Eiyuden Chronicle: Rising is an action RPG that has undeniable,
almost irrepressible charm.
The characters are not only tremendously likable, they're very well developed,
as the three main party members establish a true bond.
It's not just the core cast that gets the spotlight, though.
The town where much of the game takes place
grows significantly as well, becoming intimately familiar.
Unfortunately, Rising is stretched far too thin in a couple of core areas,
eventually turning from a plucky delight into a groaning chore.
The setup of Rising is well-trodden ground, but it’s done earnestly enough
that its lack of originality never irritates.
CJ, the star of the show, is a tenacious scavenger with a firecracker personality.
She's on a mission to gather a great treasure in order to prove her professional merit.
Alongside CJ is the gruff but secretly soft-hearted Garoo
as well as the hard-working and resourceful Isha.
These characters eventually become ironclad friends,
and the journey is given enough depth that by the time it reaches its end,
their strong relationship is completely believable.
It's a story that expertly balances heartache with comic relief,
being meaningful while also somehow remaining breezy and fun.
Growing attached to the three amigos is one of the game's highlights
and almost worth the price of admission alone.
Isha is the acting mayor of a quaint little town
that quite literally expands and transforms
as you complete more and more tasks for the numerous residents.
Acquiring new businesses, expanding the stock of existing ones,
and even getting entire new areas of the town to visit is a compelling idea,
one that will be very recognizable to Suikoden fans.
Rising makes this more enticing by giving the residents their own personalities,
even going so far as to have evolving jokes throughout quest lines.
While Rising's heart is in the right place,
the crushing volume and repetition end up ruining the simple joy
of completing these quests and getting to know the townsfolk.
There are so many side quests that it's easy to lose track.
Of course, this would all be fine if the quests were continually engaging,
but sadly it's the exact opposite.
Every single one of them feels the same.
Whether it's mining ore, collecting monster drops, or finding a lost item,
it all essentially boils down to "go here, grab this."
When you're sent back into the quarry to snag some sort of rock for what feels like the hundredth time,
it's agonizingly dull.
Worse still is that the drab sameness of everything
makes it very easy to tune out whatever the quest givers are saying.
The repetition could be abated if the combat system remained gripping,
but this is another area where Rising shoots itself in the foot.
Much like the framework surrounding the side quests, the fundamental idea of the combat system is sound.
CJ, Garoo, and Isha all play differently and can instantly swap places in the middle of a fight.
CJ attacks quickly and dashes through foes, Garoo eviscerates an enemy's guard,
and Isha blasts magic at range.
To really lay on the pain, you're incentivized to perform link attacks between the party.
What this means is you switch between members
as soon as the currently controlled character lands an attack, creating a combo.
Nailing the timing of link attacks and sitting back as your party mercilessly pummels the enemy
is intrinsically satisfying, but the novelty wears off fast
because the game does a poor job of pushing you to fully embrace its mechanics.
Each character has their own nuances and there's a gear system as well as an elemental system,
but it all barely feels like it matters, if it matters at all.
What is the point of really sweating these aspects
when mashing away with CJ cleaves through countless enemies with practically no resistance?
It's so mindless that you hardly ever have to worry about what you’ve equipped.
Any sort of genuine threat is so distant
that it saps the joy from upgrading your characters or encountering new enemies.
The real issue isn’t that it's easy, but rather that it hints at a more elaborate game
that it never gets close to reaching.
Much like the quests, fights quickly bleed together, and everything feels the same.
There is a hard mode available, but it isn't unlocked until after beating the game,
and even then it doesn't make things any more interesting, just inflating enemy health and damage.
It's especially a shame because Eiyuden Chronicle: Rising
is exactly the kind of game you want to root for.
It's so endearing in so many ways
but ends up becoming a perfect example of the phrase "too much of a good thing."
After playing through, it's easy to imagine a much tighter
and much shorter game working better.
Rising is absurdly dragged out for no real reason and suffers as a result.
It's still worth checking out for anyone excited about the upcoming Eiyuden Chronicle JRPG, but
it's hard not to wish the recommendation could be more fully throated than that.
Final score: 6 out of 10.
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