Eiyuu * Senki - So many characters! Arthur was great. Himiko too!
Eiyuu * Senki (英雄＊戦姫) is a visual novel and grand strategy game developed by Tenco and released in 2012. It received an alternative version with the same premise, Eiyuu * Senki GOLD, released in 2014, which featured a new storyline along with additional characters and game systems.
The story follows an amnesiac protagonist who awakens in Yamatai, the kingdom of the legendary Himiko. He is supposedly the right man for the job, and together with Himiko, he quickly overcomes the internal strife within Zipang and unifies the country under one banner.
Then, of course, they set their sights on neighboring countries, and the war expands until it eventually becomes a worldwide struggle for domination. Naturally, things cannot be that simple in an anime-focused game, so the plot eventually expands into the supernatural with an overarching enemy that must be defeated to bring about real peace.
As you may have noticed from the screenshot selection, all the characters except for the protagonist are female heroines that rule or work for specific countries. These characters are based on their historical counterparts, so you will see many popular names like Arthur Pendragon, Magellan, and Napoleon.
Despite there being over 70 heroines in total across all regions of the world, each has her own small story arc featuring interactions with the other heroines and the protagonist. With such a large cast, you are sure to find characters you like and probably some you do not.
The gameplay is typical of a grand strategy game, featuring an overarching world map divided into provinces where the player can recruit units, build structures, or decide which mission to embark on next. Missions can vary from simple visual novel scenes with the heroines to full-fledged battles to invade new territories.
Battles take place on a 6x3 grid where the player and the enemy summon a limited number of units, which varies depending on the battle, to fight against one another. These units have classes with a typical rock-paper-scissors advantage system, so you will want to structure your team effectively to defeat the enemy you are facing.
Each unit has three main statistics: attack, defense, and speed. Hero units, such as the many heroines you will recruit, have special characteristics compared to standard enemies. You need to be more careful around them and try to understand their weaknesses or you'll end up facing a wall at times.
The core gameplay can become quite addictive. I ended up spending many hours thinking "just one more turn" and getting stuck in that cycle. The game itself is quite long, and I clocked 77 hours to fully complete it, although I did spend a lot of time finalizing my units.
As you may know, there was a gacha game released for this franchise under the name Eiyuu Senki WWX. I played it briefly but never managed to get fully into it due to performance problems in the browser version. That game recently ended its service, but there was news that made me hopeful for the future.
The company announced that they are adjusting the gacha game to become a full-fledged offline title under the name "Eiyuu Senki WWW" that everyone can play. It is not just a quick port of the existing game; it is actually being rebalanced so the experience works for a single-player approach.
The game itself is scheduled to be release somewhere near summer 2026, but there is no final date set as of yet. The twitter account of the company keep posting new updates regularly as the development goes so at least you can get your latest information directly there.
Overall, Eiyuu * Senki is a timeless game that I highly recommend to anyone looking for an anime-style grand strategy game with a visual novel story.
