Changing the Suikoden name?

[Occam Arkitect]

First of, we should be glad we are still keeping half of its original title. Second, if a gamer disses a game only by its cover then he/she doesn't really deserve the game.

[patapi]

I'm just glad that Suikoden hasn't gone the road of long pointless titles made up of (supposedly) familiar words, like Star Ocean: Till the End of Time or Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Summoner: Raidou Kuzunoha vs. the Soulless Army

If it was Sangokushi, "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" is indeed a very attractive translation. But for Suikoden and "Water Margin", I can see why the early localisation team kept the Japanese title.

After all, this title was deemed popular enough to force Rhapsodia's title to be dubbed into a completely different name to ride on the series' apparent fame. So, that must count for something somewhere.

[Raijin]

I just want to say I don't mind a unique name, just not a difficult one. There are people out there that just got into gaming and discovering what RPGs are all about, and I don't think the Suikoden name would help draw them near. Yes it would alienate some of the the fans, but it could also gain a lot of new ones.

[Pollensalta]

I'm just glad that Suikoden hasn't gone the road of long pointless titles made up of (supposedly) familiar words, like Star Ocean: Till the End of Time or Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Summoner: Raidou Kuzunoha vs. the Soulless Army

If it was Sangokushi, "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" is indeed a very attractive translation. But for Suikoden and "Water Margin", I can see why the early localisation team kept the Japanese title.

After all, this title was deemed popular enough to force Rhapsodia's title to be dubbed into a completely different name to ride on the series' apparent fame. So, that must count for something somewhere.

Who remembers why the hell they called it Rhapsodia in the first place? I don't.

[nephlabobo]

I just want to say I don't mind a unique name, just not a difficult one. There are people out there that just got into gaming and discovering what RPGs are all about, and I don't think the Suikoden name would help draw them near. Yes it would alienate some of the the fans, but it could also gain a lot of new ones.

Look, if there was only one game in the series....maybe your theory would hold water.

We're five games - going on six - into the series. It's too late to change it.

We're stuck with it.

Live with it.

End of Discussion.

Move along.

Stop beating a dead horse.

[SSA316]

Personally I wouldn't worry about attracting the kind of people who are vacuous enough to judge a video game merely by it's name, or something equally ridiculous. Suikoden doesn't need that kind of audience.

[Red rune]

I just want to say I don't mind a unique name, just not a difficult one. There are people out there that just got into gaming and discovering what RPGs are all about, and I don't think the Suikoden name would help draw them near. Yes it would alienate some of the the fans, but it could also gain a lot of new ones.

At first when i read the title i thought it was just another game, but when i played it, it was awsome! I think it pwns every other rpg out there, even final fantasy in my opinoun. Regardless of the title it is still a great game, plus it is too late to change the name.

A friend at my school changed his name just because people couldnt pronounce it. I thought it as a bit extreme. Y bother changing the title now? So many suikoden fans like suikoden because its suikoden, plz dont change it in a huge way like make it real time, or only have like 10 characters to choose from in the entire game.

[Oppenheimer]

I think it's a good point that the unusual name makes you pick up the box and wonder what the game's about. But, pronouncing it to a clerk at a video game store is difficult.

The problem is that you almost always have to ask about Suikoden becuase there's never a copy on the shelves (in my experience anyway). I do hestiate to ask for Suikoden and had to explain myself when I was pre-ordering Suikoden V.

What Konami needs to do is put more Suikoden Vs on the shelves so that people will see the unusual name and pick it up, not force them to ask for it and confuse the ignorant clerks at these places.

[Nemesis]

I agree with this. The name does have an affect on people who is planning to buy this game. Its title doesn't seem interesting at all.. though I also like the name "Suikoden." For instance, Final Fantasy. WOW! Sounds neat. But, I dont think they should change the name, since we all know what it is.

[LTM]

Lets see. In Street Fighter we really fight on the streets in gangs and stuff and get into street brawls. Final Fight is the last fight I'll ever have. Tekken has me playing as people who have iron fists. King of Fighters means the main character rules over all other fighters and is royalty. Final Fantasy is THE FINAL FANTASY! And who besides someone who is a college student or well educated will know wtf a Chrono Trigger is? These titles do not tell anything and a lot of Japanese names Americans don't know how to pronounce but still do well. Tekken easy to pronounce? No. When I was a kid and Tekken 2 came out, my friends were all like "Tee ken, token, tucan" they didn't know what it was. But it looked cool. When I first saw Suikoden II in stores, i saw the name and the cover art and went "Whats that?" and was intrigued and bought it. As a console gamer, I think its a rule to never base your opinion off of a game's title, cause half the time it has NOTHING to do with the actual game. And as far a ugly goes? What about Disgaea? Thats ugly as sin and it sells pretty well, plus who knows what it means? I don't...

Edit: I'd also like to add that Suikoden I and II's lack of popularity had nothing to do with its name or anything but it was due to very little advertisement and the time of their release. Suikoden I was one of the launch titles for the PSX (or close enough to being one) and due to it being about 300 dollars, no one wanted to buy a PSX until 1997 when Final Fantasy VII and Castlevania: Symphony of the Night came out and set the standard for those genres. Then Suikoden II was released around the same time as Final Fantasy VIII with an extremely low print run, a rushed, botched translation and even LESS advertising than Suikoden I (I saw one ad in an issue of Expert Gamer?). Suikoden III took off in the Christmas season of 2002 because Konami finally did the smart thing and had plenty of advertising, a better translation, publicity due to Gonzo, and there was NOTHING coming out that was popular that season. And ever since Suikoden has sold fine in America. Its not Final Fantasy but it usually sells about 300,000 copies or so in America. I think III sold the most so far. Maybe V.

[KFCrispy]

they need to put more Jeane on the cover... seriously. more Jeane, less clothes. they haven't exploited Jeane as a marketing ploy yet. (or advertised at all, really)

[mhatter106]

Or marketing at all, really. j/k

they need to put more Jeane on the cover... seriously. more Jeane, less clothes. they haven't exploited Jeane as a marketing ploy yet. (or advertised at all, really)

[RangerDeon]

It's not that hard to say.. . .
Besides, there's some sort of story behind the name. Also, they made too many of these games to just up and change it.

[GrayMercury]

I've never had any trouble what-so-ever pronouncing it. It's a japanese word, and i've been listening to japanese pop music for years....so it was never really hard for me to know it. lol. I could never see it under a different name....that would be like asking square to change the name of final fantasy, considering...it wasn't thier final one...lol.

oh, btw....did anyone ever notice that there was a game on either super nintendo or one of those earlier consoles that was named Romance Of The Three Kingdoms? I just came across it in a game trading store....

[GrayMercury]

and actually, if you really think back on the name, Suikoden, or more completly, Genso Suikoden means the legend of the water margin....or suikoden itself means water margin (or water's edge)

If you think about where your headquarter's in every game is....on the water's edge. the name makes perfect sense.