Suikoden

Suikoden

Suikoden is one of Konami's first RPGs, and my personal favorite. The game's setting takes place in a midevil world filled with castles, villages, and dangerous dungeons. Your role is the son of one the five Imperial generals. You start the game off with your three servents and your best friend. While your father, Teo McDohl, is north protecting the borders, you begin work for the Empire. On the series of jobs you do, you come to realize that the Empire is not all that it seems. After becoming rebels of the Empire, you soon join the Liberation Army, and eventually taking command of it. You will soon get your own castle and start recruiting the 108 Stars of Destiny to join the Liberation Army.

This game is unique in that there are three different battle types. There is the traditional RPG battles of your party, consisting of a maximum of six members, against another party. There is also the one-on-one battles fought usually by the hero and an Imperial General. This is one of my favorite aspects of the game, but there are only three times this battle occurs and I hope they will put more in the upcoming sequel. The Army vs Army battles are also fun. It is usually about ten-thousand men on each side and you choose one of four options. Charge is your basic melee attack and is most effective against Bow attacks. Bow attacks are when your archers fire at the enemy from a safe distance and is most effective against Magic. Magic is when your wizards gather together doing a magic attack on the enemy and is most effective against charge. Other is the fourth option which allows you to pick from your strategists, merchants, or spies, which all have their own unique uses.

The graphics and music are also very well done. The graphics are two dimensional and two axis (up,down and left,right), and are more colorful then some of the newer RPGs. I like these type of graphics. In FF7 and Parasite Eve, i found the graphics a little too dark and gloomy, and it was often hard to see where to go or where I was because of the 3d. In suikoden, the screen is always centered on the hero so you see exactly where you are, and the color is brighter and more "alive" so to say.

The music is also very good. It always fits the scene, and it's very powerful and emotional. The music was better than most RPGs i've played, and in my opinion, is second only to Crono Trigger.

The only drawback of the game is its incredibly short length and its easy difficulty. The only real challenge is finding all 108 characters and some of the mini-items such as the paints, Old book volumes, and the sound and window settings. Other than that its very easy and short. I beat the game overnight and never had game over once. I beat a few bosses with only physical attacks. The Army vs Army battles were also very easy, especially once you get all three ninjas.

All in all, this is a VERY good game and i STRONGLY recomend it. This game is seriously the reason why i bought my playstation.

Story Line 10
Characters 10
Graphics 10
Music 9
Difficulty 5
Gameplay 10
Replay Value 10


Black's Reviews
Suikoden Reviews


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