Suikoden V

Retr0gamer

Anyone else playing it? It should have been out since Friday.

Have been playing it since Thursday myself. I have to say it started off very slowly for the first 8 hours or so, introducing the major characters and weaving quite an interesting plot of intrigue, backstabbing and the politics of a country in strife. It all seems a little cliche apart from the fact that you don't quite know who the real enemy is. However once you get past this prologue the story shifts into gear and it's a rollercoaster ride from there on out and far from cliche. The story is a real cracker so far with some excellent characters rivalling Suikoden 2 and putting Final Fantasy to shame. There have already been plenty of heartbreaking moments and twists and I'm nowhere near beating it. It looks like a good long adventure. The soundtrack is fantastic. If there are any major bad points it's that it still uses random battles and the load times are a bit of a pain.

If you're an RPG fan forget about Kingdom Hearts 2 which is out soon and do yourself a favour and get this game. It's an excellent return to form for the series after the disappointing Suikoden 3 an pretty bad Suikoden 4.

Zapp Brannigan

I've seen it in work but I've never played a Suikoden game. Me thinks a purchase might be in order to see what it's all about. Though I am buying Unlimited Saga after I saw a pre-owned copy come in!

Retr0gamer

I'd stay well away from Unlimited Saga. It's god awful. You would be far better off with Suikoden V. Or gouging your eyes out with hot pokers.

If you like Suikoden V you should play 1+2, number 2 especially. It has probably the best story of any videogame I've played and the best bad guy ever. It's a pity it's so rare. Stay away from Suikoden 4, it's not the best.

Suikoden V is bit dull at the start but trust me it really gets going with a bang and after that it's pure joy to play and watch the story unfold.

monkeyfudge

I'll second that. Unlimited Saga is absolutely terrible.

I might give Suikoden V a go once I'm finished with the rather good Enchanted Arms.

Zapp Brannigan

Unlimited Saga is bad? I always heard it was pretty decent. Sure I'll give it a bash anyways, not like it costs me much anyway

But then I'll go for Suikoden unless something better comes along (Wii)!

Retr0gamer

A word of warning, if you do plan on playing this great game I'd pick it up as soon as possible. Konami are giving it a limited release in Europe and I think it was a limited release in America unless the rereleased it recently. It's sure to become rather rare.

Regarding unlimited saga:

http://www.metacritic.com/games/platforms/ps2/unlimitedsaga?q=unlimited%20saga

45% on metacritic with one 0% review. Sounds awful to me. Also remember that even awful Square Enix games tend to get overrated somewhat. I haven't played it myself but the previous games Frontier Saga 1 + 2 were ****ing terrible. Really boring and no fun whatsoever.

I'm interested in Enchant Arms myself looks like a decent traditional RPG along the lines of Baten Kaitos and Grandia. I think I'll pick it up when I get a 360 (probably when Blue Dragon comes out, Hironobu Sakaguchis first game since FX ).

Kiith

I played and cleared this while i was in America for the summer. Its pretty good, with some nice characters, good graphics, and a very good story. The different types of fights are a nice change too (Duel/War etc...). Its my first taste of a Suikoden game, so some of it was a bit strange, like the Stars of Destiny thing. Its all well and good having 108 characters that can join you, its just a shame that about 90 of them dont have any bearing on the game itself.

Retr0gamer

The games are loosely based on the famous chinese novel Outlaws of the Marsh which had a similar 108 stars of destiny theme going through it. The Stars of Destiny won't really have an impact on you unless you played the previous games since a lot of them are returning characters. Actually a few of the major characters are minor characters from previous games, such as Georg Prime. However you don't need to have played the previous games to understand what is going on. Each game is set in another part of the world and previous events are only mentioned in passing.

monkeyfudge

Retr0gamer wrote:

Regarding unlimited saga:

http://www.metacritic.com/games/platforms/ps2/unlimitedsaga?q=unlimited%20saga

45% on metacritic with one 0% review. Sounds awful to me.

I'm interested in Enchant Arms myself looks like a decent traditional RPG along the lines of Baten Kaitos and Grandia. I think I'll pick it up when I get a 360 (probably when Blue Dragon comes out, Hironobu Sakaguchis first game since FX ).

Unlimited Saga barely even has any Graphics in it... but it did have a very nice box... I learned a valuable lesson in not choosing games based on the attractiveness of their packaging.

I stuck up a reveiw for Enchanted Arms in the Games Review forum by the way. I'm enjoying it a lot.

Balfa

I just bought Suikoden 1 & 2 for $5 a piece! I'm making my way through 1 at the moment. I knew 3 & 4 were bad, but I didn't realise 5 was good again. It's been out for a long time here, I might pick it up.

steviec

Balfa wrote:

I just bought Suikoden 1 & 2 for $5 a piece! I'm making my way through 1 at the moment. I knew 3 & 4 were bad, but I didn't realise 5 was good again. It's been out for a long time here, I might pick it up.

That was quite a buy! Those games are not easy to come by.

I had absolutely no idea Suikoden V was out this week... and here I am stuck in Scotland without my PS2. I may have to do something about that.

Vokes

Hey guys, i know nothing of this series. How does it play? Is it Traditional RPG like DQ, or adventure RPG like FF or even a Tactical RPG ? Cheers.

steviec

SofaKing wrote:

Hey guys, i know nothing of this series. How does it play? Is it Traditional RPG like DQ, or adventure RPG like FF or even a Tactical RPG ? Cheers.

Very much the Japanese style of play, but I find the characters and story line to be far more complex and involving than just about any other game of its type.

Retr0gamer

It's a very traditional japanese RPG but with lots of variety in it such as building your castle. As steviec said about the storylines they are usually far more complex. While other RPGs rely on magic and mysticism to explain their plots the Suikoden games are far more rooted in reality although Suikoden isn't without magic or mythic creatures. It's small things such as the politics and battle tactics used being based on actual historical events and books that really distinguish the series.

Also the bad guys in the series are fantastic. While most games of the type have bad guys that are just pure evil for no reason other than adding a cool factor Suikoden has a policy were no character is truely evil. Case in point is Luca Blight from Suikoden 2. He is a hateful bastard that goes on a genocidal rampage through the City States. However you admire his courage in battle and brilliant tactics. You also end up pitying him because the reason that drove him to the depths of madness is so tragic.

I also like the way that in Suikoden 2 and onwards it's quite vicious in killing off characters that are built up and you come to love. Actually the whole final 10 hours of Suikoden 2 were heartbreaking, I was almost in tears.

I actually enjoyed Suikoden 3 but it just never delivered the promise it started with and the major battles felt like skirmishes rather than the huge battles that Suikoden 2 represented in a sort of tactical RPG fashion.

@Balfa: Thats a bit of a steal. Suikoden 2 regularly goes for $100 or more on ebay.

grimloch

monkeyfudge wrote:

Unlimited Saga barely even has any Graphics in it... but it did have a very nice box... I learned a valuable lesson in not choosing games based on the attractiveness of their packaging.

Incidentally I did the exact same thing. I played the game for approximately four minutes before turning it off and never looking at it again.

I just bought Suikoden 1 & 2 for $5 a piece

:eek: .

Zapp Brannigan

Okay I decided I'm gonna grab Suikoden V instead of Unlimited Saga.

I better like it....or else! :eek:

monkeyfudge

grimloch wrote:

Incidentally I did the exact same thing. I played the game for approximately four minutes before turning it off and never looking at it again.

Ha.. yes... I traded it against something else in Game and the girl behind the counter was really impressed with how the box was in such good condition... but that was because I only played it for 5 minutes.

Gummy Panda

monkeyfudge wrote:

Ha.. yes... I traded it against something else in Game and the girl behind the counter was really impressed with how the box was in such good condition... but that was because I only played it for 5 minutes.

I too fell for the shiny box trap!!

Packaging looked like there was more work done on that then the game.

Also Enchanted Arms is very good, though one of first characters is extremely camp

Retr0gamer

Thank god for the PS2 hard disk exploit. I just upgraded my HD loader to a version that works with Suikoden V and the load times are so much better. only about a second delay for battles and loading the characters and enemies. It's like playing like Suikoden 1+2 again with their lovely no load time battles