A place to post news and also give your ideas about the future of the Suikoden series. Please justify all speculations with reasons why you think such an event could happen.
Oppenheimer wrote:It's a very common trope to give false choices, almost all RPGs with silent protagonists do it, and even some games that have speaking protagonists: http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/ButThouMust
I don't really see how that have anything to do with the character being mute or not, but just a design choice that many JRPGs have. A design choice I don't really agree with at all. Which is why Suikoden V was so refreshing in some ways, will I leave the castle or not? Some of the choices in Suikoden V actually mattered! Usually it's only western RPGs that offer choices & consequences for the choices, so that was a very nice surprise!
In any case, I prefer the silent protagonists. Sure, there can be some awkward moments and poor dialogue sometimes because of it, but it really gives an opportunity for the player to develop the character on their own. In most games with a talking protagonist I usually get shocked thinking "hey, that's not what s/he sounds like!" Even games like Neverwinter Nights fail with this, and they offer multiple voice packs for the characters, but none fit. There are very few games where I felt the hero had a good voice. Mass Effect would be one of those.
If Konami decides to let the protagonist do some talking in the next Suikoden, I really hope they also let the player switch between english and japanese audio. Japanese always sound good, cause they usually have much more emotion in them, and possibly because I can't tell when they are doing poor voice acting
As a disclaimer, I've only played the first three games and fully beaten the first two.
I'm a little on the fence with the idea of a silent protagonist. While I've really never enjoyed the idea of a main character that doesn't really talk or have a personality, I think that the Suikoden series has done a very good job of pulling it off. Even in the first game, which almost literally had no actual choices for you to make (mostly because the game directed you toward the "right" and only real option), made the main character seem as if he was a real person and, at times, actually you. It was pulled off even better in the second game, where about half of the choices you were given actually did make a difference, even if they did only effect minor dialogue changes. Hell, I was really impressed with Tir and Gremio's appearance in the second game. Tir only had one person to really talk to him, but Konami really pulled it off. His actions and movements spoke for him. Wonderfully so, in fact. I really liked it.
Suikoden 3, while breaking the silent protagonist norm, did a really good job of fleshing out the main characters. There was even five of them and they still did a nice job of it. There's just something to be desired in a silent protagonist. I wouldn't be able to see Chris's Caesar-esque contempt for the council or any of the other character's interesting personalities. It's what defines the character and the people around them. When you just slap a few dialogue choices on a character, they feel shallow and meaningless. It's almost as if you have to ask yourself, "why are they actually sitting here?" and "what are they doing mindlessly following this random rebellion?", etc. Talking protagonists have personalities and those personalities add to the game. It's what Suikoden is all about - fleshing out the 108 Stars of Destiny. Why should they leave out the most important Star, our hero?
On the other hand, there's always that possibility that our main hero is going to be laym. I think you all know what I'm referring to. High pitched and squeeky voice, flamboyant outfit, dreadfully annoying personality, and the intelligence of a challenged toddler. And even if the main character isn't that bad, silent protagonists definitely have their advantages. The fact of the matter is that I (and likely a lot of other people) can't help but put myself in the position of said main characters. I mean, some of the most emotional scenes of the game came from the fact that I put myself in the character's shoes. It really gets you into the game, especially when it comes to the characters. For instance, I've only once decided not to wait for Jowy after infiltrating the Highland camp and even then, I reloaded and waited for him. Seriously, I can't just leave poor ol' Pilika and Nanami waiting outside without me. Don't even get me started on how proud I feel when Shu starts rambling off how I inspire people after defeating Solon Jhee.
All and all, I would probably prefer to have a talking character that has several of the dialogue options that we see in silent protagonists. I love both ends of the spectrum and both have their obvious advantages and disadvantages. The silent characters, of course, have the serious advantage of not potentially having an annoying voice actor. But with the changing times, I'm not sure how well a silent character will fit in with a bunch of other characters in a cut scene or cinematic. It might become more and more awkward as graphical capabilities are enhanced throughout the years. I guess it's just a matter of which one Konami is able to pull of better. If they keep steadily improving, like they seem to have done so with the first three games, then I can't imagine I'll deplore whichever road they decide to go down. Although, I have heard some disheartening things about S4 and S5...
