Eiyuden Chronicle’s latest Kickstarter update reveals the United Hero Attack system - a take on Suikoden’s Unite Attacks that fans were eager to see added to the spiritual sequel. Eiyuden Chronicle is being created by a team that includes several designers from the original Suikoden series, including the first game’s writer and character designer.
Although Suikoden hasn’t seen a mainline series entry in 15 years, RPG fans’ love for the series clearly hasn’t diminished in its absence. Eiyuden Chronicle’s crowdfunding campaign rocketed to immediate success when it went live in July, smashing its funding goal and reaching several stretch goals within its first few hours. The campaign attracted so much attention that it actually crashed Kickstarter’s website, leading Kickstarter to extend the game’s campaign by a day to make up for the lost time.
Fans remember Suikoden fondly for lots of reasons, from its compelling, mature story to its unique base building systems. On top of that, it also featured a deep and engaging battle system that players want to see return in Eiyuden Chronicle. As a new video in the most recent Kickstarter update shows, a lot of Suikoden fans have been asking specifically about whether the Unite Attack system - where party members could team up to launch a single devastating attack - would be coming back. According to developer Rabbit & Bear Studios, it won’t - but it will be replaced by the functionally identical United Hero Attack. In a short clip, the developer shows how these powerful attacks will look when performed by Eiyuden Chronicle’s brand-new characters in its gorgeous and kinetic art style. Rabbit & Bear promises more snippets of gameplay to come as the studio builds out the upcoming game’s features.
Eiyuden Chronicle’s early Kickstarter success may have slowed down enough to stop crashing the website, but it’s still going strong, passing new funding milestones by the day. By the time the latest update came today, the campaign was closing in on $3.3 million. Among other bonuses like minigames, New Game Plus, and additional languages, that also means that Eiyuden Chronicle now has 109 recruitable characters, one more than the famous 108 Stars of Destiny that populated Suikoden.
While Eiyuden Chronicle definitely has Suikoden diehards on its side, it seems that its wildly successful Kickstarter campaign is attracting a lot of players who don’t have experience with that classic game as well. Unfortunately, backers are going to have to wait until 2022 to actually play the game, but Rabbit & Bear continue to give good reasons why it will be worth the wait.