In the PSX/PS2 era of RPGs, two series held the spotlight: Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest. But off in the weeds, a little bit, was a series that held a lot of meaning for me, the Suikoden series—usually following a troubled teen coming to grips with new leadership and banding together with off-the-beaten-path teammates to bring rule back to their homeland.
But, when the PlayStation 2 era ended, so did the Suikoden series. The series IP has stayed with Konami as they are set to release the Suikoden remastered any time now. But for series creator Yoshitaka Murayama, he knew he could do more. In July 2020, Rabbit & Bear Studios announced Eiyuden Chronicles: Hundred Heroes. It was Murayama-san’s passion project, along with other contributors to the Suikoden series. After a successful Kickstarter four years later, Eiyuden Chronicles: Hundred Heroes is on our doorstep, beckoning us to answer its call.
Sadly, just a few months prior to the release in February of 2024, Yoshitaka Murayama passed away.
CGM was given the opportunity to sit down with Character Designer Junko Kawano, Producer / Art Director Junichi Murakami, and Director Osamu Komuta from Rabbit & Bear Studios to talk about the upcoming release of Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes.
Eiyuden had an incredible Kickstarter campaign in 2020, raising over 4 million dollars. Did this change the scope of the project?
Junichi Murakami: The direction of the project did not change significantly, but the number of elements (“commitments”) to be added increased greatly with the achievement of the stretch goals. We knew that an RPG of the scale of Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes could not be created with only the crowdfunding costs, even if the elements were somewhat reduced.
However, thanks to our great support, we have been able to prove to the publishers the expectations and demand for the project, and we were able to secure additional support. By doing this, we believe we have come closer to what the members had initially envisioned.
To fully grasp the story of Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes, do we need to play Eiyuden Chronicle: Rising?
Junichi Murakami: If you play Eiyuden Chronicle: Rising, you will better understand the background of some key characters and enjoy Hundred Heroes even more, but don’t worry if not, you won’t be completely unable to fully grasp the story of Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes at all.
“In July 2020, Rabbit & Bear Studios announced Eiyuden Chronicles: Hundred Heroes. It was Murayama-san’s passion project, along with other contributors to the Suikoden series.”
Does Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes mark the start of a new series much like Suikoden? Or does the team see itself creating another new IP next?
Junichi Murakami: We hope this will be the start of a new series. I would be pleased if we could largely grow this worldview that Murayama has created.
With the focus on the main character, how will the one hundred heroes contribute to the gameplay?
Osamu Komuta: The main characters serve key roles in the course of the story, and in this game, players are able to scout heroes of their own volition from the beginning of the game. In the early stages, the main character, Nowa, gradually gains companions as he carries out his duties as a new Watch, but once he gets his “Headquarters,” which serves as home base, the world quickly expands, and he is able to scout for more heroes, allowing him to advance the story with the heroes of your choice. There are also a variety of side stories that are completely different in terms of direction from the main story, so we hope you will enjoy the side quests, too.
Like in Suikoden, are most of the heroes’ optional recruitments that change the ending ever so slightly?
Junko Kawano: I would love for you to play the game and find out!
How was the decision made to mix so many art styles throughout the game? Particularly the 2D-pixel characters with gorgeously rendered backgrounds?
Junichi Murakami: We had decided from the beginning that we would dare to use an evolved pixel art style that does not depict everything in a realistic style. Personally, I also wanted to enjoy nostalgia, but Murayama disliked the phrase “Nostalgia.” I believe this was Murayama’s strong intention: “This is the old generation approach of artistic expression, but it is not something nostalgic, and I want everyone to see it as 100% new artistic creation, and that is what I want to achieve”.
With this in mind, Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes does not use any old-generation approach to creating pixel art, even in how to draw and handle it. Even in character creation, the formats are different for each character so that the individual personalities and differences of all the characters are clearly visible. We have had many difficulties, but we have found a path that we should further develop moving forward.
What does the design process look like when planning out mini-games? And were there some that didn’t make the final cut? The mini-games we saw in the trailer showcased races, card games, and even Eiyuden’s take on what I can only assume is Beyblades.
Osamu Komuta: The race, card game, and beigoma are all mini-games promised in the Kickstarter stretch goal, so it was decided from the beginning that we would create them. Each of these mini-games has been selected and implemented from among several ideas. Among them, the card game is a mini-game that was adopted from among many ideas. We put too much effort into each mini-game and hope you enjoy them as they are quite voluminous.
Lastly, with Yoshitaka Murayama’s recent passing, was he able to see Eiyuden Chronicle complete before his passing? As I mentioned before, as a fan of Suikoden and its integral role in my JRPG experiences as a teenager, I was incredibly sad to learn of his passing. My thoughts go to his family and loved ones.
Junko Kawano: Murayama was working on the final stage of development, just before the master-up, so I would say that he had seen the “nearly finished version” of the game. (He is also involved with DLC that will be added after the main story). He sadly never got to see the physical product of Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes. That is very unfortunate for those of us left behind as well.
