Spiritual successor to one of the best JRPGs ever made gets delayed

Two pixel warriors charge at each other on a bridge
(Image credit: Rabbit & Bear)

Suikoden, one of the all-time classic JRPGs series, was set to receive a spiritual successor this year with Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes’ release. However, a recent delay has pushed the widely anticipated game back to next year.

“In order to deliver a game that so many fans have supported, we announce a revised release date of Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes, with the game now due during Calendar Year Q2 of 2024,” reads a blog shared from the game’s Kickstarter campaign. “The decision was made in order to ensure the best possible story, and to reward the legion of backers with the best game experience possible.”

Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes was announced back in 2020, coming from Suikoden’s original creator Yoshitaka Murayama and veteran designer Junko Kawano who both teamed up to form developer Rabbit & Bear. The team then took to Kickstarter to crowdfund their spiritual successor, and the resulting campaign smashed through every single stretch goal to amass $4.5 million / £3.3 million in funding thanks to the contributions of over 45,000 backers. 

The stretch goals included additional mini-games, post-launch content, even more characters, and even a whole other companion game. At the time that companion piece was codenamed A Quiet Place, which then turned into the action role-playing game Eiyuden Chronicle: Rising that launched last year.

According to the team’s blog post, Kickstarter backers should keep an eye out for an email titled “Eiyuden Chronicle Hundred Heroes: Choose your Physical Platform to - you guessed it - choose which platform you want the physical edition on.

Further notes from director Murayama reveal that the story for the base game and DLC has been completed, and he’s now “working on the setting material while supervising the detailed text.” That includes brushing up the very ambitious in-game dictionary “that details all the things that exist within [the game’s] world.” The blog post also gives us artwork for some of the playable characters, including the cool-looking Wolf and Kangaroo warriors. A brief gameplay snippet from the blog shows off the game’s gorgeous 2.5D style, the classic turn-based battling, and a new foggy forest area. 

While we wait a while longer for the throwback JRPG, why not check out the best games of 2023 so far?

Freelance contributor

Kaan freelances for various websites including Rock Paper Shotgun, Eurogamer, and this one, Gamesradar. He particularly enjoys writing about spooky indies, throwback RPGs, and anything that's vaguely silly. Also has an English Literature and Film Studies degree that he'll soon forget.