Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes showed us stunning sprite designs, visuals, and gameplay elements that we didn’t know if Eiyuden Chronicle: Rising could even come close to matching what will be seen in the main game. Luckily for all of us, Eiyuden Chronicle: Rising is pretty stellar visually. Character sprites are extremely detailed and the environments feel both retro and modern. Clearly, a lot of love went into making sure players felt drawn into the world of female lead CJ and her plight to earn an Explorer’s License. We occasionally were getting hit by enemies because we were too lost in looking at a tree swaying in the background or witnessing a lush field just a bit ahead.

Compared to what Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes will be—a JRPG more or less—Eiyuden Chronicle: Rising is an action RPG with an emphasis on rebuilding the small town of New Naveah. Players will take on quests to assist the townsfolk and some quests will alter the landscape to allow players to gain resources like an inn and restaurant. As CJ, you’ll feel yourself getting to the residents and wishing to help them after their recent issues with earthquakes and strange monsters. Outside of quests, the majority of gameplay comes from combat which on paper is extremely simple but has some depth to it upon closer inspection.

Players will need to beat down enemies and bosses with simple attacks but can utilize several characters and their various weapons to get the job done! Each playable warrior has a special ability like CJ’s dash or Garoo’s ability to deflect attacks. How you enter combat is completely up to your discretion but messing with the various cast of warriors and seeing their abilities is the fun element of Eiyuden Chronicle: Rising.

Every character in Eiyuden Chronicle: Rising caught us by surprise. Despite seeming one-sided, these oddballs all scream with originality. CJ might be young and spunky but she’s a teen with a dream to obtain. Likewise, Isha looks like just a simple young mayor but how she responds to those around her—especially CJ—is reactive and quite realistic. If Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes mirrors Rising, then we can’t wait to see the giant list of heroes and witness their dialogue and interactions!

If we could complain about anything in Eiyuden Chronicle: Rising, it would be the kind of boring first hour of the game. Honestly, the starting quests and even enemies to take on in the first hour feel like extremely busy work. Yes, they clearly were made to introduce players to how the gameplay mechanics work but they end up going here, finding a missing cat, talking to a person, and going back to the same place to get wood. We would have liked a bit of a faster introduction to the game as we can only anticipate players will have some gripes dealing with the beginning of Eiyuden Chronicle: Rising.