PSLS Retrospective – Suikoden
Leading up to the release of Suikoden IV in January of 2005, there was a lot of debate going on about what type of game it would be and about some of the changes that were being made to the Suikoden Formula. The combat was again receiving a tweak, the setting was a seeing a change as well as the party system.
Suikoden IV takes place about 150 years before the very first Suikoden and you play as a young boy living on the island of Razril. While on a mission your main character aquires the Rune of Punishment, which governs both atonement and forgiveness, and is unusual in that it consumes the life of the bearer with use. Once the previous bearer dies, it immediately jumps to someone nearby. If you have played the other Suikoden’s then the story is much of the same but is still told very well.
One of the big changes to come about in Suikoden IV is that the setting of the game is out on the sea, where most of your time will be spent. Travel on the world map is done by ship and this is easily the biggest fail of the game. The game has you travel early on from island to island but the problem is that you are given vague directions and spend 15 minutes sailing to the next island. Then on top of that you have the random encounters while you are sailing, making for a very frustrating time. The game is also the first Suikoden to incorporate voice acting in many of its characters which adds some depth to each.
The combat also sees a big change and for many it was not a good change. Instead of the usual 6 character party that many had become used to, IV stays true to its name and gives you a 4 person party instead. Your characters could team up to perform unite attacks as well as use the traditional runes. The game also drops the amount of recruitable characters down considerably from 108 to around 54 or so. The 4 person party provides a lot of limitations with choice as many battles force certain people into your party, leaving you with less customization to your party at time.
The battle system however contains many of the series trademarks with the party combat and duels, though instead of massive battles on land between armies you now have big sea battles between ships. Your ships can be customized to use particular runic elements through choice of captains and commanding officers; each element has a weakness and strength over another element.
Suikoden IV is a hard game to recommend to anyone who is not a hardcore fan of the series. While the new setting is nice, there are just too many things not done right in this game. The lengthy exploration at sea, the shrunken party from 6 to 4, the silent hero returning and the overal lack of depth at time in the story. That being said, for any Suikoden fan you should still play this game as it does have some good moments.
Opinions Around the Web
Game Informer (85) -
At its best moments, Suikoden IV sits right up there with the most outstanding RPGs ever created.IGN (73) – But even with all that combined, there’s still one thing that Suikoden IV doesn’t have: Heart. And for better or for worse the Suikoden series has always been about that: the emotions, the feelings, and the power of family.
RPG Fan (70) – To see a series falter so badly after years of doing everything right is distressing. One can only hope that Konami returns to the drawing board before undertaking a fifth installment in the series.
15 Responses to “PSLS Retrospective – Suikoden”
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.
October 25th, 2009 at 8:12 AM
I have suidoken, suidoken Tactics, all the wild arms games except for like the portable ones…
Haven’t played any of them… Probably should have.
October 25th, 2009 at 8:17 AM
Suikoden II is my favorite. Then Suikoden V.
Will there be more Suikoden in the future? (Hoping for a Suikoden game for PS3)
October 25th, 2009 at 12:03 PM
@zxcorr,
no word yet on a Suikoden VI , or at least i have not heard anything
October 25th, 2009 at 1:12 PM
On page two, you have protagonist where you should have written antagonist. Luca’s certainly not the protagonist of Suikoden II.
October 25th, 2009 at 1:13 PM
@ zxcorr
I think Suikoden jumped over to the DS.
October 25th, 2009 at 3:07 PM
@megs,
Fixed, thanks a lot
October 25th, 2009 at 3:11 PM
No problem!
October 25th, 2009 at 6:57 PM
I own all the Suikoden’s released in the US and I must say that I have really enjoyed this series. I picked up the first one on a whim year’s ago and have continued to pick up each new one when they became available. When Suikoden is made again, if it’s not on the PS3 I’ll buy whatever system it’s on if I don’t own the system already. I love this series!
October 25th, 2009 at 8:31 PM
I love suikoden…Can you please feature my beloved Legend of Lagaia please??:D
October 25th, 2009 at 9:03 PM
@kirobz
Legend of Lagaia is a very good PS1 RPG as well!
October 25th, 2009 at 9:47 PM
Suikoden has to be one of the best RPG’s of all time, I love this game.
October 25th, 2009 at 11:07 PM
@ Cameron Teague
Yes, i read it… and again… nothing to say since its factual information.
October 25th, 2009 at 11:27 PM
@kirboz,
This feature is going to focus mainly on game series. I love Legend of Dragoon but it is sadly not a series. Think Final Fantasy, God of War, Fallout, Tales and such.
October 26th, 2009 at 3:47 PM
Great write up Cameron. Never played this series but now you have me thinkin about scooping it up. Hmm Tekken is a series too with a new release due out this wek right.
October 27th, 2009 at 9:31 AM
I love when series are presented to me and my eyes see the light. looks like i’ve got a new ebay goal…