Genre: RPG
Year: 2006
Developed by: Konami
Published by: Konami
Platforms: PS2
#199
Feeling Like: Course Correction
To say Suikoden 4 was a disappointment would be an understatement. After the curious, flawed excellence of Suikoden 3, I was more than keen to continue my relationship with the series and initial previews were promising. A world focused on a sea travel throughout an archipelago? Sure, that’s fine by me. The Suikoden series usually tries a few new things, though it remains steadfast to the core fundamentals of gathering a large party, a lack of “end of the world” scenario and a focus on warring factions or political intrigue. I’m not married to any particular window dressing.
Suikoden 4 ended up being my least favorite game of all time.
You’ll never see it on the 500. You won’t even see it on a blog called The 1,000 if I ever suffer brain damage and think that’s a good idea.
It angered me so much that I swore off the series entirely, which lasted all of 0 games since Dobbo, the brave scout, ploughed through Suikoden 5 in record time while we were roommates on View St. and kept pushing me to try it.
His jovial bullying was justified. Suikoden 5 is a great Suikoden game, and a terrific RPG.
Let’s get the dusty parts out of the way – this is a Playstation 2 RPG. Most of the screenshots I’ve found scattered online are upped in resolution with mods. The original game didn’t look this sharp. I didn’t find the visuals to be a deterrent, but it’s pretty difficult to pitch this to non-Suikoden fans at a glance. I love the character models, I think they’re vastly improved over Suikoden 4 and look less mannequin-esque than Suikoden 3. Still, wide open areas with little detail really show its age.
Also, there’s a reason old-school RPGs are getting remade (I am SO excited for this!) When you have an adventure this grand that will take dozens of hours to beat (typical of JRPGs) you want things to be snappy and speedy. Hardware limitations back in 2006 meant that many games today are nigh-unplayable due to loading times and general sluggishness. It’s more about soaking it all in than being on a thrill ride. If you’re a fan of the genre, this won’t bother you too much; I find most JRPG fans are also, by nature, avid readers so length is palatable. But if time is not on your side and you want a game that will respect the precious few hours you have, I’d steer clear.
Thankfully if you’re on board, you’re going to get an excellent experience. I loved the story; I’m a sucker for shocking betrayals and the resulting fallout. That’s essentially Suikoden 5‘s entire story and I like how focused they kept it. Since I didn’t meet the ultimate requirements by the end boss, my ending was pretty depressing. I was surprised how, after all that, I never got back to my kingdom to reclaim the throne and bask in the glory. I had the same sort of ending with Suikoden 2 and while it may not be “canon” or the “best ending” it resulted in an unforgettable finish.
Mercifully, the game switches back to six party members for combat. With a cast this large, why have anything less? Because the series encourages exploration and recruitment, either for fighting or town improvements, it makes sense to try and give everybody their due. There’s only so many visual choices available for 108 characters (multiplied by five games) and only so much time to go around, so you’re not looking at 108 well developed characters but more than a handful get their moment to shine. Konami was no slouch in this department.
The soundtrack is great, a requirement for a JRPG to be this high on the 500. If I’m going to spend more than 2 full days of my life playing something, it better provide me with a satisfying musical experience. Suikoden 5 absolutely does. Check out the Oboro Detective Agency theme. Or Raftfleet’s theme, my favorite song and city in the game. Determination stuck with me. I liked Counteroffensive during the tactical battles. It’s not the best musical offering int he series, but it’s right up there.
I don’t recall how well the duels work, or the real time tactical battles but as Dobbo said, an RPG works if it elicits an emotional response and I know both of us, by the end, were 100% satisfied with the characters and story. You can’t ask for much more from an RPG, particularly one without the benefits of modern quality of life updates, HD graphics and another decade and a half of improved standards. It may be old school, but it’s a welcomed addition to the 500, even if Konami all but abandoned the series after poor sales.
Especially when you have anthropomorphic beavers insulting you while wearing biker gear.
The 500 