Eiyuden Chronicle: Rising is a mostly linear affair. As a result, most players will experience the same narrative, side quests, and character moments - and probably even the same lingering questions once the credits roll. However, as a semi-Metroidvania, Eiyuden Chronicle: Rising opens up a plethora of possibilities for you to explore. How will you approach the combat, exploration, or even side content?

RELATED: The Best Games To Play If You Like Eiyuden Chronicle: Rising

For the most part, the way you tackle Eiyuden Chronicle: Rising’s gameplay will be unique to you. Well, we say for the most part as there are some aspects of the game that all players will approach in exactly the same way. From forgetting to explore an area to getting engrossed by stamp collecting - who would have guessed? - you're pretty much expected to do these things without even realizing it. Don’t worry, we’ve all been there.

6 Stare At The Gorgeous Scenery

Eiyuden Chronicle Rising Character Roster standing at town outskirts

If there is one positive thing we can absolutely say about Eiyuden Chronicle: Rising, it’s that it is jaw-droppingly gorgeous. Whether it is the phenomenal 2D sprite work or the picturesque 3D backgrounds, no matter what you’re looking at in this game it is bound to be stunning. This is especially true whenever you visit the main hub area. The hustle and bustle of NPCs walking in the foreground contrasting with the buildings and trees dominating the background make this area feel incredibly lifelike.

So, it’s no surprise then that the majority of players likely spend at least half of their time in this game staring at the scenery. Well, maybe not half of their time, but you get the point. This game is so distractingly gorgeous that you’d have to physically wrench us away from the controller just to get us to do anything else. Literally, we’re not going to stop unless you make us.

a wide shot of the character Garoo from Eiyuden Chronicle: Rising attacking an enemy from the air in a forest location

Link Attacks are what makes Eiyuden Chronicle: Rising’s combat so much fun. While switching characters on the fly is enjoyable in its own right, the opportunity to seamlessly blend their powers together in flashy combos is infinitely better. The further you progress through the game, the more you’ll realize that these attacks can be exploited to clear out rooms of enemies or even tough boss fights with ease.

However, during the early game, many players may feel inclined to save up these attacks. In the same way people tend to save potions for boss fights, Link Attacks may be kept in reserve for tougher enemies. The thing is, you really don’t need to. They replenish so quickly that you can pretty much spam them to your heart's content. However, that’s not going to stop us from thinking they’re our savings accounts and opt instead to save them for a rainy day. You know, just in case.

4 Forgetting To Go Back

a side perspective of CJ from Eiyuden Chronicle: Rising stood next to an element infused boulder in a Quarry with a chest on the other side

Eiyuden Chronicle: Rising is sort of a Metroidvania. You’ll often come across big boulders that are preventing you from moving on. The only way you can destroy them is by finding the correct element that matches them. As you progress, you’ll get access to these elements, ostensibly allowing you to finally visit all of those locations that you couldn’t get to before. That is, of course, if you remember.

RELATED: Eiyuden Chronicle: Rising - How To Unlock The Apothecary

It’s not uncommon to forget to revisit a previous location in a Metroidvania. A lot of the time, so long as it isn’t tied to a story mission, these locations will serve as nothing more than ways to get loot. Break through that boulder, and you’ll find a chest that someone confusingly left there. To be honest, we’d probably put our treasure behind immovable boulders charged with fire energy. Just saying. Anyway, in Eiyuden Chronicle: Rising it is especially easy to forget, as the narrative is so linear and rarely asks you to go back to any of the previous dungeons. It is entirely up to you to make the effort to return and retrieve whatever treasure lies in wait. But who has time for that? Or the memory, for that matter?

3 Finishing Off Every Side Quest Before Continuing The Main Quests

a side perspective of Garoo and CJ from Eiyuden Chronicle: Rising talking to a citizen with a blue icon above their head with various UI elements covering the top of the image

There are so many side quests in Eiyuden Chronicle: Rising. It’s ridiculous. Some of them are actually pretty great while others are less than stellar - and that's being polite. We love buying people sandwiches as much as the next person, but doing it twenty times can be pretty exhausting. Where’s our sandwich? However, despite the somewhat tedious nature of certain side quests, it is seemingly impossible to leave them to the wayside before you finish the main story.

For whatever reason, we feel the desire to complete every side quest available before doing the next mission. Trust us when we say we know it’s silly. After all, it breaks up the story too much and can ruin the pacing a little. But finishing them off and getting that fancy little animation is so satisfying, we just can’t help ourselves. Don’t tell us you can resist them too. We know you’re telling fibs.

2 Mainly Play As CJ

a character profile for the character CJ from Eiyuden Chrnicle: Rising featuring her portrait on the right and a description of her within a text box on the left

There are three playable characters in Eiyuden Chronicle: Rising. You can switch between them at any point while exploring dungeons. CJ is fast, and can double jump and dash. Garoo has a big ol’ sword and can block. Isha can shoot magic balls at stuff. If it isn’t blatantly obvious already, one of these characters is better than the others. If you guessed CJ, then you’re absolutely correct.

RELATED: Eiyuden Chronicle: Rising - How To Unlock The Smithy

Simply due to the fact that CJ runs faster than either of the other two characters, it isn’t hard to imagine that most, if not all, players opt to control her whenever exploring. Even in combat, CJ is the quickest in a fight. Her attacks still hit as hard as Garoo’s, but she can chain multiple ones together in quick succession which leads to huge amounts of damage. It gets to the point where the other two characters are little more than helpful tools in Link Attacks. Beyond that - and occasionally using Isha to shoot balls at things - CJ really is the best character to play as.

1 Absolutely Loving Stamp Collecting

a 2d side perspective of a series of red stamps overlaid on top of a busy street with Garoo from Eiyuden Chronicle: Rising visible in the bottom left corner

Whenever you complete a mission or a side quest in Eiyuden Chronicle: Rising, you receive a stamp. At the beginning of the game, you’re told you need to collect these in order to receive a treasure hunter’s license. Of course, you get that almost immediately, but still receive stamps nonetheless. Fortunately, collecting them is incredibly engrossing and quickly becomes one of the highlights of the entire game.

By filling out a stamp card, you’ll not only unlock an additional Link Attack, but the town music will change too. It gradually becomes more cheerful - likely because you’ve become the resident chore-doer - and the town even starts to feel more lively. It’s such a rewarding feeling to slowly fill up those cards, even if the reward is helping a fictional town thrive. Collecting stamps in Eiyuden Chronicle: Rising surely has enraptured each and every player, even if you’re not a fan of the quests that give you them. It’s also just a fun way of getting more out of the game once you’ve beaten it, as you’ll almost certainly have one or two left to get.

NEXT: Eiyuden Chronicle: Rising - Beginner's Tips