My Problems With Each Suikoden

[Belle]

Can you blame him? That Tir is incapable of making conversation with his peers... who wants to be around that all the time?

[sticky-runes]

Just thought of another one: HQ music.

In Suikodens 1, 2 and 5 whenever we first get our castle, it starts off with a nice calm acoustic track with harps and flutes and stuff. Then once you start getting more recruits, BAM here comes the trumpets and drums blaring and thumping into my head, causing me to turn the TV volume right the f#ck down. I'd rather they just stuck with the mellow theme throughout the whole game.

[Warcrown]

Just thought of another one: HQ music.

In Suikodens 1, 2 and 5 whenever we first get our castle, it starts off with a nice calm acoustic track with harps and flutes and stuff. Then once you start getting more recruits, BAM here comes the trumpets and drums blaring and thumping into my head, causing me to turn the TV volume right the f#ck down. I'd rather they just stuck with the mellow theme throughout the whole game.

That makes you turn the TV down? I turn it up.

[sticky-runes]

The blaring HQ theme doesn't work for me, I find it off putting. When I'm walking around the HQ chatting with my recruits and using their shops and services, what I'm effectively doing is taking a break from all the warring and adventuring. I'd rather have a laid back mellow tune while I'm interacting with people, I don't need to do it under pomp and fanfare. It's supposed to be background music.
Save the loud music for when there is a battle going on and we need to get the adrenaline going.

[Antimatzist]

The only HQ tune that got on my nerves was V. I remember II being very great and I.. can't remember right now.

[TMan]

2 and 3 HQ were great. 4 was good. I really really don't like 5's. 1 was ugly as sin.

[sticky-runes]

I didn't think 1 and 2's HQ themes sounded that much different from each other.

[Belle]

I didn't think 1 and 2's HQ themes sounded that much different from each other.

Do you mean to their corresponding 'upgrades'? Because Suikoden 1 and Suikoden 2 had drastically different castle themes when you compare the two games.

[sticky-runes]

Similar in that they both go from being quite pleasant, to an inaudible load of bollocks causing me to turn the volume down when you get the upgrade, yeah.

[TMan]

Ah I see I misunderstood this line of conversation. I thought we were talking about the actual HQ, not the music. I'm an idiot.

As for music, I didn't really have a problem with any of them.

[sticky-runes]

Well, while you've brought up the layouts, 2 and 3's castles were nice. I like how 3 had the shipwreck outside converted into extra rooms.
4's ship was conveniently compact - you just go to the next floor and everything's there in front of you, no traipsing around from one wing to the next.
1's castle felt a bit like an old shopping center. 5's castle... didn't really seem to have as much character as the other HQs. Maybe that's where the graphics were hurting it.

[EstrangedIX]

One good thing about V's HQ is that your shops and storeroom are located in the same place as the blacksmith, training, Luserina and Viki. The rest of the layout feels a bit awkward though. I's was basic but functional, II's was a little spread out but made sense, IV's was nice and compact, but I like III's the best because it had the most character to me. I liked how the space was utilized, even though it meant a little running around.

[Antimatzist]

Yep, V's shopping area was really convenient. But at the same time, it felt a bit uninspired. I prefer II and III as it feels more like people came to the HQ and tried to make it comfortable there. In V, it's just empty rooms getting filled with characters. IV was also really convenient, but it lacked individuality as well (You just fill the ship. It doesn't even upgrade...). I, also, like III's the best. The HQ had the best backstory (not just "Hm, this castle was an important defensive post in the past, let's use it!") and I feel the way it grows is very organic. Even though the ship puzzles me up to date and it involves a lot of running around. I'd love more Thomas chapters.

Changing the topic a bit: I'm replaying Tactics right now and HATE the perma-death.

I know permadeath has been included in the series, but only as a very small side-effect of the war battles. In Tactics, it really kills the fun at times. It just needs a lucky turn of the enemy: laying the wrong element, then critical hitting me - bam, death. Restarting the battle, losing all I've got during the battle. That wouldn't be so bad if my good-will would still be intact, but after you have restarted a battle three times, you really don't want to have the same conversations over and over again to get this damn coop attack.

I really wonder why they included that. I mean a lot of series have it - Fire Emblem is the prime example, even FFTA (didn't play any other FFT) has it on certain maps. But I feel that Tactics is just.. unfair at times.

And then, the Firefly Rune doesn't work all the time. I offer Eugene as a "sacrifice", because he can take some damage, but what does the enemy do? Gang up on my Hervey and kill him in one round.

[gildedtalon]

It is stated in the rune description, Firefly is not absolute in Tactics

[sticky-runes]

Yeah, I already mentioned that about the deaths in Tactics. It really seems pointless any way - if I lose a character, I just reload to save him or her, so what's the point? Might as well just have it so they are knocked out and unable to fight for the rest of the battle, like they did in the vandal hearts games.

The risk of losing characters does kind of add to the suspense of major battles in the main suikoden games, like "we're all going to launch an attack against the enemy base - anyone of us could be killed!" but having it as a possibility for every battle in Tactics was more of an annoyance.

I personally think deaths in these games should just be left to storyline events anyway. When we lose characters like Gremio, Lyon or Roy, it's all very dramatic because you've got people crying over them and going on about how regretful it is, but lose a character in gameplay, and nobody really gives a f#ck, things just carry on as normal. It feels too detached from the story telling.