Eiyuden Chronicle: Rising

Constant repetition takes the shine off an otherwise charming action RPG. Eiyuden Chronicle: Rising is a fantasy action RPG with gated exploration elements similar to games like Metroid: Dread. As you progress through the story, you acquire better gear, better stats, and more offensive and exploration techniques that expand what you can do in dungeons. The unique twist is that eventually you control three characters at once, swapping between them using different attack buttons. The characters CJ, Garoo, and Isha each have their own moves for attacking, and unique movement options that expand as you continue playing. Swapping between the characters is fast and fun, and performing "link attacks" by switching mid-combo adds an extra bit of flair to the combat.

Eiyuden Chronicle: Rising tries to do a lot with limited resources. This ends up creating a system where the gameplay and story are enjoyable, but because you return to the same places and do the same things repeatedly, it's easy to get burnt out. The loop of collecting quests from villagers, fighting the same selection of monsters in the same areas, and then returning to the village repeats itself too many times. The NPCs (non-player characters) that give you side quests are well written, and it's fun to find out more about the characters, but many of the tasks are what you'd do in a story mission. At least the main characters themselves are interesting and play off of each other well, with both fun banter and more tender moments. There's nothing groundbreaking about the story here, but it's satisfying to watch how your actions help the town of New Neveah grow and its citizens prosper. Ultimately, if you are a fan of action RPGs with exploration elements, are excited to learn about the world of the upcoming Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes, and can deal with a lot of repetition in your gameplay, you can find a good time in Eiyuden Chronicle: Rising.