Suikoden V discussion
Moderator: Lord Golbez
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Lord Golbez
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HKK
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[/quote]Rheo wrote:One person beat the game after 50 hours, but he/she didn't do many sidequests (mainly just the storyline), and he/she has only gotten 82 out of 108 stars.Himuro wrote:Rheo, I'm not reading those spoilers but did any Chinese fans say how long it took them to beat the game?
The other comments that he/she has:
- main storyline is fairly long comparing to previous games.
- 108 stars are integrated pretty well into the main storyline; just by going along with the storyline, you would get to meet around 60 stars
- Less totally random people joining your army for absolutely no reason
- some characters seem to have sidequests (I am not sure on this one, he/she might be talking about side dungeons)
Hell yes
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HKK
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Hell fucking yes!I've been playing Suikoden 5 for about 20 hours, and I think I have a pretty good grasp of this game, enough to give an intial impression.
Well, I think I can safely say that Suikoden V is indeed Suikoden.
The plot is superb. It's not only the complexity that is superb, but I was surprised by the plot more than once. Thankfully I didn't spoil myself at all with advanced spoilers, which made the experience that much sweeter. I strongly recommend people to avoid spoiler info unless you have played the game.
What I like about the plot is that you are given a good explanation on things, and you get a clear reason of why you are doing what you are doing (unlike certain parts in Suikoden 4). The plot is also rife with strategy and politics, involving multiple nations, factions, groups, and characters; yet, the story manages to retain coherence. You're also given the opportunity to roam around to do extraneous stuff if you don't want to simply follow the plotline.
The characters are absolutely stellar. Suikoden 4 (for me) had characters with good design and feel, but were not utilized to their full potential. Suikoden V takes a few steps further and takes a lot of time to develop the characters rather deeply. This results in a pretty powerful feeling of emotional release when the characters are involved in certain events (of course, this might just be me). You'll also meet some returning characters, some of them have been quite unexpected. Again, I was very glad I didn't spoil myself because I was thinking in my head, "OMG, this is so cool!"
As for the game mechanics, I've heard a lot of comments about load time, and indeed it can get a bit tiresome. However, this is still a minor problem. Otherwise, the battles are done very well, and formations have a pretty important impact on how well you do. I've done a fair amount of fighting for the sake of it, but you'd need to use the right strategy for the party you have; otherwise, you'll have difficulty fighting normal battles. I'd say that the battles in Suikoden V is a bit difficult compared to previous installations.
The duel is very good. The simple time limit makes the duel pretty difficult. They also seem to have created different battle actions for your main character for each different duel; this makes each duel rather exciting.
The conventional war battle is really fun. I have no complains whatsoever about it. The fact that the enemy continues to move makes it somewhat challenging, but even if you are defeated, you can restart from the beginning of the same battle. Although there are some basic unit types, there are many other types of units as well (I've only seen a few).
The sea battles are also fun, and is a lot more strategic compared to Suikoden 4. Also, because you can actually make more money based on how well you do, there's actually a reason to reduce your own casualties (this is also true with conventional war battles).
Of course, in both war battles, there's plenty of dialogue and plot, much like Suikoden 2. Your strategists and generals will play important roles, and oh yes, it feels like suikoden.
As far as the controls go, one problem I have is that it is sometimes hard to talk to townsfolk. Even if I am pushing the correct button to speak with people, they sometimes don't respond. As a result, I have to press the button more than once (unforgivable! Razz). The perpetually "quarter-view" perspective also makes it hard to navigate yourself, especially in towns with tall buildings. However, all of these are still minor issues that don't really distract you from the excellence of the plot.
Personally, I am relieved that Suikoden V seems to be a solidly good game. It does have the "suikoden feel" folks.
And one last thing I want to repeat: Don't spoil yourself!
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Lord Golbez
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HKK
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Yeah, I agree with what I've seen from videos. Hopefully they fix that shit.Joei wrote:I played a few hours and am now going to wait for the US version. This game is pretty and has more than 3 colours. Should be good.
Except the transition to battle IS really fucking stupid and annoying. They need to sort it.
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Damien
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I can't think of a single Suikoden IV character that didn't look totally fucking ugly.Lord Golbez wrote:Sounds great hkk, except for one thing. Suikoden 4 characters had "good design and feel"? If you ask me most of the Suikoden 4 characters were just stupid in every possible respect: horrible design and absolutely no purpose.
The hero was one of the worst
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Lord Golbez
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HKK
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They're supposed to be called Nekobolds. It's a pun. Neko in Japanese means cat, so they're Cat Kobolds. Thing is, they're also kobolds from the town of Nay, thus, NayKobold. It's a different form of Kobold and really I hate them. They're so huge and ugly compared to the awesome looking kobolds who don't have huge ass mother fucking heads. Also, you have GOT to admit that the one Kobold in Two River fucking awesome. He could chew you up and spit you out if you said anything ill or stupid. And then there's Captain Gengen! Kuromimi! Where are my fucking Kobolds Konami?!Lord Golbez wrote:How come kobolds in the first three games are more like dogs, but Nay-Kobolds are catlike?himurokoken wrote:I hate those cats.
By the way, I cannot wait for this game.
I need it nowwwwwwwwww!
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Lord Golbez
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Lord Golbez
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well, the untranslated stuff in Suikoden 2 was prettyminor. As for bad translation, you can still have fully voiced dialogue that's not translated so well. In fact, sometimes they intentionally sacrifice some authentic translation to make it fit better in Engish.
The TBB offers you tea and biscuits. 
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Lord Golbez
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Lord Golbez
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HKK
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Advertisement: http://img225.imageshack.us/img225/4133 ... 7pm4rx.jpg
The preorder deals are now at eb/gamestop so if you preordered and want your artbook/soundtrack head on over.
New English footage:
http://www.gametrailers.com/gamepage.php?fs=1&id=2158
And most importantly, the man's review:
Game of the year 2006.
It is coming. Suiko fans rejoice.
The preorder deals are now at eb/gamestop so if you preordered and want your artbook/soundtrack head on over.
New English footage:
http://www.gametrailers.com/gamepage.php?fs=1&id=2158
And most importantly, the man's review:
---Having had enough time to play Suikoden (I finished the game once, and am going for the second round), I think I have a pretty clear idea of the game, enough to write a review.
In short, I would like to say:
Welcome back, Suikoden!
Yes, Suikoden is back, folks... and it is decked out with a full slew of goodies.
However, before I get into the good stuff, let me complain about Suikoden V's weakest point: controls.
The game's response to your input from the control pad is not very stellar. I originally thought my control pad may have gotten worn out, so I changed it to a new one, but the problem persisted. This is particularly the case when you're trying to speak with townspeople, open chests, or open the status menu--you often don't get the desired response. When speaking to townspeople, you seem to have to be at a very specific location to get a response; otherwise, you are completely ignored. The same is true with treasure chests, which can get frustrating because there are some random background images that look like treasure chests. I've wasted some good time trying to open these fake chests thinking that it must be the bad response giving me a hard time.
Calling up the status menu seems to be a hit/miss deal as well. Even if you are clearly pressing the button, sometimes the menu doesn't open at all. The game also loads for about 1 or 2 seconds when you pull up the menu, which may possibly frustrate some people; it didn't bother me. In a similar vein, the controls within the item menu are somewhat awkward because they ask you for confirmation every time you use an item. What was bothersome for me is that the default setting is "don't use," which required that I move the cursor and then press on "yes" before I can finally use the "medicine 1" to heal 100 HP for one of my poorly beaten characters. In previous games, these extra steps were not needed. This was most frustrating when I was in a tight situation in dungeons, slamming the buttons and realizing that I actually didn't use my "mega medicine."
Let’s also talk about load time. Load time tends to be on the longer side for Suikoden V. The load time it takes before every battle is a good 8 to 10 seconds long. However, Konami does a very fine job making this look shorter by using a rather nice transition with graphics and tension-building music. However, the load time after battle is not given equal care, and we also have the vile and evil load screen interfering during event cut-scenes.
On a similar issue, the game seems to use a lot of processing power because when there are many characters in one screen, the game slows down noticeably. The worst case is that one particular rune spell animation can actually cause the game to freeze (but this is probably for older PS2 models, because I have never experienced this myself). Make sure you save often!
Now that I got all of my complaints out of my system, let me get to the good stuff.
Again, let me say:
Welcome back, Suikoden!
Let me start with the music. I often don't review music because my taste is very strange. However, in the case of Suikoden V, I can say that they did an incredible job. Not only do they have a good soundtrack, they make very good use of music to enliven the mood of the plot. They obviously took great care in making sure music is used to enhance the emotional quality of each event. Now, that is Suikoden (at least for me).
The battle engine is superb, to say the least. The regular battles have increased 10-fold in terms of its tactical complexity compared to Suikoden IV. The battles are noticeably harder (unless you power your characters up ridiculously), and pressing buttons like a monkey won't get you very far.
Battle formations are a new feature from Suikoden V, but this really gives grater depth to your tactical options. What is great is that this will allow you to make whatever parties you like.
For example, in Suikoden 2, you were pretty much limited to having 3 members with the attack range of S. In Suikoden V, depending on your formation you can even use 6 members with range S attacks (without any penalties!). You can choose more defensive formations as well, so that your long range attacks have enhanced defenses while one tank takes all of the attacks, etc. The possibilities are viryually limitless.
The skill system is also back, but has also been overhauled. Gone are skills such as "Swing" and "Fire Magic" but instead you have skills such as "Agility" and "Magic." Let me explain how this works-- basically, increasing skills increase your stats. For example, increasing "Agility" increases your "Speed" stats as well as "Evade." It also increases your chances of multiple attacks and your chances to attack multiple enemies. Previously, this was handled by multiple skills, but the new system successfully consolidates these skills into one. Also, skills that increase magical affinities, such as "Lightning Magic" have been eliminated, and have been replaced by individual elemental affinities, much like Suikoden 2 (although you can actually see the affinities in Suikoden V). Your elemental affinities can be marginally modified by wearing certain types of armor, but they are largely static, which means you need to be careful what runes you give to whom.
This all sounds fabulous, but one downside is that you must equip skills. Even if you are trained in the skills "Attack" "Defense" and "Agility" to skill level A, you can only equip two of these at the same time. You can switch them out any time during the game, but the number of skills you can have on your character never increases from 2. However, as you progress in the game, advanced skills become available. One of the highest skill (which I'll translate as "The Royal Way") increases every single skill, but is also very hard to get and not everyone can use it. Overall, the regular battle system along with all the stats makes Suikoden V a number-cruncher's dream. People who liked messing around with stats and theorizing maximum damage, etc will have a lot of fun.
The one-on-one duel system has been a staple for the Suikoden series, but it has gone through a minor change in Suikoden V: you're now given a time-limit to make your choice. Otherwise, it is basically the same as how it was in Suikoden 1 and 2. However, this small change makes duels a lot more challenging and fun, you just gotta try it. I was also pretty happy to see that battle animations of your hero changes depending on your opponent. The choreography is really quite something. I can't find anything bad about duels at all, and you do have a fair number of them (and some duels don't involve the hero as well).
Now, the major battles: boy, THIS has changed! For one thing, the major battles are real-time, meaning all of your units move simultaneously. However, besides the real-time aspect, the major battle system basically takes the good parts of past battle systems and combines it together, and they do a fine job at that. Basically, you can have an upwards of around 10 regiments, and each regiment can be led by up to 3 characters. There's various regiment types, including naval units. Some battles are purely naval or conventional, but many battles involve a mix, which further complicates the strategy. Like Suikoden 2, some characters have special skills, such as "Charge" or "Water Magic" which add to your tactical options. Generally, the major battles are challenging, and you're given a lot of freedom in terms of what you can do. Unlike in Suikoden 2, where you had almost no freedom in some battles, most all major battles in Suikoden V lets you do whatever you wish. Also, depending on how well you do, you're given rewards! One problem with major battles is that you're not given much time to think because it is real-time. One tip I can give you is that all units stop moving when you are choosing the destination of one of your units, that's when you can have time to think, but otherwise you'd need a lot of dexterity with your control pad.
Now going onto better stuff: Characters.
In short, the characters in Suikoden V are superb. The development team obviously heard complaints about the lack of character depth in Suikoden IV and made major improvements in this regard for Suikoden V. Almost every single character in Suikoden V has a reason for joining the hero, and you sure do get certain types or archetypes that are essential for Suikoden to be Suikoden: charlatans, bandits, thieves, corrupt government officials, scheming aristocrats, silent swordsmen, mercenaries, along with a scantly-clad rune sage and ditzy teleport mage.
The characters are given an amazing amount of back-story as well, creating a pretty complex web of relations between characters you wouldn't think have anything to do with each other. Along with your private investigator's investigation, comment box entries, and bathhouse events, it'll probably take a very long time for anybody to learn everything about the characters. Not only that, every character is given a pretty wide range of emotion, which you can see through their facial expressions and gestures; which is a pretty huge improvement from Suikoden IV (especially because the hero had only one facial expression).
Characters that are heavily involved in the plot are developed very well, and are given compelling and believable reasons for doing what they do. This not only involves your side, but your enemy as well; however, as director Sakiyama said, there is less "gray area" for the enemies--your enemies are decidedly more "evil" than the "good side." The effect of this is actually pretty good, because it makes you feel pretty good when you defeat your enemies, and also lets you really dislike your foe and aids in building up your emotions.
However, the greatest job they did in terms of character is for the hero. The prince is a "silent hero," but even then you can see how he grows during the game. Depending on the choices you make, he can be serious or comical but never bland. The range of emotion he displays is pretty amazing, and the development team does a good job making you forget that he's a "silent hero."
And the plot; I don't know how to describe how the plot of Suikoden V surpasses the plot of all other Suikodens, especially in terms of its complexity. More than once was I shocked to learn of why certain things happened, especially because I assumed the truth to be different. The politics within the plot is quite intense, and it is possible that some of it might go over the head of some people.
In the same vein as politics, military strategy is also an important aspect in the Suikoden series, but Suikoden V doesn't disappoint in terms of that. Not only your own strategist, but in various other parts of the plot will you see brilliant and brutal strategy used by enemies and yourself alike. You have manipulation, betrayal, foreign intervention, old-fashioned loyalty, and unlikely allies, which all make Suikoden what it should be.
Also, Suikoden V does a very good job at throwing you down into the abyss. You will be pitted against incredible adversity--adversity so overpowering that you'll likely feel pretty unhappy. However, adversities are overcome in ways that are entirely Suikoden: through brilliant strategy of your strategist and the heroic acts of the hero and his comrades. The end result is a story that creates a rapturous feeling, the very feeling that was missing (for me) in Suikoden IV. So yes, Suikoden V does have the "Suikoden feel."
One possible problem with the plot, though, is that the plot feels a small bit rushed towards the end, and can possibly make people wonder what the heck is going on. However, this isn't that big of a problem because an explanation is given in the end.
Lastly concerning plot, you as the playr have a certain latitude over how the plot progress. Although the main storyline is pretty much linear (although with multiple endings), there are a number of parts that branch out. The decisions you make can have a pretty large impact on your playthrough. Some of these branch-points are pretty minor, and some are quite siginficant. The result is that everyone would likely have a different experience. It is basically impossible to see every possible event in two or three playthroughs.
In terms of mini-games, there are plenty of addictive mini-games, although there is no cook-off (many people ask this question, so I just want to make sure). Not only are many of these mini-games addictive, but they tend to be a good way to make money.
Lastly, the graphics have improved especially in terms of character modeling. They don't re-use the same action for every model during battles like they did in Suikoden V, and they don't have ugly textures for faces; each character has facial parts that move naturally. Konami must have put in a lot of effort in this regards! In terms of maps, the birds-eye-view overworld map is back, and the screen inside towns and dungeons are set to a diagonal "quarter-view" perspective, and allows you to see a pretty wide field. Although this makes it hard for you to see things around tall buildings, a lot of times the camera compensates by automatically shifting its perspective. One problem is that you don't get to see the character models close-up unless you're in a cut-scene. It's a shame because the character models are done so well. Also, there are some hidden treasure chests in places you can't see; these tend to contain pretty important (non-plot related) items, too. Battle actions are quite superbly done and fluid, and unite attack actions are done very well and are fun to watch. Graphics involving rune magic is still not quite up to Suikoden 2's standards, but they execute quickly and aren't horrible either. The character profile images (which will undoubtedly be transformed into many message board avatars!) are exceptional, and many characters are given multiple profiles depending on their emotion and also depending on the clothing they wear.
Overall, Suikoden V makes you feel like Konami really tried hard to understand the question, "what makes Suikoden, Suikoden." Opinions on installations following Suikoden 2 have always been a divisive topic, and Suikoden IV scored pretty low in many reviews. Undoubtedly, these facts make Konami think long and hard about what they should do in Suikoden V, and the result is a truly remarkable comeback. Unfortunately, Suikoden V's sales are not too stellar in Japan, but that doesn't reflect the quality of the game itself. Suikoden V is truly an epic, and if you have ever liked Suikoden (and abandoned the series because you didn't like Suikoden 3 or Suikoden IV), it's a must-play.
Suikoden is back, folks!
Game of the year 2006.
It is coming. Suiko fans rejoice.
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Lord Golbez
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HKK
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There's a French review of Suikoden 5 here: http://www.rpgsoluce.com/reviews/ps2/Suikoden-V.htm
It got a 19/20 score
Here's a rough translation (used babelfish a bit because there's tons of text)
It took a while for the first Suikoden saga to become well known in Europe. Moreover, the second episode quickly became well known to many RPG players shortly after it's released. However, we had to wait 5 years for the 4th game to be able to experience the series again. Unfortunately, in spite of some success, the 4th game was a disaster compared to the preceding tame. Konami announced that it'd return to the series roots with this episode, and that the game would be directed by Junko Kawano (Suikoden 1), but the result was rather an enormous step backwards. Suikoden 4 featured a battle system of 4 characters and an extremely short game; add to that a bad beginning, characters without the least depth, and a poor scenario. As a fan and a player, I was greatly disappointed by this episode. Suikoden Tactics did a bit better, but it wasn't really anything outstanding. So, how well does Suikoden 5 fare?
Suikoden is a saga that takes place in an imaginary universe that's connected with deep and rich chronology. Just like the 4th game, this one is a prequel to the first 3 games. Taking place around 6 years before Suikoden 1. This makes it hard to build on the story given by Suikoden 3. Nevertheless, Konami doesn't forget its fans and this game has many references to all the games in the series. The initial concept of the game was about a mystery first mentioned in Suikoden 2. Note: The following part might contain scenario spoilers, don't read except if you want to know the information that was provided in Suikoden 2.
In Suikoden 2, we learn about the great mercenary Georg Prime, who took part in the war of Succession (Suikoden 1), traveled to Grassland (Suikoden 3), and it was also implied that he murdered the Queen of the Queendom of Falena. Furthermore, we learned about two other characters, Killey and Lorelai, two adventurers who're interested in the civilization of Sindar, and who also seemed to have had a part with the assassination of the queen. But that's all we learned about that, and many theories were found to explain the mysterious back story.
Welcome to Falena:
Suikoden V is located in the Queendom of Falena. You control the prince of the country as he returns from a mission. He's accompanied by Lyon, his loyal bodyguard and the apprentice Queen Knight, along with Georg Prime, a knight who joined by request of the captain of Queen Knights, as well as the prince' aunt, Sialeeds, the little sister of the queen. Falena being a matriarchal kingdom, only women can inherit the throne, and their male husbands or children are relegated to the country's defense. The country was protected for many centuries by the True Sun Rune, which grants the Queen eternal youth and great power. Unfortunately, a noble family is suspected of having recently concealed one of the major Runes in the Kingdom, and stirring trouble. The situation is even worse as the Queen sometimes seems possessed by her True Rune and showing an aggressive personality.
Average technical quality:
Let's start with the game play defects because that's what the player would notice first. The series never presented great graphics, and that's the case in this game as well. There are certainly better facial animations, more detailed decorations and more colors than the uninspired Suikoden 4 for sure. However, the game remains on an average level. Personally, I don't really care for graphics quality in games, but those remain important to note. Technically, the player won't be able to mark the spirits(?). The cities are pretty and have good design in general. They are very large and are scarcely populated in terms of density. Moreover, the camera angle is likely to displease some people because it can't be moved and has a skewed top view that doesn't allow the player to be seen behind many buildings. Although it's not particulary awkward, but sometimes it hides an exit which one could take for a simple wall. This is, nontheless, is rather rare. The camera makes it possible to hide treasure chests, forcing the player to explore places more carefully. For my part, as much as I liked to re-examine the series in 2D, especially those little sprites at loading times, the loading times prove to be very long, taking from 5 to 10 seconds to change maps or to enter a battle. It didn't really annoy me a lot, but that's mostly because I got used to it, but I guess it'd annoy certain players.
This reduced experience also feels the same for combat or the spells. In that regard, the game is not much better than Suikoden 4. Moreover, I find that many spells in Suikoden 2 were much more beautiful as compared to this game. The battle scenes are also less detailed and suffer from a feeling of emptiness. Fortunately and following the example of Suikoden 2, characters in 5 have different battle animations that are different from a character to another. Another good point is that the battles are very dynamic and fun. The cut scenes which are, without being exceptional, well made. Nevertheless, as I said, all this turns out well at the end, but one could find it unfortunate that Konami didn't invest more in the development of this series when compared to other Konami games' graphics. I'm not completely against 3D, especially if it serves the game, but when you see the 2D of splendid games like Tales of Rebirth or Baten Kaitos, it's a bit sad that Suikoden 5 doesn't have such good graphics.
The music is of a rather good quality, and it easily outclasses the last 3 games (Tactics, Suikoden 4, and Suikoden 3). The music is best at the time of cut scenes, reinforcing the tragic and emotional character of some of those scenes. In general, the music fits well with the various locations in the game. Certain tracks are taken directly from Suikoden 2 or 4 as a wink (to the fans?). The musicians did a beautiful job in any case, which without being exceptional is much more pleasant than the graphics.
A complex and fascinating plot:
Of course, graphics remain a minor issue for RPG players, and they know to look beyond the appearance. One of the major qualities in the game is the level of the scenario. Although Suikodens were always traditional RPGs when it comes to stories, their originality was always marked by a scenario that approached that of T-RPGs (Tactical RPGs?) rather than normal ones. The games aren't about saving the world, or the quest of the hero to save the beautiful one who he just met. In Suikoden, it's already rather hard to save your country, let aside the world. The world where the series takes place also had political plots, friendships, treason. This is the level here, Suikoden 5 has all that and in my point of view has the best scenario in the series. As I personally continue to prefer Suikoden 2, I must acknowledge well that the plot proves much more complex and absorbing. The game has many story twists that hold the player in their breath. The political ideas and plots, and the deeply written background, all blend perfectly in coherence without flaws. The military aspect, another feature of the series, is always important and proves as clever and as cruel sometimes, showing immoral strategies used by both your and your enemies’ camps. Certain battles are clearly inspired by Chinese history and there are many references to be found regarding that. Lucretia, the strategist of the game, being largely inspired by famous Asian strategist and influenced by Chinese history, is one of the best, most interesting, and important characters in the game. As the player plays, they'll be immersed completely in this history style (?). (not sure here)
The characters are well designed; it's a huge improvement over Suikoden 4. Their designs are fabulous, and you can easily see how they are some of the best designs in the field and are much better than Kawano's work in 4. The effort put in the artwork of each character is pleasant to see and you'll quickly find some characters that make you laugh. It makes choosing a team a lot harder. It's a fantastic job especially when you see the number of protagonists. Even with this number of character, the minor ones are well designed too. Almost every character has at least one strong feature, a valid reason to join the hero, or to leave him. There are all kinds of recruits, but, and as with every Suikoden, there are all kinds of marginal characters and outlaws like vagrants, criminals, gangsters, robbers, or assassins. Some have an obviously deep past and personal background. Sometimes this background is optional and not part of the main scenario, which is very interesting and enriches the world of the game.
The work on characters is great. A great effort was put into making their expressions change with the dialogue, although it'd probably have been more humorous if it was 2D like Suikoden 2. At any case, this gives you more characters to like. The return of the detective makes it possible to develop the history of each character and the life in castle will help you know the state of your army, talk with them, and know more about their feelings. What they say also change along the adventure, not only in your castle, but the world also evolves. Politically speaking, people would be aware of the changing events and won't say the same line all the time. Your enemies and other NPCs are also very well made and their various motives are as interesting as they're rational. The hero is still a silent character, but fortunately, the game offers him many occasions to be expressed by the choices the player makes. You can see him growing and affirming himself in spite of the worrying beginning. This is reinforced with more than enough facial expressions, in contrast to the hero of Suikoden 4 with only one facial expression under all circumstances.
Suikoden 2's turn based battle system returns with this game. You can finally control 6 fighters again. Each character has a letter according to their attack range (S, M, or L). In Suikoden 2, if a character's range was S, they could only be placed in the front line to be able to attack. Suikoden 5 keeps that system but this time this character will still be able to attack but they'd be more likely to miss. Other than that, the battles are traditional and similar to other games in the series. As a battle begins, you'll be prompted by several choices. One of them is to escape, bribe the enemy, or to make the characters automatically decide their actions (they'd only attack). There's also a new option available to change your formation. Using this option, the player can modify the character formation to get a better chance to win. These formations allow you to increase the effectiveness of the fighters (magic or defense for example), but also has different penalties. For example, you can have a team of damage dealers without fearing the decrease of accuracy, or you can have a team of magician without being afraid of physical attacks. Those formations prove very useful during certain hard battles. The game gradually becomes harder as you meet powerful enemies in frequent random battles. It's true that you can beat the game with the default formation, but this system brings more freedom to the player. Other additions to battle systems is an attack similar to 'Rush' in Suikoden 4 but which you can use after each battle. The effects of that attack vary depending on the formation of the party, there’s a price to pay, but sometimes it's worth trying.
There are several options when fighting, there're the traditional attack, defend, magic, and combined attack. These union attacks are available from the very start. There's also a new order system like Breath of Fire 4 or FFX making it possible to change character during battles. You can have 10 characters in your team, 10 fighters and 4 characters in support. Those support character either provide passive support (like healing), or can replace a character in battle. To change a character you'd waste a turn. This system makes it possible to remove scenario characters from your fighting party. You can also take characters with strong magic out of random battle and only use them when you get to a boss battle. Considering the difficulty and the frequency of most of those random battles, that proves to be a good practice.
Another new element is skills. The system first appeared in Suikoden 3, and also made its return in Suikoden Tactics with some changes. There are changes here too: skills like "Swing" and "Battle Lust" are no more, but instead you have skills like "Strength" or "Magic". This new system makes it possible to increase the stats of a character as well as their combat skills. However, the system imposes a limit of only being able to equip 2 skills by each character. Moreover, to increase the level of these skills, you'll have to find certain items or else their level would never exceed C. As you progress, new skills will appear according to the character and its level. Some skills can be classified as 'elite' because they increase several stats at the same time. On the other hand, you'd have to find special items to increase those too. To increase the skill level, you have to gain SP at the end of battles. Part of the SP goes to a shared pool making it possible to give them to characters that just arrived. It's also possible to transfer SP from a character to the shared pool. The players will like this system as it'd allow them to see their characters improving and exceeding their limits.
Wars:
The wars, another fundamental element of the series, also changed. This time, battles are in real time. All the units move at the same time with the aim of defeating you and it's not important to quickly control your troops while preparing a good strategy. You could always halt the wars to think a bit, as units stop moving when you choose the destination of the unit. It's still nevertheless necessary to remain concentrated especially when you're attacking several troops at the same time. This is easy when the enemy is defending, but the enemies in this game are generally stronger and come in more numbers. The battles take place on land or sea, and having to fight on both makes it more complex and also more fun. Before each battle, you are allowed to set up your units. The first character defines the type of the unit, and 2 others offer more or less effective support to th character. There are 3 types of units on land. You can create new ones according to the formation of the characters. Certain characters also have special skills to help cure you. The rest of the system is similar to Suikoden 1. For example, archers are good against knights but ineffective against infantry who are good against riders(?), that's also similar for sea battles. When two units mean, an animation shows the unit leader and their soldiers fighting each other. Each unit has a certain number of solider and a life bar making possible to see its state. I find the system excellent; it offers much more freedom than the old system and proves to be more complex. These war phases are a great joy even if they don't really convey the feeling of true tactical battles. Be careful however, as your characters can die in war or surrender if they're wounded.
Duels:
The duels didn't change a lot. It's the same rock/paper/scissors system with a small change. The reaction time is limited and the selection of commands is done using keys instead of menus. Other than that it's the same, and it's enough to listen to what the enemy says to predict their next action. Like Suikoden 4, there are different animations depending on the actions you take; it's a nice touch without being exceptional. More dynamic duels are always a pleasant addition to the game.
Good Gameplay Freedom:
The story is well written and shouldn't weary the player. The story outline isn't repetitive and the gameplay is less linear than many new games. It's great having the world map back, an element that became TOO rare in new RPGs, allowing more freedom to the player. The world map is immense, although you're limited at the beginning, soon it becomes more open allowing the player to explore as much as they like. Therefore, you can reach places with better equipment from the very start (although they're expensive). Unlike some games, Suikoden V gives you freedom early and not at the end of the game. You can freely follow the scenario but you could also explore the towns and your HQ, maybe to recruit allies, buy better equipment, forge your weapons, etc. There are many fun mini-games in Suikoden V, making it easy to make money. You'd probably spent a long time in castle, because it becomes huge in spite of a small beginning. There are also many activities offered in the castle. It's always nice to return home after your missions, especially following the great expansion the castle has the first time. You can also decorate your castle with many items you gain in battles. There are tons of things to find in the game. Mostly related to recruiting the 108 stars, which is hard if you want to recruit them all. The game has 11 endings. 7 of them happen during the game, and 4 at the end depending on your scenario choices and the number of stars you recruit. Further more, there's a New Game+ mode allowing you to play again while keeping your skills, money, and part of equipments from the last game. In conclusion, you're not likely to get bored in Suikoden 5!
A Briliant Success:
To conclude, this Suikoden revives the series and proves to be the best Suikoden. It's the richest and the deepest entry in the saga. Konami finally offers a successor to the quality of Suikoden 2 that even exceeds it. Lots of neat and charasmatic characters, as well as a huge, involving, and rich scenario that's rarely seen in other games. The game is also long, you could beat it in 60 hours straight without ever getting bored. If once again you want to explore the best runes, recruit everyone, discover all the secrets concealed within the game, you can easily add 20 to 30 hours of gameplay. Recruiting the 108 stars requires a great investment even with the detective (to be realistic, not many people manage to recruit all stars without external assistance). This game is a masterpiece, a wonder, and without a doubt one of the best RPGs of our times. Suikoden 5 is likely to become worshiped like 2, it deserves that especially with Konami who seem dedicated to reviving the series again. If you didn't enjoy the series after 2, then this serious would without a doubt please you. I'd have loved to experience it in 2D... but it's still a great game!
Score: 19/20
It got a 19/20 score
Here's a rough translation (used babelfish a bit because there's tons of text)
It took a while for the first Suikoden saga to become well known in Europe. Moreover, the second episode quickly became well known to many RPG players shortly after it's released. However, we had to wait 5 years for the 4th game to be able to experience the series again. Unfortunately, in spite of some success, the 4th game was a disaster compared to the preceding tame. Konami announced that it'd return to the series roots with this episode, and that the game would be directed by Junko Kawano (Suikoden 1), but the result was rather an enormous step backwards. Suikoden 4 featured a battle system of 4 characters and an extremely short game; add to that a bad beginning, characters without the least depth, and a poor scenario. As a fan and a player, I was greatly disappointed by this episode. Suikoden Tactics did a bit better, but it wasn't really anything outstanding. So, how well does Suikoden 5 fare?
Suikoden is a saga that takes place in an imaginary universe that's connected with deep and rich chronology. Just like the 4th game, this one is a prequel to the first 3 games. Taking place around 6 years before Suikoden 1. This makes it hard to build on the story given by Suikoden 3. Nevertheless, Konami doesn't forget its fans and this game has many references to all the games in the series. The initial concept of the game was about a mystery first mentioned in Suikoden 2. Note: The following part might contain scenario spoilers, don't read except if you want to know the information that was provided in Suikoden 2.
In Suikoden 2, we learn about the great mercenary Georg Prime, who took part in the war of Succession (Suikoden 1), traveled to Grassland (Suikoden 3), and it was also implied that he murdered the Queen of the Queendom of Falena. Furthermore, we learned about two other characters, Killey and Lorelai, two adventurers who're interested in the civilization of Sindar, and who also seemed to have had a part with the assassination of the queen. But that's all we learned about that, and many theories were found to explain the mysterious back story.
Welcome to Falena:
Suikoden V is located in the Queendom of Falena. You control the prince of the country as he returns from a mission. He's accompanied by Lyon, his loyal bodyguard and the apprentice Queen Knight, along with Georg Prime, a knight who joined by request of the captain of Queen Knights, as well as the prince' aunt, Sialeeds, the little sister of the queen. Falena being a matriarchal kingdom, only women can inherit the throne, and their male husbands or children are relegated to the country's defense. The country was protected for many centuries by the True Sun Rune, which grants the Queen eternal youth and great power. Unfortunately, a noble family is suspected of having recently concealed one of the major Runes in the Kingdom, and stirring trouble. The situation is even worse as the Queen sometimes seems possessed by her True Rune and showing an aggressive personality.
Average technical quality:
Let's start with the game play defects because that's what the player would notice first. The series never presented great graphics, and that's the case in this game as well. There are certainly better facial animations, more detailed decorations and more colors than the uninspired Suikoden 4 for sure. However, the game remains on an average level. Personally, I don't really care for graphics quality in games, but those remain important to note. Technically, the player won't be able to mark the spirits(?). The cities are pretty and have good design in general. They are very large and are scarcely populated in terms of density. Moreover, the camera angle is likely to displease some people because it can't be moved and has a skewed top view that doesn't allow the player to be seen behind many buildings. Although it's not particulary awkward, but sometimes it hides an exit which one could take for a simple wall. This is, nontheless, is rather rare. The camera makes it possible to hide treasure chests, forcing the player to explore places more carefully. For my part, as much as I liked to re-examine the series in 2D, especially those little sprites at loading times, the loading times prove to be very long, taking from 5 to 10 seconds to change maps or to enter a battle. It didn't really annoy me a lot, but that's mostly because I got used to it, but I guess it'd annoy certain players.
This reduced experience also feels the same for combat or the spells. In that regard, the game is not much better than Suikoden 4. Moreover, I find that many spells in Suikoden 2 were much more beautiful as compared to this game. The battle scenes are also less detailed and suffer from a feeling of emptiness. Fortunately and following the example of Suikoden 2, characters in 5 have different battle animations that are different from a character to another. Another good point is that the battles are very dynamic and fun. The cut scenes which are, without being exceptional, well made. Nevertheless, as I said, all this turns out well at the end, but one could find it unfortunate that Konami didn't invest more in the development of this series when compared to other Konami games' graphics. I'm not completely against 3D, especially if it serves the game, but when you see the 2D of splendid games like Tales of Rebirth or Baten Kaitos, it's a bit sad that Suikoden 5 doesn't have such good graphics.
The music is of a rather good quality, and it easily outclasses the last 3 games (Tactics, Suikoden 4, and Suikoden 3). The music is best at the time of cut scenes, reinforcing the tragic and emotional character of some of those scenes. In general, the music fits well with the various locations in the game. Certain tracks are taken directly from Suikoden 2 or 4 as a wink (to the fans?). The musicians did a beautiful job in any case, which without being exceptional is much more pleasant than the graphics.
A complex and fascinating plot:
Of course, graphics remain a minor issue for RPG players, and they know to look beyond the appearance. One of the major qualities in the game is the level of the scenario. Although Suikodens were always traditional RPGs when it comes to stories, their originality was always marked by a scenario that approached that of T-RPGs (Tactical RPGs?) rather than normal ones. The games aren't about saving the world, or the quest of the hero to save the beautiful one who he just met. In Suikoden, it's already rather hard to save your country, let aside the world. The world where the series takes place also had political plots, friendships, treason. This is the level here, Suikoden 5 has all that and in my point of view has the best scenario in the series. As I personally continue to prefer Suikoden 2, I must acknowledge well that the plot proves much more complex and absorbing. The game has many story twists that hold the player in their breath. The political ideas and plots, and the deeply written background, all blend perfectly in coherence without flaws. The military aspect, another feature of the series, is always important and proves as clever and as cruel sometimes, showing immoral strategies used by both your and your enemies’ camps. Certain battles are clearly inspired by Chinese history and there are many references to be found regarding that. Lucretia, the strategist of the game, being largely inspired by famous Asian strategist and influenced by Chinese history, is one of the best, most interesting, and important characters in the game. As the player plays, they'll be immersed completely in this history style (?). (not sure here)
The characters are well designed; it's a huge improvement over Suikoden 4. Their designs are fabulous, and you can easily see how they are some of the best designs in the field and are much better than Kawano's work in 4. The effort put in the artwork of each character is pleasant to see and you'll quickly find some characters that make you laugh. It makes choosing a team a lot harder. It's a fantastic job especially when you see the number of protagonists. Even with this number of character, the minor ones are well designed too. Almost every character has at least one strong feature, a valid reason to join the hero, or to leave him. There are all kinds of recruits, but, and as with every Suikoden, there are all kinds of marginal characters and outlaws like vagrants, criminals, gangsters, robbers, or assassins. Some have an obviously deep past and personal background. Sometimes this background is optional and not part of the main scenario, which is very interesting and enriches the world of the game.
The work on characters is great. A great effort was put into making their expressions change with the dialogue, although it'd probably have been more humorous if it was 2D like Suikoden 2. At any case, this gives you more characters to like. The return of the detective makes it possible to develop the history of each character and the life in castle will help you know the state of your army, talk with them, and know more about their feelings. What they say also change along the adventure, not only in your castle, but the world also evolves. Politically speaking, people would be aware of the changing events and won't say the same line all the time. Your enemies and other NPCs are also very well made and their various motives are as interesting as they're rational. The hero is still a silent character, but fortunately, the game offers him many occasions to be expressed by the choices the player makes. You can see him growing and affirming himself in spite of the worrying beginning. This is reinforced with more than enough facial expressions, in contrast to the hero of Suikoden 4 with only one facial expression under all circumstances.
Suikoden 2's turn based battle system returns with this game. You can finally control 6 fighters again. Each character has a letter according to their attack range (S, M, or L). In Suikoden 2, if a character's range was S, they could only be placed in the front line to be able to attack. Suikoden 5 keeps that system but this time this character will still be able to attack but they'd be more likely to miss. Other than that, the battles are traditional and similar to other games in the series. As a battle begins, you'll be prompted by several choices. One of them is to escape, bribe the enemy, or to make the characters automatically decide their actions (they'd only attack). There's also a new option available to change your formation. Using this option, the player can modify the character formation to get a better chance to win. These formations allow you to increase the effectiveness of the fighters (magic or defense for example), but also has different penalties. For example, you can have a team of damage dealers without fearing the decrease of accuracy, or you can have a team of magician without being afraid of physical attacks. Those formations prove very useful during certain hard battles. The game gradually becomes harder as you meet powerful enemies in frequent random battles. It's true that you can beat the game with the default formation, but this system brings more freedom to the player. Other additions to battle systems is an attack similar to 'Rush' in Suikoden 4 but which you can use after each battle. The effects of that attack vary depending on the formation of the party, there’s a price to pay, but sometimes it's worth trying.
There are several options when fighting, there're the traditional attack, defend, magic, and combined attack. These union attacks are available from the very start. There's also a new order system like Breath of Fire 4 or FFX making it possible to change character during battles. You can have 10 characters in your team, 10 fighters and 4 characters in support. Those support character either provide passive support (like healing), or can replace a character in battle. To change a character you'd waste a turn. This system makes it possible to remove scenario characters from your fighting party. You can also take characters with strong magic out of random battle and only use them when you get to a boss battle. Considering the difficulty and the frequency of most of those random battles, that proves to be a good practice.
Another new element is skills. The system first appeared in Suikoden 3, and also made its return in Suikoden Tactics with some changes. There are changes here too: skills like "Swing" and "Battle Lust" are no more, but instead you have skills like "Strength" or "Magic". This new system makes it possible to increase the stats of a character as well as their combat skills. However, the system imposes a limit of only being able to equip 2 skills by each character. Moreover, to increase the level of these skills, you'll have to find certain items or else their level would never exceed C. As you progress, new skills will appear according to the character and its level. Some skills can be classified as 'elite' because they increase several stats at the same time. On the other hand, you'd have to find special items to increase those too. To increase the skill level, you have to gain SP at the end of battles. Part of the SP goes to a shared pool making it possible to give them to characters that just arrived. It's also possible to transfer SP from a character to the shared pool. The players will like this system as it'd allow them to see their characters improving and exceeding their limits.
Wars:
The wars, another fundamental element of the series, also changed. This time, battles are in real time. All the units move at the same time with the aim of defeating you and it's not important to quickly control your troops while preparing a good strategy. You could always halt the wars to think a bit, as units stop moving when you choose the destination of the unit. It's still nevertheless necessary to remain concentrated especially when you're attacking several troops at the same time. This is easy when the enemy is defending, but the enemies in this game are generally stronger and come in more numbers. The battles take place on land or sea, and having to fight on both makes it more complex and also more fun. Before each battle, you are allowed to set up your units. The first character defines the type of the unit, and 2 others offer more or less effective support to th character. There are 3 types of units on land. You can create new ones according to the formation of the characters. Certain characters also have special skills to help cure you. The rest of the system is similar to Suikoden 1. For example, archers are good against knights but ineffective against infantry who are good against riders(?), that's also similar for sea battles. When two units mean, an animation shows the unit leader and their soldiers fighting each other. Each unit has a certain number of solider and a life bar making possible to see its state. I find the system excellent; it offers much more freedom than the old system and proves to be more complex. These war phases are a great joy even if they don't really convey the feeling of true tactical battles. Be careful however, as your characters can die in war or surrender if they're wounded.
Duels:
The duels didn't change a lot. It's the same rock/paper/scissors system with a small change. The reaction time is limited and the selection of commands is done using keys instead of menus. Other than that it's the same, and it's enough to listen to what the enemy says to predict their next action. Like Suikoden 4, there are different animations depending on the actions you take; it's a nice touch without being exceptional. More dynamic duels are always a pleasant addition to the game.
Good Gameplay Freedom:
The story is well written and shouldn't weary the player. The story outline isn't repetitive and the gameplay is less linear than many new games. It's great having the world map back, an element that became TOO rare in new RPGs, allowing more freedom to the player. The world map is immense, although you're limited at the beginning, soon it becomes more open allowing the player to explore as much as they like. Therefore, you can reach places with better equipment from the very start (although they're expensive). Unlike some games, Suikoden V gives you freedom early and not at the end of the game. You can freely follow the scenario but you could also explore the towns and your HQ, maybe to recruit allies, buy better equipment, forge your weapons, etc. There are many fun mini-games in Suikoden V, making it easy to make money. You'd probably spent a long time in castle, because it becomes huge in spite of a small beginning. There are also many activities offered in the castle. It's always nice to return home after your missions, especially following the great expansion the castle has the first time. You can also decorate your castle with many items you gain in battles. There are tons of things to find in the game. Mostly related to recruiting the 108 stars, which is hard if you want to recruit them all. The game has 11 endings. 7 of them happen during the game, and 4 at the end depending on your scenario choices and the number of stars you recruit. Further more, there's a New Game+ mode allowing you to play again while keeping your skills, money, and part of equipments from the last game. In conclusion, you're not likely to get bored in Suikoden 5!
A Briliant Success:
To conclude, this Suikoden revives the series and proves to be the best Suikoden. It's the richest and the deepest entry in the saga. Konami finally offers a successor to the quality of Suikoden 2 that even exceeds it. Lots of neat and charasmatic characters, as well as a huge, involving, and rich scenario that's rarely seen in other games. The game is also long, you could beat it in 60 hours straight without ever getting bored. If once again you want to explore the best runes, recruit everyone, discover all the secrets concealed within the game, you can easily add 20 to 30 hours of gameplay. Recruiting the 108 stars requires a great investment even with the detective (to be realistic, not many people manage to recruit all stars without external assistance). This game is a masterpiece, a wonder, and without a doubt one of the best RPGs of our times. Suikoden 5 is likely to become worshiped like 2, it deserves that especially with Konami who seem dedicated to reviving the series again. If you didn't enjoy the series after 2, then this serious would without a doubt please you. I'd have loved to experience it in 2D... but it's still a great game!
Score: 19/20
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HKK
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