Suikoden V

"Enough with the silent protaginists already..."

Everyone who knows anything about games should know that Suikoden I and II are among the rarest. Since the first two titles were released, I've been wanting to play a game worthy of holding the Suikoden name, because, quite frankly, I hated III and IV. I couldn't force myself to play them on more than one occasion. I heard numerous good things about this game, but I was still hesitant to buy it. Needless to say, I enjoyed almost every minute it.

Story: 10/10
Games usually don't have such great plots, but this is definitely an exception. The premise seems pretty basic and cliche, but it gets really deep and sucks you in. You take the role of the prince of Falena(who, by the way, has no name and never talks, not to mention he looks like a woman), and all is going well one day in the kingdom. But you see, his mother, Queen Arshtat, bears the Dawn Rune, and she gets these spurts of insanity. Arshtat used the Dawn Rune to dry up a huge lake that was vital to a town right by it, and it angered pretty much everyone in that area. The tension is reduced, though, by the father, Ferid, who for some odd reason isn't a king, but the commander of the Queen's Knights(the women have superiority in this realm).

Errands are done, such as talking to nobles, visiting your annoying little sister who complains about everything under the sun, and going to an arena to watch matches. Why would a mute prince watch arena matches? Because the winner gets to marry his little sister!

Things get interesting from there. Cheaters were found in the arena and the families in the kingdom have been betrayed by one another, that's all I'm gonna say. It really makes you care about the characters and wanna know what happens next.

An insane amount of characters are met along the quest, and they're not all generic and forgettable. They all have distinguishable traits and stand out from the crowd of RPG characters, because, let's face it, no cast of characters are original and/or likable anymore in RPGS. But this game is different. There are dozens of people to fall in love with along the way, and you'll definitely get attached to a lot of them(at least I hope so, or you're just a Cloud fanboy).

Graphics: 8/10
These graphics are far from perfect, but they get the job done. My biggest concern with these graphics is that they look....blurry. Or maybe foggy. For some reason, everything has a white-ish look to it, and not everything can be clearly seen. But when you can actually see, everything looks quite nice. Originality in the design is definitely noticeable, and for the most part everything is on par with the PS2's standards.

Character models are great. This is also a reason why all the characters are so unique. They all even look completely different! RPGS also tend to parody each other(Cloud's sword comes up everywhere), but the creators thought this cast out all themselves. All the facial features and expressions are well done, and everyone has smooth animations, as well.

Sound: 10/10
Wow. This is quality voice acting. I can't remember the last time I've heard voice actors who cared this much about their job. Every voice fits the character PERFECTLY. No one sounds off or misleading, and they all express their emotions flawlessly. The voice overs are on par with that of maybe MGS, and I never thought I'd see that happening.

Final Fantasy quality music will not be found here, but that doesn't mean a thing. Each song portrays the atmosphere perfectly. There are upbeat songs playing in the background of lively places such as Raftfleet, and mystic tracks looming around the forests. Final Fantasy? No. Still awesome? Yes.

Gameplay: 8/10
One thing needs to be gotten out of the way now: THIS GAME IS TOO EASY. Seriously, I went through the whole game and died a grand total of four times, and all of my deaths occurred at the final dungeon. All of the battles were ended in three turns at the very most. Maybe I spent too much time leveling up, I don't know.

There are 108 recruit-able characters, and only about 40 of them(if that) are required to join you. The rest are completely optional. Some are easy to recruit(just talk to them and they'll go to your castle), or you must talk to multiple people, go to half of the game's towns, and fight bosses.

Ah...the castle. All of your recruits live at your castle(which you name), and either sit there, waiting to accompany you in battle, or open up shops or different areas, such as a library and a restaurant. Rune shops, blacksmithing, weapons and magic training, and a mirror ro teleport you anywhere in Falena you desire all become available as you gather more people.

Runes are the source of magic in this game. Each rune contains as much as four spells, and they usually all share a similar element in the attacks. However, you must be wise choosing what runes you equip, because other stats contribute to the effects of runes, and some characters only have one rune slot. Also,each spell in a rune has limited amount of times it can be used.

Six people are allowed in one regular battle, and four in your entourage, so you can switch it up how you like. Fighting itself is fairly simple. You have attack, defend, use a rune or item, switch party members, or use a unite attack. Unite attack is, well....when two or more people unite to do an attack that either does major damage to one foe or hits all the enemies.

There are also land and sea battles, a lot like a simplified strategy game(it's simplified, but still fun!) Your amount of units depends on how many recruits you have, and special attacks and runes can also be used to spice things up.

Conclusion
I'm so glad Suikoden has come back from the land of mediocrity. By now, it's easy to tell this series is never going to get very popular, and it's a shame. The battles don't offer anything new, but the story more than makes up for it. Highly recommended.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 01/17/07