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[C.T.]

konami hates us.

More like sony?

 

[Dark Schala]

At least so far, it's a solid narrative and introduction and the characters aren't bad. I don't know if it'll stay that way for the entire game, It's just the first hour or so and that's not really a good gauge of the full story, but on the other hand Tierkreis was pretty good on that end as well so maybe it'll hold.

Combat is fairly fast, I mean it isn't like Suiko 1 or 2 but it's probably III/IV/V speed I guess. been awhile though

Camera is indeed D-pad and it's a weird angle, really weird angle.

I don't know how balanced combat is, I've only had a few easy fights early on so.

more than ever after hours of play ..it's just a shame that i have the option to switch movement and camera from Dpad to analog ..but no option at all to move the cam with L & R ...coupled with the habitude the cam has to just move to show you the "right" way in fields for example.. it's just "annoying" ..

i'm probably not that far from "shouta" ( busy day ) but aside for this complain i'm enjoying it...

Thanks again, guys. I'm not really feeling bad about getting a copy day 1, then, if it's enjoyable at least. The systems are important to me at this juncture, since I'm not really expecting a 'Suikoden', but rather a good game with a Suikoden-esque narrative out of it.

So the consensus is that the camera is bad? I sorta figured that was inevitable.

Suikoden V combat speed is alright to me. I don't mind that. It's really too bad the game couldn't have prerendered backgrounds or nicer backgrounds/textures, since I'm so used to the vibrancy of the other games (save for GS4 and Tactics).

I think this is my first post. Though. I have been approved for nearly 2 years. What can I say? I'm a lurker at heart. LOL. I guess Suikoden pushed me over the edge.

Dark Schala. I just wanted to say that your info posts and translations are greatly appreciated. Thanks.

Thanks. I'm really glad to know that some people are reading them.

And definitely--when I saw the point-and-click HQ, that was a real turn-off to me, since Suikoden games are generally known for building up their HQs and having the player explore everything it has to offer. If the game is competent in other areas, though, I might not mind it.

If Woven Web ever comes out here, I might use Himuro's approach to the Suikoden threads -- informative and not image-laden. I liked the simplicity of those threads.

More like sony?

Yeah, I think that one was on Sony's end, since the updates to both games aren't really 'big' differences. I would've loved to have seen GS2 with a new translation. I know the guys who did the original translation did all that they could, and the overall tone of the game was retained (and I'm very happy for that; I grew up with that translation, so parts of it are endearing to me), but the game really needs a better translation.

 

[Shouta]

Thanks again, guys. I'm not really feeling bad about getting a copy day 1, then, if it's enjoyable at least. The systems are important to me at this juncture, since I'm not really expecting a 'Suikoden', but rather a good game with a Suikoden-esque narrative out of it.

Perhaps too quick to say, but this is about as Suikoden as you get really. The only real things that separate this and Tierkreis from the first 5, from a mechanical standpoint, is the fact they don't use the established universe. All the elements are there otherwise though.

At any rate, I'm a little farther in and starting to get folks to join and more members into the battle party, currently sitting at 5 people now with the latest addition being an old tan version of Major Armstrong from FMA that uses Tonfa. He even has the posing but not nearly as nice. =x

 

[Augemitbutter]

Yeah, I think that one was on Sony's end, since the updates to both games aren't really 'big' differences. I would've loved to have seen GS2 with a new translation. I know the guys who did the original translation did all that they could, and the overall tone of the game was retained (and I'm very happy for that; I grew up with that translation, so parts of it are endearing to me), but the game really needs a better translation.

nevertheless, we can't be 100% sure about that. nothing would have stopped them from releasing the compilation in europe if that were the case, or just decide to do a delayed release for NA.

 

[IrishNinja]

Nope, they thought it wouldn't sell. In EU we don't even have the Suikoden games on PSN so we have no way of playing them at all.

fucking travesty, that.

Yeah, I think that one was on Sony's end, since the updates to both games aren't really 'big' differences. I would've loved to have seen GS2 with a new translation. I know the guys who did the original translation did all that they could, and the overall tone of the game was retained (and I'm very happy for that; I grew up with that translation, so parts of it are endearing to me), but the game really needs a better translation.

friend of mine (fellow gaffer too: bishopcruz) talked about repatching a PSX iso with an improved translation, but apparently it was far trickier than he anticipated. shame too, cause i just cant see them revisiting the well at this point.

 

[Viola of the Abyss]

Suikoden II English translation didn't look so terrible if memory serves me right... the Italian one on the other side was atrocious!!! An automatic translator would have done better, even for 1998...

The comments I've read this far about Tsumugareshi seals the deal for me, I'll give Konami 2 years to translate it, if they don't I'll play it in Japanese. For those of you who have been playing it, how would you rate the Japanese dialogue difficulty?

 

[Shouta]

So I finally got to name the base and the organization. The adviser this time looks like he actually participates in battle and fights like a Ninja. He might be the temp guy though, not sure. They kept trucking on with the storyline though it's into an early lull after the first major development but there have been inklings of the bigger story already. I only have one or two complaints regards to the story but I'll save it for later.

I finally have a few characters to swap in and out of the party and a full 6 member group. Combat is pretty fast for the most part though if you have all your members separate, it's a little slower, you definitely want to pair them up or group them up to get some of the bonuses and make battles faster overall. It seems the leader of a pair determines the speed as well so there are some advantages to pairing slow characters with fast ones but I haven't really tested it yet. The benefit to making a large group to combat things is that you get a damage bonus for each member that attacks an enemy so the last person to hit one enemy gets something like a +11% damage bonus which is nice for bosses, also grouped characters attack at the same time which can speed up combat.

Magics and certain types of attacks take up items per usage instead of the charges like previous Suikoden games. So you have to have people back at your base craft those items for you to use those techniques. It's pretty easy and plentiful as well so you don't have to worry about losing out on your attacks, just enter/exit your fort a few times to build it up.

Crafting doesn't upgrade items permanently (you buy new weapons/armor) in this but add temp bonuses to weapons which can be helpful depending on the situation. This works for armor, weapons, and rings.

You also have access to a Trap maze and a Hunting challenge in your base as well. Trap bases are automatic requests. You put money in (plus extra if you want higher chances) and traps will be set to catch monsters. When you come back to the base later, you'll be given the spoils and Potch acquired from it. It's a very nice way of earning quick cash and items. The hunting challenges are just challenge battles that you have to beat within a time limit, you earn rewards for completing them.

 

[Dark Schala]

Magics and certain types of attacks take up items per usage instead of the charges like previous Suikoden games. So you have to have people back at your base craft those items for you to use those techniques. It's pretty easy and plentiful as well so you don't have to worry about losing out on your attacks, just enter/exit your fort a few times to build it up.

Crafting doesn't upgrade items permanently (you buy new weapons/armor) in this but add temp bonuses to weapons which can be helpful depending on the situation. This works for armor, weapons, and rings.

Wait, so they're just upgrades for that armour, but they aren't your 'standard default' armour, right? You still have to buy new weapons and armour because the ones you've upgraded from before will be weaker than the new ones in stores' inventories, right?

For magic and skills, you have to get items and drops in order for certain magic and skills to be crafted?

Suikoden II English translation didn't look so terrible if memory serves me right... the Italian one on the other side was atrocious!!! An automatic translator would have done better, even for 1998...

The English translation had quite a bit of syntactical problems, and entire phrases and enemy names weren't translated, period. Not to mention that it has some audio glitches in the NA release. At least the tone of the game was retained from the Japanese version.

I wouldn't be surprised if localization wasn't very good in other regions given that I heard that Konami just didn't help the English translations at all when they had to do it. Honestly, it sucks that it had to happen, and it isn't the translators' faults since they weren't given the proper resources and conditions to localize the game.

friend of mine (fellow gaffer too: bishopcruz) talked about repatching a PSX iso with an improved translation, but apparently it was far trickier than he anticipated. shame too, cause i just cant see them revisiting the well at this point.

It really is too bad that it isn't as easy because GS2 is the one game that a lot of people seem to be interested in (and for good reason). I do think it's a huge shame that it isn't on PSN at all, though. I'd love for more people to experience it for the first time.

nevertheless, we can't be 100% sure about that. nothing would have stopped them from releasing the compilation in europe if that were the case, or just decide to do a delayed release for NA.

Maybe it's because the collection didn't sell that well in Japan? Unsure, but it might be a combination of the two (Sony and Konami), then.

 

[Shouta]

Wait, so they're just upgrades for that armour, but they aren't your 'standard default' armour, right? You still have to buy new weapons and armour because the ones you've upgraded from before will be weaker than the new ones in stores' inventories, right?

For magic and skills, you have to get items and drops in order for certain magic and skills to be crafted?

They're temporary upgrades and wear off after awhile. And yeah, you still have to buy new weapons and armor because they're even upgraded, I don't think they're as powerful as the new ones but I really haven't tested. Additionally, the upgrades aren't just better attack or defense but stuff like resistance to ice/additional fire damage, etc. It's not bad. Your new weapons also show up on your characters in battle as well but not armor.

The items are created by folks at your base using items that you can buy from the store (buy 1 fire stone from the shop, Geeno creates 10 magic fire stones for you to use with fire magic etc). It's cheap and easy, you just have to make sure you go back to base once and awhile or go in and out a few times for them to build up your stock.

I'm about 12 hours in and the first mention of the "Stars of Destiny" just appeared in the game. I've been slowly getting more characters to join and to use. So far, most characters have joined really naturally, more so than I remember for a lot of previous games. I think it's due to the current flow of events right now. I've also just got done with larger sized dungeon. It's interesting because the camera angle actually makes you feel like you're traversing inside of it. The lack of overall map adds a bit to that too, you only have a localized map (as far as I can tell) so you gotta remember dungeon layouts as you run around.

I've also started teaching other characters techniques which is kinda neat. You can give the characters the skills you want them to use and one you like more powerful if you want. Usually takes a little while if you aren't getting the technique from a story event but it's not too bad.

 

[Xelinis]

Has there been any indication of a greater worldview thus far? Countries other than the one the game takes place in?

For all my gripes with Tierkreis, I was grateful that they at least attempted to develop some of the world outside the game's immediate setting.

 

[Shouta]

I won't know until I progress farther into the game. They're slowly building the setting right now and introducing some other elements for the greater story, I think.

 

[Kuro Madoushi]

I won't know until I progress farther into the game. They're slowly building the setting right now and introducing some other elements for the greater story, I think.

So it's kinda good? Not just a game sent to die on the PSP? :'(

 

[Xelinis]

So it's kinda good? Not just a game sent to die on the PSP? :'(

Too me, it seems to take Tierkreis' strategy one step further: Low risk, high reward.

All the media I've seen from this game exudes, "I had an especially low budget."

 

[R_thanatos]

So it's kinda good? Not just a game sent to die on the PSP? :'(

with more budget on something else than Psp/ds/3ds ..this would clearly be a good rpg to look forward to..

it's using the psp ( pretty well ) in his progression ..so i can't help to imagine the same story with a better presentation...
that would have been way better

Now that i think about it ..this is the reason for the WHITE SMOKE

 

[Shouta]

Yeah, you can't help but think this would be a great RPG if it had a bigger budget and on a different system, at least early on. I mean the game could just fall apart later but I highly doubt it considering Tierkreis really progressed and wrapped up well.

 

[vall03]

oh man, reading through the recent posts and impressions is making me more hopeful for a localization... *sigh*

 

[Shouta]

Oh, I just hit what I guess is the big reveal. Not a surprising one considering the clues but a good one nonetheless. Still a ton of questions left to be answered though so definitely like where this is going.

 

[Dark Schala]

*very useful upgrade and items info*

I'm about 12 hours in and the first mention of the "Stars of Destiny" just appeared in the game. I've been slowly getting more characters to join and to use. So far, most characters have joined really naturally, more so than I remember for a lot of previous games. I think it's due to the current flow of events right now. I've also just got done with larger sized dungeon. It's interesting because the camera angle actually makes you feel like you're traversing inside of it. The lack of overall map adds a bit to that too, you only have a localized map (as far as I can tell) so you gotta remember dungeon layouts as you run around.

Thanks for clarifying, Shouta. The mechanics seem interesting, at least, and that's the most important thing to me.

Also if the SoDs are joining more naturally as opposed to the rest of the series, then that's a nice step forward. It's also nice that they're using the terminology, as I've said before in a previous thread.

Oh, I just hit what I guess is the big reveal. Not a surprising one considering the clues but a good one nonetheless. Still a ton of questions left to be answered though so definitely like where this is going.

This sounds great. How's the narrative so far, though--does it focus more on the society and politics, or does it blend all of that in with the supernatural/time travel stuff?

with more budget on something else than Psp/ds/3ds ..this would clearly be a good rpg to look forward to..

it's using the psp ( pretty well ) in his progression ..so i can't help to imagine the same story with a better presentation...
that would have been way better

Now that i think about it ..this is the reason for the WHITE SMOKE

I really do think that if it didn't look so low budget, it'd be more appealing to various players. The menus look really nice, reminiscent of Tales menus, even, but it's unfortunate that the rest of the game seems so drab.

I guess they just wanted to put it on PSP because it had a base of players who would purchase it, and it might have ensured that they'd have some sort of profit from it. Why bother putting on Vita or 3DS at a point when the future and install base of either system was uncertain?

 

[Shouta]

Thanks for clarifying, Shouta. The mechanics seem interesting, at least, and that's the most important thing to me.

Also if the SoDs are joining more naturally as opposed to the rest of the series, then that's a nice step forward. It's also nice that they're using the terminology, as I've said before in a previous thread.


This sounds great. How's the narrative so far, though--does it focus more on the society and politics, or does it blend all of that in with the supernatural/time travel stuff?

Mechanics are a change from usual Suikodens but it's not exactly mind-blowingly new in the grand scheme of RPGs. It works well for this so far so.

Quite a lot of them are joining fairly naturally but due to the nature of the game, it's handled a little differently compared to previous games. They only just learned of the word Star in the game world and then just got this big reveal. In fact, I also just got the Tablet that lists all 108 stars on it.

It's probably a 30-40 to 60-70, in the society/politics to supernatural mix. It's not really something you can separate though as it's very mixed together. It's not like where they're after the runes and blah blah politics enter the fray, but like literally they're intertwined. The story doesn't work without having both elements much more so than any other suikoden where you could probably remove the runes and still have the story make sense overall. It's hard to explain exactly why without spoiling it.

I forgot to mention this earlier but every time you enter your fort, you have to eat a meal at the end of the day to proceed to the next (which allows you to leave the fort). You can pick from a variety of foods that give different bonuses to your group for the next day but you also may get some conversation from the members of SoD that you eat with. it also helps to raise your friendship rating with them as well. It even gives you options to choose who to eat with like your current party, folks you eat with all the time, folks you don't talk to often, or your favorite members, etc.

 

[Augemitbutter]

I forgot to mention this earlier but every time you enter your fort, you have to eat a meal at the end of the day to proceed to the next (which allows you to leave the fort). You can pick from a variety of foods that give different bonuses to your group for the next day but you also may get some conservation from the members of SoD that you eat with. it also helps to raise your friendship rating with them as well. It even gives you options to choose who to eat with like your current party, folks you eat with all the time, folks you don't talk to often, or your favorite members, etc.

i love this.

 

[Viola of the Abyss]

I forgot to mention this earlier but every time you enter your fort, you have to eat a meal at the end of the day to proceed to the next (which allows you to leave the fort). You can pick from a variety of foods that give different bonuses to your group for the next day but you also may get some conservation from the members of SoD that you eat with. it also helps to raise your friendship rating with them as well. It even gives you options to choose who to eat with like your current party, folks you eat with all the time, folks you don't talk to often, or your favorite members, etc.

Reminds me of Grandia II, it was one of my favourite elements of that game. So nostalgic!

The English translation had quite a bit of syntactical problems, and entire phrases and enemy names weren't translated, period. Not to mention that it has some audio glitches in the NA release. At least the tone of the game was retained from the Japanese version.

I wouldn't be surprised if localization wasn't very good in other regions given that I heard that Konami just didn't help the English translations at all when they had to do it. Honestly, it sucks that it had to happen, and it isn't the translators' faults since they weren't given the proper resources and conditions to localize the game.

Never thought it was that bad. I'm perfectly aware that it wasn't the translator's fault that localization in euro languages went bust, that was machine translation 100%. I knew about the music bugs though, if I remember it right the US version is missing one of the best non instrumental songs in a videogame "La mia tristezza" (My sorrow). Which is also sung in a near perfect Italian I must say.

 

[Shouta]

Oh man, another twist in the story. I'm really liking this a lot and the writers have been really good about keeping dangling elements in play and remembering to reference things that have happened in the story or important events from prior to the story. Usually, any story with time-traveling is rather messy but this one uses it a manner uncommon for a lot of games and it works surprisingly well.

 

[R_thanatos]

man i wish i could have time to play this baby ( stopped in the middle of sunday because of work ...)

 

[Xelinis]

Oh man, another twist in the story. I'm really liking this a lot and the writers have been really good about keeping dangling elements in play and remembering to reference things that have happened in the story or important events from prior to the story. Usually, any story with time-traveling is rather messy but this one uses it a manner uncommon for a lot of games and it works surprisingly well.

Just taking a shot in the dark here, but is one of the twists that:

Spoiler

the monster isn't really evil at all, it's just reacting to being wronged by the empire?

 

[Shouta]

Uh, no. It'd definitely have to be an asspull to be anything like that.

 

[Dark Schala]

I forgot to mention this earlier but every time you enter your fort, you have to eat a meal at the end of the day to proceed to the next (which allows you to leave the fort). You can pick from a variety of foods that give different bonuses to your group for the next day but you also may get some conversation from the members of SoD that you eat with. it also helps to raise your friendship rating with them as well. It even gives you options to choose who to eat with like your current party, folks you eat with all the time, folks you don't talk to often, or your favorite members, etc.

Thanks for the info again.

Also, the dinner scene idea should be implemented in every new Genso Suikoden game. What a clever idea, and it probably makes the bulk of the Stars of Destiny who seem somewhat forgotten after a while more important, or more likable.

Oh man, another twist in the story. I'm really liking this a lot and the writers have been really good about keeping dangling elements in play and remembering to reference things that have happened in the story or important events from prior to the story. Usually, any story with time-traveling is rather messy but this one uses it a manner uncommon for a lot of games and it works surprisingly well.

So the time-travel aspect is implemented well in this game? I'm more optimistic about this game's narrative now... though I was giving it the benefit of the doubt when I started reading up on it before.

Never thought it was that bad. I'm perfectly aware that it wasn't the translator's fault that localization in euro languages went bust, that was machine translation 100%. I knew about the music bugs though, if I remember it right the US version is missing one of the best non instrumental songs in a videogame "La mia tristezza" (My sorrow). Which is also sung in a near perfect Italian I must say.

The US version is missing a lot of audio. It's very regrettable. If it ever goes up on PAL PSN (ahahaha, I doubt this'll happen), I might invest in that version. Even though I have the Japanese version already, lol.

Just taking a shot in the dark here, but is one of the twists that:

Spoiler

the monster isn't really evil at all, it's just reacting to being wronged by the empire?

Sounds like a really bad Tales plot. :lol

 

[Shouta]

Thanks for the info again.

So the time-travel aspect is implemented well in this game? I'm more optimistic about this game's narrative now... though I was giving it the benefit of the doubt when I started reading up on it before.

Comparatively, very much so. Here's some minor spoilers from a general perspective, nothing specific.

Spoiler

In the story, only the characters from the present can travel through time and they cannot bring items back to the present.with one or two exceptions. (drops/crafting items aren't included in this rule, I think). In addition, the area they can travel in the past is limited usually by the tree as they find out right away. To do anything, they have to rely on the people from that era to help them, in particular to travel or meet someone.

So what you get is a story focused on the present with a bit of time-traveling to gather information and often to help change the past so that certain events may not come to pass and to help them in the present as time still moves forward even when they're in the past. You see this in effect right away. At the beginning they go into the past to gain knowledge to defeat the first weak version of the monster but by the time they've learned the technique, they come back to find the settlement destroyed and everyone killed. They then go into the past and plant the tree so that the monster can't get near the town thus preventing the disaster.

There are more specific examples but that happens right away in the story so it's not too bad of a spoiler.

 

[Eusis]

Yeah, you can't help but think this would be a great RPG if it had a bigger budget and on a different system, at least early on. I mean the game could just fall apart later but I highly doubt it considering Tierkreis really progressed and wrapped up well.

Make me lament it's not at least a Vita game instead. Not that I'd care THAT much so long as the game was still good and didn't make utterly boneheaded decisions that ignored system limitations (like MGS: Portable Ops's camera), but I imagine it'd be way more likely to be localized had it been on the Vita in the first place. And given your posts it actually DOES sound like it may be a shame if we don't ever get this afterall. :/

 

[R_thanatos]

[found some hours to play]
Hahah i just ot my "sh*t hit the fan moment " ..i wasn't expecting this ..that fast !!

i feel trolled ( in a good way )

Game story is getting better ..i'm clearly happy now ..

The game present his cast pretty well .... i don't have any problem with it so far ..( in fact i can't wait to recruit some of those characters)

it's just a shame that you can see the difference in sprites between " generic townpeople #33 " & a Npc that will give you something ( in the plot ) .. it's clearly not even in design ...

but dammit it feel great..i love the little touches like the relations affinity betwen recrutable characters ( when you link them ) i don't remember something similar in teikreis ?? ( fuzzy memory .. )

Just taking a shot in the dark here, but is one of the twists that:

Spoiler

the monster isn't really evil at all, it's just reacting to being wronged by the empire?

it's really a shot in the dark !! I think you didn't see any picture of the monster because otherwise you wouldn't have made this theory...

 

[Xelinis]

I've just seen so many games with that

Spoiler

"It's not evil, it's just misunderstood!"

garbage. Thanks, knowing that it's not the case is a huge relief.

 

[R_thanatos]

Given what i have seen this is unlikely ....this could still go down this route at some point ..but like suikoden , there is so many small problems to solve ( and clear ennemies in your way ) that i personnaly doubt this will be the case.

Your theory is possible .. i just haven't seen anything so far that would lead the story in this direction.

 

[Shouta]

I finally realized what this story loosely reminds me of but I can't say what because it's a bit of a spoiler...

 

[Dark Schala]

Sales numbers~ (At school so I'll respond to other stuff later.)

Sony's portable systems topped the Media Create software sales chart this week. Konami's PSP Suikoden game lead the way with 61,784 units in its first week, followed by Sony's critically acclaimed PlayStation Vita game Gravity Daze, which debuted with 43,462 units.

Source

To compare, Genso Suikoden Tierkreis sold 62,835 in its first week.

 

[Augemitbutter]

weird, i expected a hard bomba for some reason.

 

[R_thanatos]

weird, i expected a hard bomba for some reason.

Psp is still strong in japan and rpg are still highly regarded ... initial impression are nice ...
The only drawback is ..the second week ( We'll know then if only the suikoden fans have bought this title since they are starved to death by konami or if there is room for steady sales... )

 

[Shouta]

Done and got the true ending, very short game overall, about 30 hours unless you want to stuff that isn't really needed like maxing Affection ratings for everyone, sub-jobs, teaching all the skills to everyone, etc. I did use a little help for finding the stars towards the end so time might be a little longer for folks that don't want to use guides and the such.

On a full 1-10 scale, I'd probably give this a 6 or 7, above average but not great.

It has a lot to like, I think the story is pretty good, the characters aren't bad, I like the setting as well.

From a gameplay perspective though, it's too easy, skills are are unevenly distributed throughout the game, the mentoring system/pseudo-job system could've been taken farther or done better.

Crafting and meals are kinda nice as is the pairing and damage bonus for combos as well but again, could've taken a bigger leap with it. The Trap dungeons for easy money and Battle challenges were welcome but not enough to make up for some of the other shortcomings.

I will probably type up something a little more in-depth later about it. However, I do think that the issue for forthcoming Suikoden games will be a matter of properly replicating the gameplay more than anything. As long as you aren't clinging to the 1-5 canon like a hungry hyena, I think Konami can deliver a decent story.

 

[MCD]

Aren't all Suikoden games easy anyway?

 

[Shouta]

To an extent, that's true. But this one is like, faceroll kind of easy. Taking down bosses in like 1 or 2 turns with the best gear at any time.

 

[Dark Schala]

Comparatively, very much so. Here's some minor spoilers from a general perspective, nothing specific.

*time travel spoilers which sound like a neat mechanic*

There are more specific examples but that happens right away in the story so it's not too bad of a spoiler.

I like that. I'm looking forward to figuring out how it all works in the context of the game, then. Time travel in games generally strike my fancy anyway.

but dammit it feel great..i love the little touches like the relations affinity betwen recrutable characters ( when you link them ) i don't remember something similar in teikreis ?? ( fuzzy memory .. )

This should have been implemented within the series sooner rather than later. As an example, I always thought to myself that the Tenkai Star should have someone to woo or become close friends with, and that should be based on an affinity system. Obviously that isn't like that here, but an affinity system really would have helped flesh some characters out more, imo.

Of course GS2 had something like that when characters close to certain characters fell in battle and they became berserk for some time.

Done and got the true ending, very short game overall, about 30 hours unless you want to stuff that isn't really needed like maxing Affection ratings for everyone, sub-jobs, teaching all the skills to everyone, etc. I did use a little help for finding the stars towards the end so time might be a little longer for folks that don't want to use guides and the such.

On a full 1-10 scale, I'd probably give this a 6 or 7, above average but not great.

It has a lot to like, I think the story is pretty good, the characters aren't bad, I like the setting as well.

From a gameplay perspective though, it's too easy, skills are are unevenly distributed throughout the game, the mentoring system/pseudo-job system could've been taken farther or done better.

Crafting and meals are kinda nice as is the pairing and damage bonus for combos as well but again, could've taken a bigger leap with it. The Trap dungeons for easy money and Battle challenges were welcome but not enough to make up for some of the other shortcomings.

I will probably type up something a little more in-depth later about it. However, I do think that the issue for forthcoming Suikoden games will be a matter of properly replicating the gameplay more than anything. As long as you aren't clinging to the 1-5 canon like a hungry hyena, I think Konami can deliver a decent story.

Score sounds fair; really does seem like you were engaged by the narrative rather than the basic mechanics of it. However, it's disappointing to hear that it's easy--and I'm guessing you weren't overleveled in many cases. Genso Suikoden games are typically easy, but the systems were generally fun to play with, and battles ended quickly and efficiently, so battles ended up being fun in general to me.

I'm a little disappointed that you said the job system and hand down system don't seem to have a lot of depth given how much attention they seemed to have been giving it prior to release (aside from the characters and plot, of course). From the way they made it sound, it seemed like the main job system, the subjob system, and the hand down/tradition system had some sort of depth to it (ie: FFV-ish was what I was expecting).

Is there a Japanese wiki out there for finding all the SoDs?

 

[Hours Left]

Well, at least the sales show there is still an audience for the series. Now just make a real Suikoden please.

 

[Shouta]

Yeah, there are a few wikis though the info isn't totally complete.

But yeah, I'd say the narrative is fine in this, though they could've done more with it or drawn it out to get a closer look at the setting. As it is, it's fine. Just would've been nice to see more of the characters.

One complaint on that front is that there's a handful of characters that don't have portraits in the game because they were considered deceased. That's kind of a nice touch considering the time element but it would've been nice to have at least their portrait to see what they looked like.

 

[R_thanatos]

Aren't all Suikoden games easy anyway?

i don't remember 2 to be easy ( mild difficulty )

 

[Augemitbutter]

Suiko III is the hardest of the mainline games, it's more fun to level your whole team because of that.

Tactics is challenging as well if you want to include that.

 

[Augemitbutter]

any music impressions?

 

[R_thanatos]

any music impressions?

Fitting , but calm . I noticed the good voice acting , but not the music ..i have to admit that i don't digg the "victory" ( battle music ) much .. but it's minor ...

Nothing groundbreak but it's ok.

Not a spoiler
vvvv

Spoiler

I will probably get the ost at some point .

 

[R_thanatos]

Light bump ( because i'm still playing it )

i retract what i said about the music.. While not exceptionnal , it's quite good ( i guess it grew on me )

i also enjoy more and more the streamlined approch into handling your base .. Sure a menu is a regression BUT it makes an easy and quick way to just upgrade / buy-sell and then continue your story ..While it's a shame that your base doesn't feel as unique or big as some camp bases in previous suikoden ... you kinda forget it and focus on the story/ battles.

I met a lot more party members and the casting is still strong IMO. While some characters have very generic traits the mix is still good and i haven't seen a moment so far where i would think " but what did you do that ?"

I'm quite slow ( as i take my time ) but i'm past 12 hours of play.
Still liking it .

Ps: norio wakamoto is still awesome ..no matter what he does ..
Ps2: there is a nice deal of animated cutscenes. Not too much but enough . I feel like they really tried to do the most they could with what they have. Regular fields areas are small with a lot of cuts ( sub areas )... think FF7: CC .

After 12hours, 44 minutes 17 second it's still a solid 7/10 leaning toward 8/10 ..

 

[Dark Schala]

I liked the samples of Konami's YouTube page enough to want to invest in the soundtrack; I just wonder if they're implemented in the game well/fit settings. Suikoden games usually incorporate its music into its settings extremely well, though.

Ps: norio wakamoto is still awesome ..no matter what he does ..
Ps2: there is a nice deal of animated cutscenes. Not too much but enough . I feel like they really tried to do the most they could with what they have. Regular fields areas are small with a lot of cuts ( sub areas )... think FF7: CC

I was guessing that the voice work was going to be great given the people they got. I'm looking forward to hearing Takahiro Sakurai in this game. :3

And if there's a lot of animated cutscenes, that might explain why that's pretty much the only thing they showed in the lead-up to releasing this game. Is the art better than some of the character art I posted?

 

[Shouta]

There's quite a bit of voicework in the game. Actually, any time a character is first introduced/about to join you, they'll be voiced, as I recall. After that, only characters that are directly involved in major events will be voiced.

 

[R_thanatos]

The cutscenes are of the same quality of the cutscenes pics you already have ..
it's just that in most cases cutscenes are reserved for opening & endinsg with the ocasional in middle game ..but here in your base , you can view them ( those you've already seen ) .Expect to have 9 in 6 hours at least ... dunno if they'll keep this pace untill the end ..

There is not much to show really...

Towns are select maps from above so you can't really show them. And the fields , while not ugly aren't that great either ( except 2 noticable exceptions that are spoilers so i won't talk about them )

About the characters art it's uneven .. Some are really great and the rest is generic to the core.

IMo the good qualities are :

-Great voice cast
-Very good story ( so far )
-The base management .. ( a objective downgrade yet it still works and it'll allow you to focus on something else )
-Good cast
-Battle system is good ..there is nothing special about it ..but nothing's broken
-Learning skill system ( quick and easy so far but i expect some serious side questing later on )
-Can change Camera control scheme
-MC is not an undecisive angst that keep getting manipulated every 5 min or crying, despite his past ( that isn't great ) . Instead of whinning about it , he acts ... EVEN when someone is revealing something that would shake many rpg leads , He ( and the Heroine ) are collected enough to stay focused on the matters at hand.i enjoy the writing so far. The game doesn't hesitate to mix serious and comic moments thanks to some spécific characters.

Bad qualities are :

-Can't explore Bases
-World map is a Dot map ( think Legend of mana or final fantasy advance 1)
-Field areas are small ( don't expect to explore in this game )
-Can't control the camera properly ( why can't i move the camera with L or R ? )
-Game is pretty easy if you gear up and level up properly ..
( i know you're reading this dark schala , so i'll be clear , this isn't Xillia level of broken but you'll be at ease if you manage your base members activities properly and that means stocking up with the right items for them to create good things for you this will probably allow you to one shot almost everything in your path except bosses )

 

[Tabris]

Quick question. Is this it's own world / setting over Suikoden Tierkaris or is it related? How "Suikoden"-ish is it in comparison to Tierkaris?

I never got far in Suikoden Tierkaris as it was a blasphemy to everything I loved by adorning that name.