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Suikoden is Back!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 61 / 68
Date: March 28, 2006
Author: Amazon User

Suikoden in all its glory is back! I have just finished the game and am now writing this review.

First of all, when I picked up this game, I wasnt expecting much, after the failure that was suikoden IV (I liked it, but it wasnt suikoden calibur) However, I was sadly mistaken. The graphics on this game arent that great but WHO CARES?! Where RPG's matter, this game gets it all right (Great story, awesome fortress, army battles are the best in this game.) One thing I did like about the graphics though was the birds eye point of view, like youre playing a 2-d RPG but its 3-d. Very awesome. I only have very minor complaints about this game (cant skip dialog, cant pause cutscenes, etc) But overall, I was very impressed

Maybe I'm just crazy, but yknow that feeling you got from PS1 RPGs that you just couldnt stop playing because the story was so good, or you beat a 50 hour long game in a week? Well, that feeling has been rare on PS2 due to companies having the philosophy of "If it looks better, it IS better" But yes, this game will definately have you hooked, and its sales arent stellar right now so please, do the world a favor and BUY THIS GAME! So we can get another awesome suikoden out there.

P.S. I am a suikoden Fan, but if a game is bad, i would tell you, so. If any of you are suikoden fans, this is on the level of Suikoden II (most claim to be the best game in the series)

NOW LOADING......

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 4 / 19
Date: March 31, 2006
Author: Amazon User

I've played about 4 hours of this game so far (using no walkthrough guide) and while there is plenty to be impressed at,
there are quite a few downfalls from the last installation of Suikoden,part 4.

First of all,and most notably,THE LOAD TIMES! There is a "now loading screen" with the little hero runing,after EVERY SINGLE RANDOM BATTLE!! That's nearly unforgivable.Konami should have gotten rid of all those needless voice over cutscenes to make more room for memory,thus cutting down on all the now loading times.I would be more than happy to give up some of the flashy graphics in exchange for less load times.

What's bad is that voice over cutscenes are alright,so long as they are a significant part to the story.No,not here.You get a voice over scene when you regroup with your party at town,when you need to talk to someone at the inn,meet your sister,walk the dog,scratch your arm,go to the bathroom.What's with all these friggin' voice overs!? It's almost like Konami wants to prove so badly that they can do this,which to me isn't all that impressive to begin with.Part 1 and 2 didn't have the technology of 5,yet the story,and more importantly the gameplay was excellent.More isn't always better.Please stick to making video games instead of movies.

Another bad thing is that we are seeing a return to Suikoden 3
(the very worst in the series as far as I'm concerned)as there is soooo much "go here,go there,talk to this person,talk to that person;wander around until you trigger the next scene".
With 4 as well as 1 and 2,you pretty much got to the fighting and experience gaining right off the bat.You know,the whole fun
of playing an RPG?

Also with the way that the characters are dressed,I feel like I'm playing something that is really wanting to be FFX-FFX2, Kingdom Hearts.Please,you don't need to copy;you are BETTER than those games.Be a leader not a follower.

This game is fun,WHEN YOU ACTUALLY GET TO PLAY IT!As far as the graphics and load times;if it was truely to much to cram on a PS2 disc,then Konami should have waited and released it on the PS3.For now I'll stick with playing Shadow Hearts:From The New World.

If you haven't played the first two...

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 5 / 9
Date: March 31, 2006
Author: Amazon User

...then you may not understand the appeal- especially if you played 3 or 4. I have only played this one for awhile and I'll say it is better than the last two. If you are a fan, you know you are going to buy it- stop reading this- I'm not going to tell you anything THAT useful!! If you aren't a fan, well, I think it is good enough to try (something I would not have said about 3 and 4, probably). Better than Star Ocean which I found to be fun but tedious with the repeating maps and absurd characters (what happens when 15 yr old characters have to save the universe!)...and frankly nothing out there is great on the RPG market (I'd guess the PS3's debut will continue this drought).
So... It looks decent- too much emphasis in my opinion, the story is interesting (this isn't a book, but the plot is decent), music doesn't grate on the nerves, and the character's customization is great (something noticeably lacking in Suikoden previously). The cons are the cutscenes really don't need to exist, the exploration needs to be more plot driven, and the load times are a bit annoying- then again this is occuring in a lot of games lately.

I was lucky to buy Suikoden 1&2 and I don't see Konami matching how fun they were... were they hip or incredibly unique? Not really, but I loved all the goofy side-stories and the stories made sense as simple (BUT SOLID) good and evil stories, but with personal conflict...like the two 'brothers' who end up on different sides of the battle. This returns to a more solid story base and the faults of the game are more easily overlookd for it.

I was disappointed in 3. The castle stank and the story made no sense- it was like playing a "Signing of NAFTA" game.... 4 was almost worse, god- that stupid boat going back and forth across that TINY but irritating map... the TRITE rich boy character!! And those STUPID sea battles...argh! (OK,OK I didn't finish it...maybe it got great). So, I'd say give it a try unless there is some game you KNOW you will enjoy more. You'll find a fun and interesting game.

Almost gets it right...

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 10 / 11
Date: April 04, 2006
Author: Amazon User

Well, I didn't much care for Suikoden 3 (although I still gave it 4 stars), and I probably am too easy on Suikoden IV (which at least I replayed), so I am happy to say that Suikoden V is head-and-shoulders above each of those. The storyline is good, the war sequences are the most fun yet, the minigames (particularly the fishing minigame) is entertaining, and yet, and yet...

NOW LOADING...

You will never get more sick of a screen, and truthfully, there is no excuse for it. After every battle, after going into any door, NOW LOADING, every time. Every time.

The battles would be nice except that each one is about 10-15 seconds longer than it should be, due to the ridiculous amount of time necessary to enter and exit the battle screen. Couple this with an uncomfortably high encounter rate (in some dungeons, about 1 battle every 10 steps), and you are looking at hours spent waiting for battles to begin and end. Were it not for this (very noticeable) flaw, Suikoden V may have given Suikoden II a run for its money. As it is, it'll have to settle for second.

I won't spoil any of the story, but I will say that if you know Suikoden II, there are MANY more ties to that game other than Georg Prime. Moreover, the story is interesting enough to survive the incredibly slow beginning (it took about 6 hours for the game to get off the ground!) and the overly long battles. Nearly 60% of the Stars of Destiny must be discovered on your own (i.e. they won't join merely as part of the progression of the game), and there are numerous sidequests involved in finding them. Unfortunately, the load times really hamper the experience (and frankly, I see no excuse for them, as this is the 3rd offering from Konami on the PS2 - haven't they figured out the hardware yet?).

A Brilliant Game

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 16 / 16
Date: April 07, 2006
Author: Amazon User

If you're an RPGer, and you're a serious one, Suikoden V should be one of the RPGs on your list this year. It's fun, long, and showers a lot of replay value. The game just all around shines, and it's easy to see why. Suikoden IV was nothing special, but if you lost faith in the series after it, allow Suikoden V to restore that faith.

In the Queendom (yes, Queendom) of Falena, villagers are beginning to question Queen Arshtat's motives. Her form of justice was torching a village and it's countryside. As the Prince of Falena, you're sent in to investigate the matters for yourself. It soon becomes easy to turn your back on the Queen. There's a reason for her mor wicked actions, and after a while you're not going to be used anymore. You're going to investigate. The story begins kind of slowly, putting you to the task of running errands for most of the beginning, but once you get past that, the game really takes off.

For what it's worth, Suikoden V has a great story, and a brilliant cast of characters. Throughout the game it's great to watch your characters grow, including the Prince. There are tons of characters who you can get to join your cause, and all of them are very well developed. There are 108 characters in all. In most RPGs with an unrealistically large number of characters, the character development is terrible. This isn't true in Suikoden V. Each character is distinctly their own. The array of characters that join you is also interesting. You'll have just normal civillians. Chef's, detectives, ordinary peasants who are willing to fight for your cause. The way at which you obtain them is also interesting. Some will join based on what you say, others will join you depending on who is currently among your ranks. Some won't join you until you've got A LOT of people. This also works out to manipulate the ending of the game itself, as well as certain story sequences. The bulk of Suikoden V is actually getting all these characters, and it is perhaps the strongest part of the game.

The battle system is pretty cool too. You'll have six characters in battle at a time. You can set up your characters in battle in a way that you earn certain bonuses. There are formations that allow you to up your attack power, magical power and plenty more. It's awesome to tinker around with, and makes battling more interesting. The only thing that bogs down battling is the load times before it, which over time become pretty annoying.

Alongside the normal, everyday battle... you'll be able to duel as the story moves on. The duels aren't especially challenging. They way they're done is similar to Pokemon in a way. You can attack, use a special attack or defend. It's like Rock, Paper, Scissors. Everything has the potential to lose. For example, you can't defend against a special attack but you can use a regular attack to offset it. Those you're dueling will usually call out what they're going to do, and you'll have somewhere around three or four seconds to decide how to offset it. Dueling isn't especially hard, but it has its moments.

There are also army battles on land and sea, and to be honest, they're no different than the duels. You'll have to move closer to the enemy, but they pretty much play out in the same way. However, this is where the bulk of your 108 characters come into play. They are, essentially, your army.

Graphically, Suikoden V is good. Good, not especially great. Most characters are pretty detailed and the enviroments are colorful. The PS2 is capable of better, but in all honesty, Suikoden V is NOT by any means a bad looking game. It's a good looking game, just not as good looking as others that have set the bar. Soundwise, the game sounds great. Mixing classic music from the series with other tunes. The new tunes are used perfectly when setting the mood of certain scenes.

Suikoden V is full of good voice acting. It isn't always perfect, but it works out just right. Some characters sound perfect, others you're scratching your head and wondering what the deal is. You won't find yourself questioning the voices too often, though. Most of the voice acting is good, and the voices that matter you'll be proud of.

Suikoden V is a gem. It's got lots of replayability, and tons of well developed characters. It's one of the most exciting RPGs of the year, and any RPGer would be proud to have it.

The Good
+Great storyline
+Tons of characters
+Well developed charactes
+Fun battle system
+Overall good voice acting
+Good graphics
+Great soundtrack

The Bad
-The load times for battles
-Duels and army battles aren't really all that difficult

suikoden v

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 2 / 11
Date: April 10, 2006
Author: Amazon User

this is the original suikoden gameplay revival. after I playing suikoden , and suikoden II.this game is the best of all on every aspect of the suikoden games .history, gameplay, humor ,tragety, perfect score even the price .a classic gem as the the original suikoden buy one copy and keep it .final fantasy games are left on the dust with this game,with the exeption of FF#3 for the snes and 7 for the ps1. and don't get me wrom final fantasy games still are my faborites but they lost the crown aster final fantasy 7. after that just mediocrecy games exemt for ff9.

Frustrating.....but worth the time

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 5 / 14
Date: April 29, 2006
Author: Amazon User

Alright basically this game is fun if you're an RPG player but it has a lot of flaws which I don't understand why were allowed to happen.

Good Stuff:
-battle system
-characters

Bad Stuff:
-cliche storyline
-HORRIBLE ENDING!!! RUINED EVERYTHING!!
-replay option is hardly worth it--you don't even keep your level or your equipped items!!
-no world map on a game with a world map???!!! How are you supposed to figure out where you are?
-Difficult to find the 108 stars--much more difficult that Suikoden 3
-long periods with no way to heal--just make a "tent" item like final fantasy!!
-combination of incredibly high random battle rate and long loading time make battles somewhat annoying. But really, in the Twilight Forest I couldn't move 3 steps without another battle! Combine that with the fact that the area was designed to be confusing it took me 6 hours to get out of there!

I know I listed a lot more flaws than good things but it really is worth the money it's just incredibly frustrating at times.

Getting back to the basics

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 5 / 5
Date: May 01, 2006
Author: Amazon User

It's nice to play this game after the terrible disappointment of Suikoden 4. I wish that the game developers would wise-up and return to sprites, as the loading screen indicates they haven't forgotten how.
Apart from that, the dialogue is decent, the script redundancy is only moderately annoying if writing appeals to you. The loading screen, while it never takes too long, is seen frequently, and the game would be better if you could change camera angles beyond the ability to zoom in and out. If my character is behind a building, zooming in and seeing a bigger building doesn't help much.
The fighting systems seem to take the best all the games have had to offer, and use it in one efficient system. The one-on-one battles are easier than ever before, but the army battles are possibly the best yet. The only other game feature I miss is the ability to fight with all 108 stars. I miss the chefs, gardeners, fishermen, and gamblers out there battling and levelling up.

If you've played all the previous Suikodens my opinion stands 2, 1, 3&5 tied, 4 distant last place.

Suikoden V and the Adult Gamer

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 4 / 5
Date: May 22, 2006
Author: Amazon User

I personally did not care for Suikoden 3, Loved Suikoden IV, and enjoyed this one even more...especially the new battles over land and sea. I was frustrated that you can actually have some the the SOD's die on you in battle! yuck! The loading times are better than IV, although still annoying (I keep hoping that the PS3 will take care of that). The story was really good, and if you look around still kind of relevant to today's headlines. I have played through once and am replaying again since 4 of the SOD's in the first game got dead. And I never could get the guy who does the appraisals or the dwarf chick. So I understand there is a different ending when all of the 108 SOD's are there. I'll find them all if it kills me.

This is great game, you have to be willing to invest some time and energy into it. I liked the fact it was easy to make potch since everything was so stinky expensive. Well worth (in my never to be humble opinion)the time, effort, and money to play and play again. It has it's flaws, but what game doesn't?

Finally, a game that requires Stradegy.

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 3 / 4
Date: June 07, 2006
Author: Amazon User

This RPG is one well worth buying. Here's why.
Most of the recent RPG's I have played just trot along
giving little thought to how the game progresses. I was very suprised that this game was difficult enough to keep me playing.
One of my favorite parts is the "Dual Matches". This is a one on one battle where you have to choose what you do by listening to your opponent's aggressiveness. The "War Battles" are also interesting. These battles play much like Age of Empires.
The dungons are quite complex and take some memorization. A world map is found when you find one of the 108 optonal characters in the story. Finding them is a sidequest on it's own. So all in all this game goes on my top 10 rpg list and is well worth buying.
These are my recommendations.
Chrono Cross
Chrono Trigger
Final Fantasy VII
Final Fantasy VIII
Suikoden V
Silent Hill 1-3
Final Fantasy Tactics
Suikoden IV

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