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Suikoden V: Review; Score: 8.9/10
Topic Started: Feb 8 2008, 09:11 AM (637 Views)
Fayt
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Easy wins have never been my style
Full Name: Suikoden V
Genre: RPG
Developer/Publisher: Konami
Platform: PlayStation 2
Players: 1
Release dates: JP - 23 February 2006 | US - 21 March 2006 | EU - 22 September 2006

The fifth instalment (or sixth if you want to count Tactics…) of the Suikoden series is a refreshing revival of the series, timeline wise the proceedings take place around 6 years prior the events of the original Suikoden. Here events take place in Queendom of Falena, where you play as the prince of the kingdom. Your first task is to assess the damage caused by one of the most powerful True Runes in existence, the Sun Rune. This almighty Rune was used to demolish Lordlake, due to a seemly act of treason against Falena. Queen Arshtat used the rune herself to make an example out of them, to never betray the kingdom of Falena.

Also, your younger sister, princess Lymsleia has an arranged wedding on the cards, with whichever man can win the Sacred Games, a gladiator style tournament where men will fight to near death in order to win and proceed. Clearly the opportunity to win the hand of princess Lymsleia would offer the winner incredible power with the royal family. With that been said, could the games possibly be ran fairly without any hiccups? The proceedings from the findings at Lordlake, and surrounding the games will lead to an amazing story, featuring a struggle for political power, deception and the tale relating to the one of the most powerful True Runes in existence, the Sun Rune. Suikoden V like other Suikoden titles in the past manages to successfully give a true element of war and realism to the story, no fancy fantasy here.

Suikoden V returns to a more traditional style of RPG, with overhead views much more alike the first two iterations of the series. Gone are the 3D movement like we had witnessed in both Suikoden III & Suikoden IV. This means like with RPGs in the past sometimes items can be hidden in the layout of the areas you investigate; you can’t turn the camera to find any hidden items here. While it’s a little odd for a game of this era it’s very refreshing and helps draw on a more traditional RPG feel - Suikoden V does an excellent job at bringing a mix of the past and present in the one package.

Although one thing that never changes, are the 108 Stars of Destiny, again another amazing cast will be on offer, including regular returnees such as Viki, Jeane & Leknaat, but also appearances from other Suikoden characters of the past, including Georg Prime and Lorelai. As always though not all of the Stars of Destiny have that much story to them, well how could they with that many characters really. You have your main group and then essentially your extras so to speak. Although I will admit the amount that feel like extras are far fewer in number then compared to Suikoden IV and other Suikoden titles, every character has there own little story; just that’s it – at times there is little to know about some characters. While the main crop of characters are done quite well, the return of Georg in particular is no doubt a redeeming feature of the game, just as his sword abilities are. You’ll come across an abundance of different characters and personalities which will help shape your story, at times with some comedy, emotion, seriousness and more. The extensive cast really help draw more out of the story.

As Suikoden fans are becoming used to the 3 forms of battle systems are back, ‘traditional’ turn based, duals & group wars, they are broken up just below.

Regular Battles: Standard battles allow you to have up to 6 characters in a battle formation at once, which can be altered in many forms to suit your characters short, long or all range attacks, this adds a wonderful strategic element to the battles. True to a more traditional RPG style battles will occur randomly when travelling between towns, or through various dungeons. This can make travel longer and painful at times if you don’t need the training. While you have a release option to avoid weak battles it doesn’t really help much, if it’s easy why not just win it eh? Most notably though is the new entourage addition, entourage allows up to 4 characters to act as reserves, or support characters which can offer miscellaneous support benefits such as additional healing at the end of each battle, like with prior instalments. Although with reserve characters you can interchange any one of your characters during battle, similar to Final Fantasy X actually. Should one member struggle in a certain battle or be drained of quality Rune options you simply exchange them with another in waiting, this offers you far more flexibility in battle then ever before.

Duals: The duals have come along way from Suikoden IV, the same anticipation of the others words/actions still take place, however now you have just 3 seconds to make each command adding to the realism and drama of the battle. Should you and your opponent perform a standard attack you will now fall into a deadlock, where quick button pressing is the only way out. There is most certainly a far more realistic and enjoyable experience then witnessed previous versions of Duals earlier in the series. I found myself getting really involved into these battles and thoroughly enjoying them; it makes you really feel like your part of it. The only thing that annoys me is I don’t feel there are enough duals in the game to indulge in, I want even more!

Group Wars: For better or worse, this time around it basically takes form in a mini RTS style war, which takes place on either foot or water; sometimes both. With abilities such as heal, charge & barrage it creates a stronger action atmosphere and requirement to carefully move your units around the small battle field. While many aspects of Suikoden V have returned to a more traditional format this has done quite the opposite. Oh and avoid having characters fall at all costs, there is in fact a small chance a character will die should they be defeated, just like Fire Emblem. If this happens, I’d advise a reset to your last save file…

These three elements of the game make it quite challenging, without been too difficult. Regular battles can easily be overcome with regular blacksmith visits. Duals take patience and a level head, you might even want to turn the sound down here as it’s designed to add pressure and make it more difficult, although it will hurt the amazing experience. Group battles may take a few attempts, although as always the more Stars of Destiny you have available the better options you will have. The game offers a great challenge in all forms; this really helps take out any meticulous feel of the same style of battles over and over again.

The game overall is also quite a bit longer then previously seen in Suikoden. Not without quality either. After a fairly slow start the game will build an excellent platform for the many twists and turmoils you will later face throughout the game. The story is filled with elements of mistrust, corruption, emotion and much more. Suikoden V brings a beautiful, realistic story that will draw you in and keep you hooked the whole way.

Breakdown

Story: In one word, excellent. I believe this is one of the best stories I’ve experienced in an RPG, there is a realistic feel to it. The political nature is not a burden to it at all, unlike Final Fantasy XII for example. The story will offer a few surprises and a wealth of personalities to trigger various emotions during the game. If you play RPGs for story, then this is an absolute must. 9.5/10

Gameplay: The return of more traditional viewpoints, and the new and improved 3 forms of battle overall do not disappoint in Suikoden V, the duals in particular have being revamped into something far more involved then previously seen. The interchanging battle types will keep the game fresh, as you adventure through a new age RPG, with a traditional flavour to it, quite a superb game to play. The only think I dislike is random battles, it can make travelling longer then it needs to be, that is one newer RPG elements I’ve learned to love. 9/10

Graphics: Suikoden V has reverted to a more traditional style look, gone are the 3D movement and camera angles as witnessed in Suikoden III & IV. It’s back to the overhead fixed view where you can find things that are nearly impossible to see. The FMV’s are gorgeous, one in particular at Sol Falena castle a short way into the game featuring a number of the Knights is just mouth-watering, almost jaw dropping quality, probably boosted by the awesome story is presents as well. Normal views & battles are still very passable. Add that with an improved looking dual system and a nice simple battle system layout it’s hard to be disappointed; unless you expect graphics along the lines of new Final Fantasy instalments I guess – then you don’t know a real RPG anyway. Overall it’s an excellent looking game, with an older style RPG touch to it. 8.5/10

Soundtrack/Sound effects: The soundtrack of the game is of quality, it will really boost the feel of the game respectively to the areas you are a part of, I find the music and effects of the game really stand out during duals. They do an excellent job of making you feel like your on the edge. Voice acting is not overused in battles either, which I find a good thing, repetitive battle quotes can at times annoy the heck out of you, not a problem here! 9/10

Replay Value: Outside of the absolutely outstanding story there is not a lot else you can do sadly, bar a tough side quest late in the game via the “Big Hole”. Sometimes we are spoilt with an abundance of post game challenges, there is one but that’s it. Although it’s highly unlikely you will succeed in recruiting all 108 Stars of Destiny in one playthrough, let alone fully understanding the story and collecting all the rare items hidden away in the package. While you don’t get Final Fantasy like post game tests there is still much to benefit from replaying the game, Ranging from going through the amazing story again and picking up items/characters you missed on your first play through. 8.5/10

Final Thoughts: This game is overall of a very high standard, particularly if your after a more ‘old school ‘style RPG with today’s mechanics. With a rather sceptical story which turns into a brilliant 3 way empire struggle keeps you interested the whole way though. Add that with the tough and diverse battle styles, characters like the ‘ladies’ man Kyle for a good laugh & the infamous Georg makes it overall extremely enjoyable to play; and a must for Suikoden fans. Even those unfamiliar with Suikoden should find this a decent first taste of what the great Suikoden universe has to offer. If you can find an affordable copy of the game I’d recommend buying it right away and getting a taste of a wonderful RPG experience.

Rating: 8.9/10
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Freyjadour Falenas
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Fellpool
Sweet!One of my favorite games got a good score.
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Fayt
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Easy wins have never been my style
Thanks, this is, well was one of my older reviews actually. I just converted it to my new style, added a bit more content and recalculated the ratings. Which in fact pushed it up to a 8.9.

It's such a wonderful, traditional RPG experience!
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