How many characters would you say makes a good role-playing game? Five? Seven? Twenty? As my buddies younger girlfriend might say... "Eff that noise." Try one-hundred and eight (or 108 for those with attention-deficit disorder, which is ADD for those with the aforementioned affliction); that's right... for all the role-playing games that chronicle the journey of your party amassing an army to fight off the evil badness that cometh your way, this is one of the first (non-tactical) RPG's to actually let you amass an actual army. More importantly, the game doesn't make the experience of having one-hundred and eight characters feel frivolous or forced. With simple(ish) but deep storylines, decent writing and translation, a six-member battle party chock full of Chrono Trigger-esque combo attacks, a superb soundtrack and charming visual design, Suikoden's I & II stand together as a sensible, sequential duo of RPG goodness.
In an world where the name of the game was to drag your genre kicking and screaming in to the third-dimension, Yoshitaka Murayama and company over at Konami decided to instead focus on making Suikoden a fantastic looking two-dimensional role-playing experience by taking advantage of the PlayStation hardware to create the next logical evolution in sprite-based RPG's from the 16-bit Genesis/Super Nintendo era. Even with Suikoden II, Konami decided to not copy the wildly successful Final Fantasy VII and instead kept the visuals between the first and second game very close together with the only major differences being in polish and animation. That being the case, there was a sense of cohesiveness between the first and second games that is seldom seen outside of modern episodic gaming. Sadly, when the series reached the PlayStation 2 and moved to three-dimensions with Suikoden III, that sense of cohesiveness was lost, and many say because of that, the series in total began to go downhill.
Anyone who has read multiple pieces of mine knows that I have a huge chip on my shoulder when it comes to unnecessarily shoving videogame series into the third dimension and Suikoden is no exception. With a world as expansive as the one in the Suikoden universe and one-hundred and eight (plus) characters to keep track of, there was a simplicity that two-dimensional graphics lent to the title that made it all mentally manageable. You could easily recognize something, someone or somewhere because you always saw it from the same perspective. In the role-playing game world specifically, two-dimensional gameplay also means something very crucial to making an expansive RPG playable: speed. Moving in and out of battle screens, watching your characters attack and cast spells, transition between areas; all of these things happen significantly quicker in two-dimensions (unless you're an early RPG on the PlayStation Portable). The battle screen mechanics from Suikoden I & II remain one of my personal favorites alongside games like Chrono Trigger in perfection of execution because of the speed with which the battles take place. The wonderful execution of those two titles however, make the 3D Suikoden III and subsequent sequels seem sluggish and plodding by comparison.
If you've ever enjoyed a Pokemon game, you know the appeal of collecting tons and tons of characters, but imagine having each one of those collectible critters feature their own back-story, or at the very least contributing to your overall experience in more than just a log-entry. This is one of the first RPG's that not only give you tons and tons of side-story to wade through, but also genuinely reward you for the effort. From everything to altering the games ending, to building up your fortress, gathering the "108 Stars of Destiny," to me, never really felt like a chore like the collection of the aforementioned pocket monsters can be at times. Most of the gameplay in bringing your clan together outside the normal "story-centric" characters involves merely a "do this for me and I'll join you" sort of mechanic and by all rights, is extremely simple; but that's okay. Not everything in games, even RPG's, has to be complicated and believable. Sometimes it's just fun to go do ridiculous tasks that have nothing to do with the overall narrative, just for the ability to change the background music inside your castle. Is it somewhat nonsensical? Sure. Might it be annoying if the only reason you're collecting everyone is for the best ending and don't actually care about the frivolous extras that the more difficult characters to recruit give you? No doubt. Do I care if you thought that? Not in the slightest. It was fun; like collecting Pokemon, except... you know... people.
The real charm in these games is in the storytelling. Being more a politically-oriented story more akin to Final Fantasy Tactics than Final Fantasy VII, the following cliches are pleasantly absent from these two titles:
Basically, with all the more traditional jRPG's at the time like Wild Arms and Lunar: Silver Star Story, Suikoden's fresh, politically-oriented storyline was a nice departure and is very effectively told. With some characters as developed and deep as those found in titles like Final Fantasy VI and others thinner than public toilet bathroom tissue (to be fair, there's one-hundred and freaking eight of them), the game has a nice blend of serious and frivolous that allows you to move in and out of the overall narrative as you see fit.
The great pacing, fun "rock paper scissors" type mini-games (duel, army battles, etc.), the memorable characters, the fantastic score and the "Gotta Catch 'em All" flavor of character recruitment all make this a title worth going back to. This Princess is the ninja-elf-gypsy-warrior-general who's fate is predetermined by the annals of prophecy and history. With the "Rune of Important-ness" engraved in the palm of her hand, she leads her troupe of one-hundred and eight (no more, no less) followers into the battle for the freedom of the land. After saving said world, she settles down, has a daughter, who has a daughter, who has two daughters, one of which will one day save the world like her great-great-grandmother while fighting the her sister who is set out to align herself with the bad guy because she didn't get the Light Brite for her birthday when her sister got the Teddy Rupskin she asked for. She will defeat her sister and associated evil empire by gathering up one-hundred and eight followers who will most likely build her a fort/castle of some kind so that after the dust of battle settles so that she can settle down and have a daughter or two.
[hr]
In an world where the name of the game was to drag your genre kicking and screaming in to the third-dimension, Yoshitaka Murayama and company over at Konami decided to instead focus on making Suikoden a fantastic looking two-dimensional role-playing experience by taking advantage of the PlayStation hardware to create the next logical evolution in sprite-based RPG's from the 16-bit Genesis/Super Nintendo era. Even with Suikoden II, Konami decided to not copy the wildly successful Final Fantasy VII and instead kept the visuals between the first and second game very close together with the only major differences being in polish and animation. That being the case, there was a sense of cohesiveness between the first and second games that is seldom seen outside of modern episodic gaming. Sadly, when the series reached the PlayStation 2 and moved to three-dimensions with Suikoden III, that sense of cohesiveness was lost, and many say because of that, the series in total began to go downhill.
Anyone who has read multiple pieces of mine knows that I have a huge chip on my shoulder when it comes to unnecessarily shoving videogame series into the third dimension and Suikoden is no exception. With a world as expansive as the one in the Suikoden universe and one-hundred and eight (plus) characters to keep track of, there was a simplicity that two-dimensional graphics lent to the title that made it all mentally manageable. You could easily recognize something, someone or somewhere because you always saw it from the same perspective. In the role-playing game world specifically, two-dimensional gameplay also means something very crucial to making an expansive RPG playable: speed. Moving in and out of battle screens, watching your characters attack and cast spells, transition between areas; all of these things happen significantly quicker in two-dimensions (unless you're an early RPG on the PlayStation Portable). The battle screen mechanics from Suikoden I & II remain one of my personal favorites alongside games like Chrono Trigger in perfection of execution because of the speed with which the battles take place. The wonderful execution of those two titles however, make the 3D Suikoden III and subsequent sequels seem sluggish and plodding by comparison.
If you've ever enjoyed a Pokemon game, you know the appeal of collecting tons and tons of characters, but imagine having each one of those collectible critters feature their own back-story, or at the very least contributing to your overall experience in more than just a log-entry. This is one of the first RPG's that not only give you tons and tons of side-story to wade through, but also genuinely reward you for the effort. From everything to altering the games ending, to building up your fortress, gathering the "108 Stars of Destiny," to me, never really felt like a chore like the collection of the aforementioned pocket monsters can be at times. Most of the gameplay in bringing your clan together outside the normal "story-centric" characters involves merely a "do this for me and I'll join you" sort of mechanic and by all rights, is extremely simple; but that's okay. Not everything in games, even RPG's, has to be complicated and believable. Sometimes it's just fun to go do ridiculous tasks that have nothing to do with the overall narrative, just for the ability to change the background music inside your castle. Is it somewhat nonsensical? Sure. Might it be annoying if the only reason you're collecting everyone is for the best ending and don't actually care about the frivolous extras that the more difficult characters to recruit give you? No doubt. Do I care if you thought that? Not in the slightest. It was fun; like collecting Pokemon, except... you know... people.
The real charm in these games is in the storytelling. Being more a politically-oriented story more akin to Final Fantasy Tactics than Final Fantasy VII, the following cliches are pleasantly absent from these two titles:
- - Protagonist who falls in love
[sub]Your main character? Yeah, he's not interested. There is a semblance of a love story here and there, but it usually has to do with a side-character and will most likely have vast political ramifications attached to it.[/sub]
- Sword as the main-character's weapon
[sub]Despite the militaristic backgrounds of your hero in both games, your character actually uses a staff in the first game and tonfa in the second.[/sub]
- Super-Ultimate Sword of Ultimate Power
[sub]No sword = no final sword, with a small exception of one of the side characters who seeks a sword to destroy a vampire, then has to deal with the fact that the sword is alive, can talk, and does nothing but *****... the... entire... time.[/sub]
- Hero saving the world for no apparent reason
[sub]In game One, you're the pampered son of a war-hero general who learns of internal government corruption when your father leaves on a mission; in the second, you're actually part of a young-recruit military unit that is setup to be killed by your own army and blamed on a rival warring state to give reason for your country to start a war. It just so happens that during this time you learn of your position in the grand prophetic sense of things, but at least the beginnings are logical.[/sub]
- Attractive main-character syndrome
[sub]Most of the characters in the game find you young and unimpressive, even females who in most games would normally be attracted to you, think you're just a kid, and if they are even slightly interested, it's puppy-ish at best and never really goes anywhere. Which is sad, as I would have totally loved to see the main character hook up with Ellie, the hot gypsy knife thrower girl.[/sub]
- Damsels in distress
[sub]Most of the female characters in the game are portrayed as strong, capable and useful, even if there are the occasional "recruit me master so I can be your maid" type characters, those characters will never need to be rescued at any point.[/sub]
Basically, with all the more traditional jRPG's at the time like Wild Arms and Lunar: Silver Star Story, Suikoden's fresh, politically-oriented storyline was a nice departure and is very effectively told. With some characters as developed and deep as those found in titles like Final Fantasy VI and others thinner than public toilet bathroom tissue (to be fair, there's one-hundred and freaking eight of them), the game has a nice blend of serious and frivolous that allows you to move in and out of the overall narrative as you see fit.
The great pacing, fun "rock paper scissors" type mini-games (duel, army battles, etc.), the memorable characters, the fantastic score and the "Gotta Catch 'em All" flavor of character recruitment all make this a title worth going back to. This Princess is the ninja-elf-gypsy-warrior-general who's fate is predetermined by the annals of prophecy and history. With the "Rune of Important-ness" engraved in the palm of her hand, she leads her troupe of one-hundred and eight (no more, no less) followers into the battle for the freedom of the land. After saving said world, she settles down, has a daughter, who has a daughter, who has two daughters, one of which will one day save the world like her great-great-grandmother while fighting the her sister who is set out to align herself with the bad guy because she didn't get the Light Brite for her birthday when her sister got the Teddy Rupskin she asked for. She will defeat her sister and associated evil empire by gathering up one-hundred and eight followers who will most likely build her a fort/castle of some kind so that after the dust of battle settles so that she can settle down and have a daughter or two.
[hr]
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