Eiyuu Senki – The World Conquest Review (PS3)
Eiyuu Senki – The World Conquest is a game I’ve had my eye on for quite some time, and thankfully Fruitbat Factory recently brought it to our shores.
Eiyuu Senki is a visual novel/tactical RPG hybrid featuring Chihara (or whatever you decide to name him, but this was his default name), a boy from the modern day world who’s thrust into an alternate world were prominent figures in history such as Oda Nobunaga are now female. Chihara has amnesia and shortly finds himself helping Himiko in her plans for world conquest as she’s taking care of him, and together they fight to build their city and army so that they can become a force to be reckoned with.
The story isn’t very deep and the characters have had some liabilities taken with for fanservice reasons, but I enjoyed it regardless. The localisation, which is text heavy, is spectacular with no notable errors and ease of reading making the game more enjoyable, and I’m not adverse to a bit of fanservice here and there! I’m not usually into the whole ‘modern day boy is thrown back in time’ trope, along with the hsitorical figures all turning female trope, but this has easily been one of the more bearable versions of it as the characters still pose a threat and can boast of their power.
The gameplay is easily accessible and a joy to play, taking place on a square grid as you pit your units against the enemy units. You really feel like you’re taking command of a small army and dealing significant damage as a result, and it’s hugely satisfying when you in a battle. You take control of several units during the turn-based battles and it’s very easy to get into, although it boasts depth and challenge for those who don’t just want an easy ride – it shouldn’t give you too much trouble if you’re eager to continue the story as it strikes a nice balance that should satisfy all parties.
You can switch your units up for each battle, some of which will be a better fit than others, although I opt to go for the most damaging build I can as it seemed easier to wipe them out before they could dish out lots of damage to you instead. The battles are quite fast-paced and though some can last a while, I was impressed that despite many games similar to this having drawn out battles, Eiyuu Senki was a quicker and simpler experience – the limitations of the square-grid help here as they tend to be flat and not too large in scale, unlike something like the Fire Emblem games where the environments can also play against you by being in the way, etc.
Being a visual novel, the visuals are pretty important! I enjoyed it’s rather sharp art style that it used for the characters, and the variety of colours make the game stand out. The portraits are rather static but look great, and the 2D battles manage to be explosive despite how small the models are. Tenco’s take on historical figures and making them female certainly doesn’t annoy me as much here as it has in similar games and anime, maybe because much of the cast isn’t very sexualised (don’t get me wrong, those outfits still do a poor job of keeping breasts contained in the case of some characters but c’est la vie!) although it does share some of the same harem tendencies.
It’s no surprise that there’s no English Dub available considering that Eiyuu Senki is possibly one of the most niche games I’ve played – more so considering it’s released on PS3 and not on PS4 or Vita too – and will only really appeal to a relatively small market. Thankfully the Japanese voice-acting is decent, especially as there’s an abundance of dialogue, and I appreciate that you can view previous text via the backlog. You might even recognise some of the voice-actresses such as Imai Asami who performs the games opening and might be best known for voicing Makise Kurisu in Steins;Gate, and she’s joined by a good number of great voice talent. The OST is far from memorable but does the job and didn’t annoy me during my time with Eiyuu Senki, although it’s one of the weaker aspects of the game.
Eiyuu Senki is certainly one of the final games that’ll be exclusively to PS3 (where consoles are concerned) and thankfully it’s a decent title to hold that honour (although I think Yakuza 5 will be the final true exclusive for PS3), and visual novel fans as well as tactical RPG fans will find plenty to enjoy here. Boasting gorgeous art, dozens of hours worth of gameplay and a fun, if not particularly strong, story and characters, Eiyuu Senki will please those who’ve been waiting for its arrival and showcase Fruitbat Factory’s talent as a localisation team. 2015 has been a great year for games and Eiyuu Senki – The World Conquest isn’t anywhere near the top of my favourites list, but I’ve enjoyed it and can recommend it if you already like the look of it, or like the sounds of what you’ve read.
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