I’d say my most anticipated release of all time has to be the spiritual successor to the Suikoden series called Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes. It is made by a couple of the former Suikoden developers as well as others. So I wanted to do something fun for the fans. I am going to list and very briefly talk about my top 5 favorite characters before launch. Then once the game releases and I complete it, I’ll do another one of these. I will talk about my top 5 favorites after the launch. So let’s get into it.
5. Meldridge
Illustration by Junko Kuwano
Anyone who has had a conversation about Suikoden with me knows who my favorite character of all time in any game is. That character happens to be a strategist named Shu. It appears that Meldridge is filling that strategist role in Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes. The reason he is number 5 on the list is that we obviously don’t know how the game plays out. We also don’t know his level of strategic genius. I would be remiss if I didn’t think about him though.
The description provided via Kickstarter update and the Eiyuden Chronicle Wiki is this.
A young scholar who specializes in natural history. He is deeply interested in the history of the world. He yearns to know of every last thing in the world, and exactly how it got there.
Now once I play the game and get to see more of his characteristics, Meldridge might have the potential to take a top spot.
4. Marisa
Illustration by Junko Kuwano
Number 4 on my pre-release favorite list is Marisa. Representation in gaming is important to many people, and that’s one of the reasons she makes the list. She is a person of color and one of the 3 main characters in the game. Until recent years, female protagonists weren’t as commonplace as they are now. So to see this is a great thing. Marisa will even have some DLC after release. So shows they care about this character as well as the others.
Her description according to past Kickstarter updates and the Eiyuden Chronicle wiki is as follows.
Marisa is a young woman from a family that is part of the Guardians, a clan that protects the forest. Since she was young, she was trained in those tasks. Marisa was very little, her family has instilled their ways and traditions in her. She has a friendly smile, but in battles, she shows the countenance of a warrior. Although the Guardians are a group that lives together in the forest, they have respect for the outside world’s culture and technology. They take in the parts that are good and use them to progress. Marisa is particularly progressive in her thinking and loves both new things and cute things. She has a pet-like creature called Pooby.
The protection talk makes it seem like she might excel in defensive magic or something of the sort. I usually am more of an offensive player, but we will see what happens when it releases.
3. Nowa
Illustration by Junko Kuwano
Number 3 on the list is the character who seems to be a major focus. Nowa is one of the 3 main characters for Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes. I always have a proclivity to drift toward most main characters, so I’m not surprised here. His relationship with Seign (the other of the 3 main characters) is very reminiscent of Riou and Jowy from Suikoden 2. So since that is my favorite game of all time, it plays a factor here. The image comparisons and different interactions we have seen are uncanny.
When it comes to Nowa he is described as someone who acts first before thinking. This leads me to think he ends up in predicaments that maybe could have been avoided. The premise of the story involves a mission he volunteered for. This would eventually lead to war among other things. So for these reasons, he is number 3 before release.
2. Maureus
Illustration by Junko Kuwano
Number 2 on my list before release is a character named Maureus. I can’t sit here and think about the interactions he will have with others and not grin or laugh. He thinks he’s a wizard, but he doesn’t know any magic at all. This is the description that past Kickstarter updates and the Eiyuden Chronicle wiki provided:
Despite not knowing a lick of magic, Maureus has decided he’s a mage. The “staff” he swings around—a hunk of steel that’s thicker than he is and that most observers would correctly call a mace—is strong enough to smash through solid rock. And folks, if that’s not magic, what is? (Answer: actual magic.) Maureus works hard at “attuning himself” (really, he’s just pumping himself up) so he can “wield advanced spells” (break more of his enemies’ bones with each strike).
Junko Kuwano describes Maureus as:
A meathead wizard…is what led me to the character image you see here. I wanted to give the impression that he somehow built huge muscles despite having no intentions of actually working out, so I had a lot of fun designing a really heavy cane and wristbands for him (heavy enough to shock other characters if they tried to pick them up themselves). Is the source of his power magic or muscle…?
So I feel there will be many laughs for me involving our supposedly wizard friend Maureus.
1. Markus the Skeleton King
Illustration by Junko Kuwano
Number 1 on my list before the launch is none other than Markus the Skeleton King. There was some community voting involving the backers for Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes. Markus along with a few other characters were voted on and the Skeleton King won. Since I felt like we (the fans) actually put something in the game, I have a soft spot for Markus. Plus he looks really cool and I enjoy the undead in video games. He is also featured in a community-voted “Elden Magicks” DLC. So Markus won twice.
The description provided by previous Kickstarter updates and the Eiyuden Chronicle wiki is this:
Markus is a Skeleton King who has lived for 300 years. He was once an ambitious man who desired power and thus turned himself undead using some secret arts. Sometime in the past, he tried to find a kingdom for the undead but had to escape after going through a severely difficult experience. At present, he believes that having just one castle is sufficient. As for his subordinates, most of his followers are quite old.
Wrap-Up
Now without knowing the stats, abilities, or other things, I couldn’t do the top 5 most powerful or best heroes. So I decided to predict who my favorites would be before the release of Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes. I can’t stress how close some of these are. Some characters just missed the top 5 like Cassandra, Seign, and Garoo. So I hope you all enjoyed this and stay tuned for the next piece after the game releases where I revisit and give my top 5 list post-launch.
