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[Tiu Neo]

Two Suikoden I and II questions:
1) Are there missables? How many? How important?
2) How awful is are their translations? Like, if I have to choose between playing and not playing them, is it better to not play them and wait for someone to do a better translation job one day? I have no shortage of games to play. Is the translation "bad" in the sense of SNES Chrono Trigger (i.e. not bad, just nitpickers), or Final Fantasy Tactics (actually problematic).

Yes, there are some missables. Some are as simple as items, runes, recipes. Others are a lot more important, like recruitable characters. But both the games are kinda short for RPGs, so don't worry too much about missables on the first time you play.

The translations... Are not perfect, but playable. I is ok, I think, but II has some serious localization problems. They don't affect the game's story too much, it's still the best of the series anyway, imo. Expect something like a bit buggier FFVI original SNES translation.

 

[Wilsongt]

So... I was poking through my games and I pulled out Tierkries again... It sucks it only has two save slots because I wanted to dive into it again, but I don't want to delete my two saves. I'm such a sap when it comes to erasing data. ._.

 

[daoster]

I maintain that the only series that has felt kinda Suikoden-ish to me was the Valkyria series (though I haven't played 3)...of course that series is dead too...

 

[Tabris]

I maintain that the only series that has felt kinda Suikoden-ish to me was the Valkyria series (though I haven't played 3)...of course that series is dead too...

That makes no sense at all.

The actual answer is Radiata Stories.

 

[Dark Schala]

It took you until 3rd to figure it out? D= SC had lots of crazy stuff.

Also, you're making Aeana, Squeeee

Yeah, I'm getting stuff done in it at the moment (like, I'm in the middle of Chapter 4 now, and since Aeana said that I should be doing all the doors, I've looked stuff up for them; some of the later requirements feel like trophy requirements, but it looks like you'll get them done anyway as you go through the game). And briefly, I like how 3rd's structured. It makes sense and it definitely doesn't bother me.

SC certainly did have its share of crazy stuff (and despite all the stuff it makes you do towards the end which feels kind of tedious), and the ending paid off (I got tears). I thought it was a lot easier to get into than FC.

Trails games for the first time. Must be nice.

I certainly hope SC and 3rd are localized here in some capacity as they're much better than FC in terms of pacing and some characterization. Oh, and the music.

I completely get Trails fans when they say it's a suitable replacement for Suikoden in terms of worldbuilding, characterization, history, geography, historical and present conflict, intertwining fantasy elements and regular/natural conflict, etc. Suddenly that huge pile of books in that one Falcom video for the Kiseki series makes a whole lot of sense.

Growlanser IV: Wayfarer of Time is probably the only recent game that feels like Suikoden.

Such a shame that it didn't sell well. I think that mechanically, it's my favourite Growlanser game.

 

[Hours Left]

Yeah, I'm getting stuff done in it at the moment (like, I'm in the middle of Chapter 4 now, and since Aeana said that I should be doing all the doors, I've looked stuff up for them; some of the later requirements feel like trophy requirements, but it looks like you'll get them done anyway as you go through the game). And briefly, I like how 3rd's structured. It makes sense and it definitely doesn't bother me.

SC certainly did have its share of crazy stuff (and despite all the stuff it makes you do towards the end which feels kind of tedious), and the ending paid off (I got tears). I thought it was a lot easier to get into than FC.


I certainly hope SC and 3rd are localized here in some capacity as they're much better than FC in terms of pacing and some characterization. Oh, and the music.

I completely get Trails fans when they says it's a suitable replacement for Suikoden in terms of worldbuilding, characterization, history, geography, historical and present conflict, intertwining fantasy elements and regular/natural conflict, etc. Suddenly that huge pile of books in that one Falcom video for the Kiseki series makes a whole lot of sense.

Bleh, I'm so jealous.

 

[Big Papa Husker]

Well I'm loading up my save again. Maybe I can get the last 2 squirrels in less than an hour... :\

EDIT: I was thinking about streaming myself playing Suikoden II. Anyone interested? lol

 

[Tiu Neo]

That makes no sense at all.

The actual answer is Radiata Stories.

More like the love child between Suikoden and Star Ocean

I would like a Radiata 2, but... The series is dead, too. Ugh.

 

[vall03]

Ive been wondering about this and I haven't replayed Suikoden II for a while now, but why do people say it has translation problems? because I seriously don't remember anything wrong with it.

 

[Hours Left]

Ive been wondering about this and I haven't replayed Suikoden II for a while now, but why do people say it has translation problems? because I seriously don't remember anything wrong with it.

Sonya~

 

[Tabris]

Ive been wondering about this and I haven't replayed Suikoden II for a while now, but why do people say it has translation problems? because I seriously don't remember anything wrong with it.

Go fight some monsters in the Tenzen pass at the end of the game.

 

[Dark Schala]

Ive been wondering about this and I haven't replayed Suikoden II for a while now, but why do people say it has translation problems? because I seriously don't remember anything wrong with it.

Quoted from another thread.

A: Genso Suikoden II's NA localization was a mess. A lot of grammatical and syntactical errors:

B: Even some of the text was not translated.

C: What's more, there were several audio glitches in the North American translation. Ever wonder why some of the full-scale war battles didn't even have any music at all? They were supposed to!

1) One of the themes involved was this: War. It was the very first war theme, and you probably would have heard it when you were battling outside of Muse or Viktor's fort.

2) Another theme wasn't on the OST and I can't find it on YouTube, but there was a theme that played when you ever engaged in full-scale war battle with Luca Blight himself.

3) There was also a third audio glitch, when Annalee was supposed to sing to you, but in the NA version, you got quite a few minutes of silence. She was supposed to sing Orizzonte to you.

4) The final duel battle at the VERY end of the game before the credits was not supposed to be silent. It was supposed to have this theme attached to it.

5) Finally, La passione commouve la storia got the axe in the NA version. The PAL version has it.

These imperfections are probably part of the case. Suikoden I+II didn't come out in NA likely for similar reasons why Tales of Eternia or BoF3 PSP didn't come out here. If Genso Suikoden II PAL is released on EU PSN, I'll buy it. It doesn't have the audio glitches.

Still baffling it's not out still, though. I've already retired my disc because I imported the PSP version, but I'd like an English version to hold onto on my PSP. BUT... I'd appreciate a retranslation very much.

 

[Hours Left]

Yeah, the US localization of Suikoden II was a complete mess, thankfully the game is so good that you don't really think about it when you're playing. The quality control was absolutely abysmal though, like shamefully so.

I'd love to see Suikoden II in complete working order.

Edit: This is the missing war theme against Luca, I think.

 

[Tiu Neo]

Quoted from another thread.

Also, the TcDohl glich, that renamed the character from the first game as McDohl, replacing the upper case characters on his name. Something like, if you called him Tir, it would become TcDohl, if you named him TeSt it would become TcSohl, TEST as TESThl and so on.

 

[Hours Left]

Here's a list of all the bugs in the game.

 

[Dark Schala]

Edit: This is the missing war theme against Luca, I think.

Yay, someone finally uploaded it! Thank goodness.

Also, the TcDohl glich, that renamed the character from the first game as McDohl, replacing the upper case characters on his name. Something like, if you called him Tir, it would become TcDohl, if you named him TeSt it would become TcSohl, TEST as TESThl and so on.

Yeah, I'd put that under coding errors. I don't know how that happened.

 

[Meccanical]

Guess I need to do another playthrough and name him Mir.

 

[Tiu Neo]

Yay, someone finally uploaded it! Thank goodness.


Yeah, I'd put that under coding errors. I don't know how that happened.

I'm not sure, but didn't the PAL version fox that? I think this error was introduced on the US translation. Maybe something to do with encoding or something like that.

Guess I need to do another playthrough and name him Mir.

Eh, or get used to TcDohl. It's not THAT bad.

 

[vall03]

Yeah, the US localization of Suikoden II was a complete mess, thankfully the game is so good that you don't really think about it when you're playing. The quality control was absolutely abysmal though, like shamefully so.

I'd love to see Suikoden II in complete working order.

Edit: This is the missing war theme against Luca, I think.

I guess its this for me, I played it a lot when I was a kid and those really never bothered me since it was really good. When my PS1 broke and then discovered emulators (I miss Bleem lol) on PCs, Suikoden II was always the first game I try to play. If theres a bug/glitch (aside from the Matilda glitch of course) that I encountered was bringing Futch to Greenhill wherein his introduction at the school was similar to the second set of screens there.


Also, read some more posts above, and If theres a series I find similar to Suikoden, it would be the Legend of Heroes. So far I can only comment on the Gagharv trilogy, but Im more of a fan of world-building in games and the connections between each game astounded me. I guess the Kiseki series is in a whole different level which is my goal to someday play. My also try Growlanser and maybe Radiata stories too.

 

[Meccanical]

Eh, or get used to TcDohl. It's not THAT bad.

Noooo, it bothers me to no end.

 

[Tiu Neo]

Noooo, it bothers me to no end.

I did play as Mir once, everyone calling him that on I bottered more than seeing TcDohl a few times on dialog and

Spoiler

on the party

on II

 

[Edgeward]

I restarted Suikoden I after seeing the name glitch in 2 because it bothered me that much. Ever since then I always name Tir, Masamune.

And even though it was ultra lame, I always named my castle in 1 "Master Castle"


I never did find a good troop name to use in II though. =\

 

[Big Papa Husker]

I can't remember which podcast it was, but they had the guys on that translated Suikoden II. They said they didn't get any of the source code and had to pretty much hack it all together, I tried to find the podcast to post here, but I couldn't find it.

 

[Edgeward]

Might be Warning a Huge Podcast since two of the guys, Nick Rox and Casey Loe, iirc worked on the translation.

 

[Dark Schala]

They also post here on GAF.

I tried calling Tir "Ryui" once since that was his name from the manga once and then I started over because it didn't seem right. I just use the novelization/drama name.

snip

How did your hunt for the squirrels go?

I guess the Kiseki series is in a whole different level which is my goal to someday play.

They definitely are and I certainly hope they come out here in some capacity. I think they have what people feel are missing from a narrative perspective in RPGs. Like, I'm incredibly jaded towards storytelling in RPGs now, but 3rd makes me realize that there are some series that are at least trying to focus on worldbuilding, canon and characterization.

I'm not sure, but didn't the PAL version fox that? I think this error was introduced on the US translation. Maybe something to do with encoding or something like that.

Yup. The PAL version fixed a lot of things.

 

[daninthemix]

Which is the best of the PS2 games? I missed them all.

 

[hank_tree]

Which is the best of the PS2 games? I missed them all.

Suikoden 3 is my favourite with 5 close behind. I thought 4 was pretty poor. Other opinions are available.

 

[IrishNinja]

yeah, for me it's 5 hands-down. best one since 2, easily - do not sleep on it!

 

[Terra_Ex]

3 & 5 are both good. 3 is the only one with any semblance of difficulty and my personal favourite. 4 is meh, Tactics did a good job of turning meh into something that is probably worth playing through once.

Here's a list of all the bugs in the game.

Thanks for this. Seems I dodged a bullet by (being forced into) buying the PAL version back in the day. With this patch I should be able to play through the whole ntsc series without problems. Interesting that so many bugs hit the ntsc version but were not present in the pal release.

 

[Augemitbutter]

Which is the best of the PS2 games? I missed them all.

3 and 5. then Tactics and 4. they're all worth a playthrough.

 

[Tiu Neo]

Which is the best of the PS2 games? I missed them all.

V. III is pretty cool if you played I and II before, too, since it's a direct sequel from both, and there are some things that probably only people who played the PS1 games will get.

There are also some cool hooks with Gaiden, if you played them in japanese or read about it.

 

[Dark Schala]

Which is the best of the PS2 games? I missed them all.

Depends on what you want from them.

Want a sequel to 2? 3. I... well, I've made clear what my stance on that game is. It's got strong narrative elements and links very nicely with the previous games (1, 2, Gaiden 1/2, Card Stories), so if that's what you want, go for it.

Want a game the borrows a ton of elements from 2? 5 is for you. Some GS2 and GS1 characters are in this, and it plays nicely but doesn't have the speed that 1&2 have.

I personally think they're all worth playing, but those are the safest choices.

 

[Hours Left]

If you really like playing Suikoden for the story, characters, mythos, etc, every game is worth playing.

 

[Tiu Neo]

Depends on what you want from them.

Want a sequel to 2? 3. I... well, I've made clear what my stance on that game is. It's got strong narrative elements and links very nicely with the previous games (1, 2, Gaiden 1/2, Card Stories), so if that's what you want, go for it.

Want a game the borrows a ton of elements from 2? 5 is for you. Some GS2 and GS1 characters are in this, and it plays nicely but doesn't have the speed that 1&2 have.

I personally think they're all worth playing, but those are the safest choices.

Do the Card Stories add anything to story, characters, or anything like that? I have tried to play they once, but didn't get very far. Seemed like a Suikoden II retelling, but I'm not sure because I undestood nothing

If you really like playing Suikoden for the story, characters, mythos, etc, every game is worth playing.

Yeah, just... Don't play IV first, unless you want to play them all and wishes to get this one out of your way as soon as possible. The story is still good (but not as good as the other games, imo), but the battle system and ship navigation is just... Ugh. Get Viki as soon as you can.

Also, if you want to play Tactics, do it right after IV. Together they make a better experience.

 

[Hours Left]

Late night Suikoden music post. (Melancholy edition.)

 

[Augemitbutter]

why are Suikoden intros so good?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G3NZGLFhhYU&list=PL8EFE2964E4FD5357
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vC3fQqqWHAc&list=PL8EFE2964E4FD5357
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0JRUj7S7IqM&list=PL8EFE2964E4FD5357

and why did you stop caring, Konami?

 

[bakedpony]

Which is the best of the PS2 games? I missed them all.

Suikoden V is one of the best RPGs available for the PS2.

I even like it more than Suikoden 2. The entire 108 characters have bits of story in them.

 

[artorias the abysswalker]

why are Suikoden intros so good?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G3NZGLFhhYU&list=PL8EFE2964E4FD5357
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vC3fQqqWHAc&list=PL8EFE2964E4FD5357
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0JRUj7S7IqM&list=PL8EFE2964E4FD5357

and why did you stop caring, Konami?

<3 all of these so much, legendary songs!!!

 

[R_thanatos]

Suikoden V is one of the best RPGs available for the PS2.

I even like it more than Suikoden 2. The entire 108 characters have bits of story in them.

Finally someone who feel the same way i do .. i knew i wasn't alone !!

 

[Tiu Neo]

Late night Suikoden music post. (Melancholy edition.)

IV gets a lot of hate, but man, its soundtrack was amazing.

Finally someone who feel the same way i do .. i knew i wasn't alone !!

I have a friend who feels that way, too, but V was her first Suikoden, so maybe that influenced?

 

[WalkMan]

Pity that Suikoden II had sound issues -

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tqtPON4DtVU

This song was meant to play in the game

 

[Just take it with you.]

IV gets a lot of hate, but man, its soundtrack was amazing.

IV's soundtrack wasn't bad, but I prefer Tactics's arrangements of IV's tunes.

 

[mattiewheels]

Who exactly did the English localization for II? I remember listening to Nick Rox and Casey Loe's podcast and they made it sound like they had something to do with it but can't find a credit anywhere...

 

[Xelinis]

Who exactly did the English localization for II? I remember listening to Nick Rox and Casey Loe's podcast and they made it sound like they had something to do with it but can't find a credit anywhere...

Jeremy Blaustein.

 

[jschreier]

It's too bad Konami gave up on their best series. With some proper marketing (Game of Thrones meets Pokemon!) it could be huge.

 

[mattiewheels]

Jeremy Blaustein.

Just looked him up....wow, this guy is legend. Metal Gear Solid, Symphony of the Night, he's like the master of unintentionally hilarious lines.

 

[Xelinis]

It's too bad Konami gave up on their best series. With some proper marketing (Game of Thrones meets Pokemon!) it could be huge.

Jason, have you made any attempts at contacting Murayama himself? As far as I can tell, the man is a hermit.

 

[Dark Schala]

IV's soundtrack wasn't bad, but I prefer Tactics's arrangements of IV's tunes.

I love both IV and Rhapsodia's soundtracks, though my favourite, as I had mentioned in the RPG Essentials thread, is GS1's.

Fuck, I love GS1's soundtrack so much. If I could do those lengthy soundtrack writeups that I do for SotY for GS1's OST, I would.

Do the Card Stories add anything to story, characters, or anything like that? I have tried to play they once, but didn't get very far. Seemed like a Suikoden II retelling, but I'm not sure because I undestood nothing

Kind of, but not necessarily. On the base level, it retells Suikoden II's narrative with... uh, you've played Pokemon TCG, right? It's like that, so more of the game rests on the card gameplay than the narrative (the narrative supplements the gameplay). I really love the actual cards it comes with, though.

I don't really like how the story cutscenes go because, well, you're generally looking at a static GBA screen with character portraits talking at you, which is kind of disappointing, but I completely get the design behind it. Some of the scenes are different, too. Like, at the beginning, Riou and Jowy run away from the camp, then they find a cave to hide in, then they explore it, and then get their runes at that point (with the "I want 'power' to protect" dialogue and stuff)... before they jump down the waterfall. There're a lot of other noticeable changes, so the game doesn't really go like Suikoden II's story, but it's an alternate retelling of the tale.

Yeah. It's kinda weird. It's more for faster pacing.

Sorry, I'm kind of exhausted. My posts are going to suck a little bit.

 

[jschreier]

Jason, have you made any attempts at contacting Murayama himself? As far as I can tell, the man is a hermit.

I have not. But if I ever go to the Tokyo Game Show, hunting for him will be #1 on my to-do list.

 

[Xelinis]

I have not. But if I ever go to the Tokyo Game Show, hunting for him will be #1 on my to-do list.

Just a thought, but he did do that interview with LEVEL a couple of years back. They might be a good starting point for tracking him down.