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The Suikoden Revival Movement

A.E Suggs

Member
Uh, I hope OP realizes the creator of Suikoden left Konami after III.

Series is dead. III was the pinnacle. Let it rest.

I consider III the best but V can give II and III a run for its money. I never see people actually give reasons why II is just better than any of the others one even if it is a very good game. So with that said who wants to give the argument a go because i'm curious now.
 

sublimit

Banned
Well its important to note that a lot of supporters of this are in europe aswell since the first goal is getting the first two games onto all of the psn store fronts possible, its my understanding that the original is not available on psn either in europe.

If we can push and succeed on that its entirely possible that we could succeed further, in the end it depends on fan support.

Oh i do hope you succeed (i joined btw).It's just that i don't think Konami cares anymore for anything other than MGS and their casual games.
 

Trigger

Member
I wouldn't mind Suikoden's slow death if there was a similar series, but no one has filled that niche Suikoden had.
 

Xelinis

Junior Member
I consider III the best but V can give II and III a run for its money. I never see people actually give reasons why II is just better than any of the others one even if it is a very good game. So with that said who wants to give the argument a go because i'm curious now.

II is a more and robust polished game, the best in terms of raw quality. Despite that, I'm giving the nod to III as my favorite. It represented the direction that Suikoden should have gone in.

V was good but relied way too much on series fan service, and also probably laid down some of the foundations for what Suikoden has become.
 

Dark Schala

Eloquent Princess
Do you really want Konami taking another stab at this?
Considering how they handled the last game...

I still think they should, at the very least, get Suikoden II on PSN, even with the localization and the glitches all over the place if they have to (shit, get the EU version on there). So many people want to play it, and I think it's probably one of the best games of that era.

Uh, I hope OP realizes the creator of Suikoden left Konami after III.

Series is dead. III was the pinnacle. Let it rest.
In terms of narrative, ability growth, and newer runes, maybe. Everything else, however...
 

zaxon

Member
I consider III the best but V can give II and III a run for its money. I never see people actually give reasons why II is just better than any of the others one even if it is a very good game. So with that said who wants to give the argument a go because i'm curious now.

Story and characters really resonated with people, the connections to the first game were amazing, and the gameplay was pretty much a perfection of the formula which the later games merely emulated. It's hard to find any major flaws with it, which you can't say about 3, 4, and 5.

I wouldn't mind Suikoden's slow death if there was a similar series, but no one has filled that niche Suikoden had.

Seriously.
 
I was ready to support the movement until I read this blasphemy.

The+Wire+-+Bunk+Moreland+Shaking+Head.gif


Adios, amigo.
Sometimes, movements are glad not to have certain people in them...
 

IrishNinja

Member
where is Dark Schala? i wanna get on board here but i just dont think we can get something as good as V out of Konami in their current shit state...id die to see 2 on PSN though

Still can't believe the lack of fan retranslation either.

oh wow, come to think of it yea, that is indeed shameful

Series is dead. III was the pinnacle. Let it rest.

aw, for real? i thought 3 kinda fell apart, enjoyed the manga a bit but it was a big drop off 2 for me. never did play 4 but again, 5 was fantastic

I was ready to support the movement until I read this blasphemy.

The+Wire+-+Bunk+Moreland+Shaking+Head.gif


Adios, amigo.

...are you seriously saying FF VIII > suiko 2? i must be misreading this, you're comparing thanksgiving homemade mashed potatoes to stale fries that tasted like shit back in '99
 
3 & 5 had some good ideas but they also had some major flaws (the load times in 5, the uneven pacing in 3). 2 was just plain good outside of a few parts of the translation.

They're still making Suikoden games on the portable systems so I don't see the point in campaigning for more games in the series (although I'd like to see the PSP game get released in English). I'd love to see all the PS1 & PS2 games come out on the PSN though.
 

Dark Schala

Eloquent Princess
Story and characters really resonated with people, the connections to the first game were amazing, and the gameplay was pretty much a perfection of the formula which the later games merely emulated. It's hard to find any major flaws with it, which you can't say about 3, 4, and 5.
I think the only thing that the fangame that gave a heckuva a lot of nods to it did better was to give rankings for how you did in strategy sequences (much like how Rhapsodia and Genso Suikoden V did).

If they had made that Genso Suikoden II strategy bit a minigame in later entries, I would've played the shit out of that.

Augemitbutter said:
have konami said anything about the reception of Suikoden PSP?
Not to my knowledge, although I didn't really check. I think I was kind of impressed by the first week sales, but they dropped off lots (I should update my sales chart, I keep forgetting). It's too bad because I like a lot of the mechanics they introduced in that. It certainly has its share of issues like Shouta, R_thanatos, and I have noted in one of its threads, but there's a lot of stuff that kind of brings it back to the middle bit of the spectrum despite its overall presentation.

IrishNinja said:
where is Dark Schala?
A few shleepy posts above you. I just woke up from a nap. :p
 

IrishNinja

Member
3 & 5 had some good ideas but they also had some major flaws (the load times in 5, the uneven pacing in 3). 2 was just plain good outside of a few parts of the translation.

yeah, 3 kept me waiting on the castle, which drove me nuts. for 5, i played via HDD Loader, which vastly improved said load times - ive heard regular play was pretty rough though.
 

arit

Member
I consider III the best but V can give II and III a run for its money. I never see people actually give reasons why II is just better than any of the others one even if it is a very good game. So with that said who wants to give the argument a go because i'm curious now.

III is a hit or miss game, sadly though I hate it. It is the only main game I did not finish (ie. I consider IV a better game than III).
As for V, I really liked it and would rank it almost equal to II if it wasn't for the tech (load times etc.), and I'm also a sucker for 2d Suikoden graphics.


Good luck. The last console game was like 2006. Safe to say its probably not going to hit the consoles again.

2006? That cannot be! ... it... no, just no :(

EDIT:

They're still making Suikoden games on the portable systems so I don't see the point in campaigning for more games in the series (although I'd like to see the PSP game get released in English). I'd love to see all the PS1 & PS2 games come out on the PSN though.

Perhaps I'm stubborn, but in a suikoden game I want my weapons to be predetermined and sharpened by a blacksmith. You can name it Suikoden, but it ain't for me.
 

Piecake

Member
2 is the best, but I thought 3 was awesome as well

2>3>5>1>4

I could never finish 1, it just bored me.

But yea, they at least need to make one more game. I want to know WTF is going on in Harmonia. They've been teasing that place forever. SHOW US!
 

Trigger

Member
3 & 5 had some good ideas but they also had some major flaws (the load times in 5, the uneven pacing in 3). 2 was just plain good outside of a few parts of the translation.

They're still making Suikoden games on the portable systems so I don't see the point in campaigning for more games in the series (although I'd like to see the PSP game get released in English). I'd love to see all the PS1 & PS2 games come out on the PSN though.

Except those games lack the personality and spirit of the series from what I've seen. They're Suikoden in name only.

But yea, they at least need to make one more game. I want to know WTF is going on in Harmonia. They've been teasing that place forever. SHOW US!

Harmonia feels so endgame tho. If they ever made a game prominently featuring Harmonia than I feel like lots of questions would have to be answered.
 
There is no series I would like to see return more than Suikoden. I would happily leave Megaman on the moon, let Final Fantasy become Lightning: The Series, and allow Chrono Break to be lost in an alternate timeline in exchange for a great new Suikoden following III and featuring Viktor, Flik, Jeane, Viki, and other classic characters for any console or handheld.

Maybe someday Konami will want to go back to the classics that defined them and treat them with respect, but sadly, I don't expect to ever get the game set in Harmonia that so many of us have waited for for so long. At best, we'll get Hikusaak: the Pachislot.
 

Aeana

Member
Except those games lack the personality and spirit of the series from what I've seen. They're Suikoden in name only.

Not just personality and spirit, they lack a very crucial point of attraction for many fans: the world and characters.
 

Takao

Banned
every good RPGamer should have played through I and II in their life.

have konami said anything about the reception of Suikoden PSP?

I think it hit like 85k before being tossed out of the top 20. Given the fact that Konami ignored the existence of that game I guess it did okay.
 

Dark Schala

Eloquent Princess
III is a hit or miss game, sadly though I hate it. It is the only main game I did not finish (ie. I consider IV a better game than III).
Eheheh... once I replayed Genso Suikoden IV and started feeling somewhat similarly? Still put them somewhere near the bottom and I generally like GS4, so... Genso Suikoden III has a lot of problems with it. Buddy system in III's battle system doesn't work in terms of having battles fast (which is something I loved about the first two games) and fun, the aesthetics are poor, the dungeon design is poor, the soundtrack is probably my least favourite soundtrack in the series with just a few gems standing out, the strategy minigame is an interesting idea on paper but it kind of falls flat, etc.

For all the charm and personality that GS1 and GS2 had (hell, even Suikoden Card Stories and the Genso Suikogaiden games), GS3 sorta threw that out of the window. The story's very good, and I like being able to update battle skills, I don't mind the TSS, and having convoy members finally do something, but the game itself isn't very fun to play.
 

RSLAEV

Member
Aaah another support-group thread for those of us who can't believe what a cock-up konami has made of the series. Who brought the doughnuts and coffee?

I'm playing through Tierkries now, no far it's a decent enough RPG, but I haven't really played enough of it to tell if it's a good Suikoden game.

I just don't understand how Namco will throw us some bones with the Tales series (Not my cup of tea), But Konami's just given the hell up on Suikoden. Do they really need every damn cent to pay for Metal Gear games? What about all of that PES money? Can't they pass a hat around until they get enough to pay Sony to put Suikoden 2 on PSN?

Mind-fucking-boggling.
 
I'm totally on board with this movement. Suikoden is my all time favorite RPG series, and one of my very favorite series of any genre.

I'm dying for a new Suikoden set in the canon world, none of the Tierkreis/Tapestry nonsense. Though getting Suikoden II released on PSN would be a great start.

P.S. FFVIII is awesome.
 

A.E Suggs

Member
II is a more and robust polished game, the best in terms of raw quality. Despite that, I'm giving the nod to III as my favorite. It represented the direction that Suikoden should have gone in.

V was good but relied way too much on series fan service, and also probably laid down some of the foundations for what Suikoden has become.

Hey 2 had a lot of that as well.

I see people mentioning the load times for V and although I hate it I don't consider that a major flaw. Then again some people consider the U.S translation of II a major flaw so I don't know what to say.

Glad to see the III love.... it got smacked around too much by Suikoden II lovers.

Its still getting smacked around by II lovers :(. I still think nastalgia and the fact that people keep throwing it around as the best rpg is whats making people love it like they do, but to each his own.
 

Dark Schala

Eloquent Princess
RSLAEV said:
I just don't understand how Namco will throw us some bones with the Tales series (Not my cup of tea), But Konami's just given the hell up on Suikoden. Do they really need every damn cent to pay for Metal Gear games? What about all of that PES money? Can't they pass a hat around until they get enough to pay Sony to put Suikoden 2 on PSN?
Because they're the Kojima Productions company now. Outside of PES, Mobile Games, Suikoden PSP, and Benami, do they even make games anymore?

Edit: Pardon me for sounding rather cynical, but the degree of care that Konami handled the series (hell, the majority of its IPs) with in the past six years will do that to you. That is the Konami we're dealing with.
 

vireland

Member
Hey 2 had a lot of that as well.

I see people mentioning the load times for V and although I hate it I don't consider that a major flaw. Then again some people consider the U.S translation of II a major flaw so I don't know what to say.

That's really the dilemma on Suikoden I & II PSP. If you redo the translation of Suikoden II, something I think is sorely needed, you are messing with the flawed fabric of the warmly comforting nostalgia coat for that game, and risk turning off a large segment of the very fans you're trying to please by diving in, and risking time/money doing the work on a dead platform.
 

Aeana

Member
Eheheh... once I replayed Genso Suikoden IV and started feeling somewhat similarly? Still put them somewhere near the bottom and I generally like GS4, so... Genso Suikoden III has a lot of problems with it. Buddy system in III's battle system doesn't work in terms of having battles fast (which is something I loved about the first two games) and fun, the aesthetics are poor, the dungeon design is poor, the soundtrack is probably my least favourite soundtrack in the series with just a few gems standing out, the strategy minigame is an interesting idea on paper but it kind of falls flat, etc.

For all the charm and personality that GS1 and GS2 had (hell, even Suikoden Card Stories and the Genso Suikogaiden games), GS3 sorta threw that out of the window. The story's very good, and I like being able to update battle skills, I don't mind the TSS, and having convoy members finally do something, but the game itself isn't very fun to play.

I like Suikoden 3's war battles the best, though. I thought it was great that it let you use your actual characters, bringing in the work you've done over the course of the game and applying it to a larger scale. That's how I always wished it would be, but your characters' power doesn't really matter in other games.

I actually really like most of the soundtrack, too. More than just a few standouts, I'd say I like almost all of it with a couple of stinkers. The Suikoden 3 Music Collection CD is my favorite Suikoden music CD, period.
And EVERYBODY loves Stupid Ducks
 
That's really the dilemma on Suikoden I & II PSP. If you redo the translation of Suikoden II, something I think is sorely needed, you are messing with the flawed fabric of the warmly comforting nostalgia coat for that game, and risk turning off a large segment of the very fans you're trying to please by diving in, and risking time/money doing the work on a dead platform.
I would hope that even the most die hard of Suikoden II fans would realize that a new translation is in order. Though, the PSP version has a lot of other issues that would need to be addressed too.
 

Ferrio

Banned
Eheheh... once I replayed Genso Suikoden IV and started feeling somewhat similarly? Still put them somewhere near the bottom and I generally like GS4, so... Genso Suikoden III has a lot of problems with it. Buddy system in III's battle system doesn't work in terms of having battles fast (which is something I loved about the first two games) and fun, the aesthetics are poor, the dungeon design is poor, the soundtrack is probably my least favourite soundtrack in the series with just a few gems standing out, the strategy minigame is an interesting idea on paper but it kind of falls flat, etc.

For all the charm and personality that GS1 and GS2 had (hell, even Suikoden Card Stories and the Genso Suikogaiden games), GS3 sorta threw that out of the window. The story's very good, and I like being able to update battle skills, I don't mind the TSS, and having convoy members finally do something, but the game itself isn't very fun to play.

I thought the GS3 cast had quite a bit of charm. Especially Geddoe's group. Chris was also one of the best female protagonists in gaming IMO.
 

vireland

Member
I would hope that even the most die hard of Suikoden II fans would realize that a new translation is in order. Though, the PSP version has a lot of other issues that would need to be addressed too.

The intersection of Hope and Nostalgia is often a dangerous street corner in a bad neighborhood of Fanville. Lots of bad things can go down there...
 

Wilsongt

Member
Seems pointless to me. We're not even getting the newest Suikoden. =/

I thought the GS3 cast had quite a bit of charm. Especially Geddoe's group. Chris was also one of the best female protagonists in gaming IMO.

I love the way they did Chris. I absolutely hated her in the first chapter, but she really grew on me as the game progressed and I had to hard time picking between her and Hugo as my FC.
 

A.E Suggs

Member
The intersection of Hope and Nostalgia is often a dangerous street corner in a bad neighborhood of Fanville. Lots of bad things can go down there...

Sad bu true, but all this talk about this game has fueled my passion to at least run through Suikoden 1 again. I'm sure I can beat it within 15-25 hours, I think I remember how to get every character in 1 unlike the rest of the games.
 
Eheheh... once I replayed Genso Suikoden IV and started feeling somewhat similarly? Still put them somewhere near the bottom and I generally like GS4, so... Genso Suikoden III has a lot of problems with it. Buddy system in III's battle system doesn't work in terms of having battles fast (which is something I loved about the first two games) and fun, the aesthetics are poor, the dungeon design is poor, the soundtrack is probably my least favourite soundtrack in the series with just a few gems standing out, the strategy minigame is an interesting idea on paper but it kind of falls flat, etc.

For all the charm and personality that GS1 and GS2 had (hell, even Suikoden Card Stories and the Genso Suikogaiden games), GS3 sorta threw that out of the window. The story's very good, and I like being able to update battle skills, I don't mind the TSS, and having convoy members finally do something, but the game itself isn't very fun to play.

III's cardinal sin was making the battles complicated. Like an odd mirror to other RPGs dumbing down their battles, III's battles took too long, and had too much meaningless complexity in a series famous for quick breezy trash fights.

And go ahead, use Fire magic. :p
 

Dark Schala

Eloquent Princess
I like Suikoden 3's war battles the best, though. I thought it was great that it let you use your actual characters, bringing in the work you've done over the course of the game and applying it to a larger scale. That's how I always wished it would be, but your characters' power doesn't really matter in other games.

I actually really like most of the soundtrack, too. More than just a few standouts, I'd say I like almost all of it with a couple of stinkers. The Suikoden 3 Music Collection CD is my favorite Suikoden music CD, period.
I like that bit of the war battles too, but I don't like how the war battles handled the entire map for taking other units' places or establishing what land you've taken, because you were given a limited amount of spaces with not a lot to do. I guess I took a lot of pleasure in taking out as many units as I could and covering as much ground as I could in GS2 and GS4 that in hindsight, I don't like GS3's approach to it as much. And I guess we can agree that GS5's were the worst overall.

Man, I can't agree with the soundtrack. That battle theme is horrible, I don't like some of the samples used at all, some of the composition doesn't sit well with me (ex: Underground Corridor, Abandonment, the previously mentioned battle theme, some of the cutscene themes, some of the minigame themes, etc)... I can, however, say that some of the tracks on there are a few of my favourite tracks in the series, one of which that I was happy to see return in GS5.

Ferris said:
I thought the GS3 cast had quite a bit of charm. Especially Geddoe's group. Chris was also one of the best female protagonists in gaming IMO.
tbqh, a lot of the charm in terms of characterization for me came from the character animations in other games, but GS3's are kinda stilted. The narrative is fine, but the transition to 3D wasn't very nice to it--it wasn't until GS5 that they got this right (because GS4 had some hiccups along the way). Chris is definitely one of the better female protags in games, I agree.

Like, I'm not saying that GS3 is a bad game and that I don't like it because I do like it, but it does have a lot of issues that don't sit well with me upon a replay.

And go ahead, use Fire magic. :p
:|
 

daoster

Member
Glad to see the III love.... it got smacked around too much by Suikoden II lovers.

III is my favorite. The best game, the best Tenkai star (Thomas FTW), and I loved it's battle system. II was a good game, but a lot of the greatness attributed to it, I think, was due to the supporting media that came with it. The Gaiden games, the Encyclopedias, and other media really helped build the world and add flesh to the characters, but on it's own, I don't think Suikoden II was god's great gift to earth that some fans make it out to be.

And because of the complaints, we got Suikoden IV and V, which while good games and games that I enjoyed, basically was trying to mimic I and II, instead of being something original. I also thought III's 3D was a really good and natural progression for the game, while IV's was just ugly, and V's isometric view wasn't much good either (characters looked okay in cutscenes).

As for a Suikoden VI...I am sad to have to say this, but that ship has long set sail.

Consider this: It has been 10 YEARS since the last "present" Suikoden game (Suikoden III) and 6 YEARS since the last main Suikoden game (Suikoden V). Nobody other than the hardcore fans are going to remember the events or the significance of the events in Suikoden IV, V, I, II or III.

As much as we'd like the to go to Harmonia to finish up loose ends and crap like that, who's going to remember the likes of Yuber and Pesmerga and Flik and Victor other than the hardcore fans?

Konami can attempt to do things like re-release it (and from what I heard, the PSP re-release of Suikoden I & II didn't do too well) or even remake it...in an attempt to bring new audience up to speed and maybe eventually make a Suikoden VI, but how well will that be? I can't imagine it'd do super well in this weird gaming generation that we're in.

So...I've basically given up on it. Suikoden was never THAT huge of a series where they can count on the nostalgia effect to help push sales, and Konami seem intent on just using the name to make random generic JRPGs...Just enjoy what you had, and be thankful they ever existed at all.

So...Suikoden VI for iOS and Android!!111
 

ReaperXL7

Member
The intersection of Hope and Nostalgia is often a dangerous street corner in a bad neighborhood of Fanville. Lots of bad things can go down there...

Vic just out of curiosity would it be impossibe for companies like monkeypaw, or xseed to release ps1 classics or are they something publishers are more uneasy with? It just seems strange to me that publishers wont release these older games as is when theyy can just upload them to the store. It possible im not seeing the difficulty here as breath of fire 3 seems to hard for capcom.

Seems pointless to me. We're not even getting the newest Suikoden. =/
im sure many felt that way with xenoblade , last story, and a few vita games aswell.
 

Despera

Banned
Huge fan of the Suiko series, and I think it's impossible for the current Konami to make a proper sequel.

I'd rather the franchise stay dead than be revived in a halfass'd attempt by clueless individuals.
 
I actually enjoyed Tierkreis. ._.
I enjoyed it too, as a light, stand alone RPG. It was a complete failure as a Suikoden game though, and that's what I care about.

The bread and butter of the series is the continuing world, characters and mythos. Taking a few hallmarks from the series while ignoring the heart and soul of it and just slapping the Suikoden name on the box doesn't really please me.
 

TheExodu5

Banned
I really need to play through Suikoden II fully. I've played part of it but never finished it. Same goes with III...got to the 2nd Thomas chapter and gave up. Same goes with V, heh.

I've only completed 1 so far. I really love the series...I just need to set time aside to play through it fully.
 

Aeana

Member
I like that bit of the war battles too, but I don't like how the war battles handled the entire map for taking other units' places or establishing what land you've taken, because you were given a limited amount of spaces with not a lot to do. I guess I took a lot of pleasure in taking out as many units as I could and covering as much ground as I could in GS2 and GS4 that in hindsight, I don't like GS3's approach to it as much. And I guess we can agree that GS5's were the worst overall.

Man, I can't agree with the soundtrack. That battle theme is horrible, I don't like some of the samples used at all, some of the composition doesn't sit well with me (ex: Underground Corridor, Abandonment, the previously mentioned battle theme, some of the cutscene themes, some of the minigame themes, etc)... I can, however, say that some of the tracks on there are a few of my favourite tracks in the series, one of which that I was happy to see return in GS5.

I don't know, maybe this is blasphemy, but there's no Suikoden soundtrack where I think the entire thing is brilliant. They all have some pretty boring pieces. It's just that the highs are generally so high that it doesn't matter. Suikoden 3 is absolutely no different in that regard. I've definitely more favorites in 3 than any other singular game though.
 

arit

Member
Consider this: It has been 10 YEARS since the last "present" Suikoden game (Suikoden III) and 6 YEARS since the last main Suikoden game (Suikoden V). Nobody other than the hardcore fans are going to remember the events or the significance of the events in Suikoden IV, V, I, II or III.

Suikoden 6 CE with the novelizations included and finally translated(yeah, wishful thinking).
 

lethial

Reeeeeeee
I really need to play through Suikoden II fully. I've played part of it but never finished it. Same goes with III...got to the 2nd Thomas chapter and gave up. Same goes with V, heh.

I've only completed 1 so far. I really love the series...I just need to set time aside to play through it fully.

2 is really worth playing through if you have the opportunity. There's a few parts where it slogs down a bit but it's worth it. I play S1 and S2 yearly, my favorite jRPGs.
 
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