide to put a line in for each character every time you decide to add them to your party, we need to make sure it expresses that character's personality... So they all have to be unique. Some characters might be overjoyed to join the battle party, while others may see it as nothing as a chore. Still others might be nervous, and so on and so forth. Getting glimpses of the characters like this is part of the fun of the game.

Still, no matter what part of the game I'm working on at any given time, preparing data like this for every single character is a huge labor. No matter how tiring it gets, I just have to keep chipping away at it, like good old fashioned physical labor, day by day. It certainly isn't easy, I can tell you that!

A Word from the Team
I hope you're all surviving the lingering heat wherever you may be. Japan is still as hot as ever, but how are things out where you live?

Komu-nichiwa, komu-banwa. I'm Director Komuta.

This year, Japan's summer feels even hotter than usual... No matter how little time I happen to spend outside, I still end up feeling like it's robbed my body of all its water. Reminds me of when I went to visit Thailand in the summer, many moons ago.

Regardless of the heat, we're still working hard on Eiyuden. Remember when I showed you a tiny peek of a screen in last month's update? Well, this is what that mine dungeon used to look like when it was just a test map!

After making sure there are no problems with a map in its rough form, we gradually add details, lighting, and effects until it turns into the kind of map you saw last month. Then, after a lot more work, we finally polish it into something that we're proud to show off.

Up until now, I know there have been multiple times where we said 'we'll be able to show you something soon,' then failed to deliver... Just like the boy who cried wolf. But I hope you're all excited for Gamescom!

Now, time to end this entry just like I do all my other ones... Here's my favorite way to cool down! A staple of any Japanese summer... Shaved ice! Recently, shaved ice has evolved a lot...

Look at this! Rich pistachio cream and lemon syrup! This thing looks incredible!! ...But it's still shaved ice.

The heat won't be leaving us any time soon, so I hope you all take good care of yourselves and survive the summer. Oh, and please keep cheering us on!!

 

[Val the Moofia Boss]

Will there be army battles?

 

[InD_ImaginE]

I don't how the game would be but game is aesthetically great. How I wish JRPG would evolve to this "modern but old" style instead of 3D an1m3 model we have today with a lot of modern JRPG.

 

[Humanity has risen!]

Their action RPG doesn't give me much confidence. What a total piece of shit that was.

 

[Häyhä]

Characters look a bit weird in the 3D environments and don't really blend into them smoothly. Battle system looks pretty good, way better than the exploration part.

 

[cyborgboy95]

 

[aweigh]

looks amazing can't wait to d1p

 

[ZoddGuts]

Their action RPG doesn't give me much confidence. What a total piece of shit that was.

That was done by another developer, Natsume. The Eiyuden main dev just gave them some assets to be turn into an action game.

 

[cyborgboy95]

October 2022 Update (26th)
Hey there heroes!
The months are getting cooler and we’re less than a week away from the spoopiest day of the year, so we’d like to kick off our October update with a ghastly glimpse at one of the enemy characters players will face off against in Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes.

But first, a special halloween message from the developers:

Illustration Comment
Self-proclaimed magical girl, Mellor, seems to be adored by the staff.
The effects added to the battle scenes in the previous trailer were created with a ton of energy, with some staff even proposing a detailed backstory for her. She really has become a beloved member of the roster. (Maruyama)

**PRODUCTION UPDATES**
Enemy Profile
Maiden-Revenant　

Once, this undead maiden was a renowned dancer. Like other mages of her clan, she can command her hair at will, and has the unique ability to cast multiple spells at once.

In service to the woman who would become the Dead Countess, the maiden fought on countless battlefields, but it was a contagion that ultimately claimed her life.

Murayama's Monthly Development Report
Voice Recording
The main story for Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes will be fully voiced. And not only the main story--there will also be character voices for things like battle scenes and town facilities too.
The voice actors for the three main characters, Noah, Sei and Melisa, were also announced at the recent Tokyo Game Show.
And now we're preparing for those voice recordings. It isn't as simple as turning a scenario script into a proper script for voice recording. We also have to organize and script stuff like the lines and cries in battle scenes too.
The problem here is that there are more than 100 characters in the game. Of course, this is one of the game's charms so there's no way to skirt around it, but to give an example, there are more than 80 different lines per character just for the battles.
And that's just for the characters who can fight, which on its own amounts to a thousand lines.
The whole game is going to require more than 60,000 lines, which is surely a headache for those in charge of handling the voice recordings.
Of course, voice actors will not only voice the friendly characters, but the antagonist, neutral and mob characters for their respective scenes which will require a fair number of actors.
A new battle begins with a single army of voice actors.

A Word from the Team
Kono here.
It's slowly getting colder, but I hope everyone is doing okay.
I spent some time out and about thanks to Tokyo Game Show and other events last month, but now I'm back at my desk every day.
Now that most of the character designs are out of the way, I've been checking the hero and non-hero visuals for Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes before anyone else. (lol)
Of course, each character has their own story to tell, and will be voiced this time around, so they'll feel a lot more fleshed out. But from the illustration side of things, I hope that each character will be loved by everyone…
That being said, we still have a lot of finishing touches and adjustments left to do. I'll keep working hard on what's left so we can reveal them soon!
I hope I get to visit a bunch of game events outside of Japan and meet fans from all over the world next year.
Until then~

 

[Val the Moofia Boss]

Sounds like the game is almost done if they're at the voice recording stage.

 

[Sentinel]

Gamescon trailer

Those sprites look incredible. First game I've seen actually doing modern sprite work instead of putting different lighting on 1990-tier static sprites. Congrats to the team.

 

[AdamReith]

Wow, didn't know they were going to be cloning Suikoden 2 directly. Actually looks incredibly promising.

Still keeping my expectations in check.