This Kickstarter-funded JRPG already had me with its Octopath Traveler vibes, but is keeping me hooked with its Pokemon-style recruit-em-all

If there's one thing I've learnt about myself during my lifetime of playing video games, it's that I adore collecting things. Whether it's the trinkets that can be found lurking in The Last of Us' many cupboards, or all the coins in Mario's path, you can bet I'm going to hoover up the lot, but the one thing that draws me in more than anything else is collecting creatures. 

As my favorite game series, Pokémon is the best example of this, but I love any title that allows me to befriend a plethora of cute and quirky little guys, and build a powerful team while traveling across a fantastical land. What I wasn't expecting was to get this same catch 'em all satisfaction from Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes and its many recruitable human (and human-like) companions.

Despite not having played any of the Suikoden games – the classic series created by the late Hundred Heroes director Yoshitaka Murayama – the Kickstarter-funded JRPG already had me intrigued. Its pleasing 2.5D visual style, which is reminiscent of Square Enix's gorgeous Octopath Traveler games, and its promise of a modern take on a classic JRPG experience were already enough for me to be sold on it. However, its enormous cast of characters has quickly proven to be the main factor keeping me coming back for more. As the game's name suggests, there are over 100 characters with unique battle styles scattered across the far reaches of the map, just waiting to be added to your roster. It's hard not to feel like I'm filling out some sort of Pokedex of people, and dear reader, I love it.

Gotta recruit 'em all 

Of course, Hundred Heroes doesn't have you running around lobbing balls at peoples' heads to befriend them. Some, like the adorable Treefolk boy Kallathor (who's essentially a sentient, walking tree) will automatically join you as you progress through the story, while others, like the hilariously aggressive healer, Francesca, will be happy to follow you as soon as you find and talk to them for the first time. It makes exploring new locations on the map a constant thrill, as you never know who you're going to meet, and the feeling of spotting an interesting-looking individual waiting to be recruited is unmatched. 

Not everyone can be recruited in such a straightforward manner, however, which is where things get extra interesting. I've been tasked with hunting down precious items in order to convince certain folks to join me (it wouldn't be a good RPG adventure without a fetch quest or two, after all), slaying certain enemies, and even defeating someone in a Card Battle mini-game to earn their respect. I'm not going to lie, the latter took me a couple of attempts before I finally mastered it, but it's all worth it now that I have a card game nerd in my ranks.

That's another thing that makes hunting down every single one of the optional characters so damn enticing – they don't necessarily all fight alongside you in battle, some will help you develop your own town, too. Without getting into story spoilers, you're eventually given the chance to upgrade a town with new facilities, shops, and even mini-games by using resources gathered around the land during your adventure. However, facilities need people to run them, meaning that you need to find specific characters in order to go ahead with certain upgrades. 

The aforementioned card game nerd, Glen, is one of these people. In fact, he made a point of telling protagonist Nowa not to be silly when asked if he could use his cards to fight in real battles. Although it's a pity he's not going to launch into the fray Yu-Gi-Oh! style like I was first hoping, I'm incredibly excited that I'm now able to open up access to the mini-game within my growing settlement, and it makes the completionist in me very happy that you're rewarded for your efforts in this way.

My time with Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes is far from over, even if I've already lost track of the exact number of people I've recruited into my roster. Swapping out my party of six with fresh faces and new moves every now and then really helps keep the JRPG's battles interesting, even if I've admittedly been tempted to keep a solid party like I would in Pokemon (only with more Sailor Moon-style magical girls). However, 15 hours into the adventure, I still frankly have no idea what my main team will end up looking like since I keep encountering new favorites I feel compelled to cram in there somehow. Either way, much like Pokemon, you can bet I won't rest until I've grabbed each and every one of them, filling out the Herodex that exists only in my mind.

If you're on the lookout for more games like Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes, be sure to check out our picks for the best JRPGs.