[Discussion] Reviews and Opinions of Suikoden I

A forum to ask questions if you are stuck in the The Gate Rune Wars; or wish for more clarity on the gameplay systems.
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Masamune.
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Re: Reviews and Opinions of Suikoden I

Post by Masamune. »

Suikoden I was a good game for its time, but not without its flaws. The game feels rushed in places, and the whole final battle with Barbarossa and Windy felt like a non-event. Another thing, Gremio? Didn't care for him. When I admired Suikoden from afar, I looked at Gremio and always imagined some cool laid-back or stoic personality. In truth, his constant mollycoddling of Tir was grating and bordered on yaoi, so I wasn't particularly sad to see him go.

Don't get me wrong, this is a fine RPG to pick up but after playing Suikoden 2 it's hard to go back.
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ChaosMan
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Re: Reviews and Opinions of Suikoden I

Post by ChaosMan »

Masamune. wrote:Suikoden I was a good game for its time, but not without its flaws. The game feels rushed in places, and the whole final battle with Barbarossa and Windy felt like a non-event. Another thing, Gremio? Didn't care for him. When I admired Suikoden from afar, I looked at Gremio and always imagined some cool laid-back or stoic personality. In truth, his constant mollycoddling of Tir was grating and bordered on yaoi, so I wasn't particularly sad to see him go.

Don't get me wrong, this is a fine RPG to pick up but after playing Suikoden 2 it's hard to go back.
I played the first so I can load it for the second... thats right I know the second series before the first one and I have to agree with you about Suikoden II

I think Suikoden I is a great start for this series... we could know the huge world of suikoden started with this one and nobody could deny that creating those 108 characters are pretty much a hard work... you can see that on Suikoden II... a lot of characters showed again :mrgreen:
- I'm A Big Fan Of Suikoden -
kidisnice

Re: [Discussion] Reviews and Opinions of Suikoden I

Post by kidisnice »

Suikoden 1 is a bare bones basic RPG with a cliche story. I honestly don't get why people actually cried over this game, I played it blind (aka knowing nothing about it my first time playing) and predicted the entire story as the events came. Well except for Sanchez being a spy, that bastard

It was alright, but Suikoden 2 is just so much better at everything Suikoden 1 tries to do
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Re: [Discussion] Reviews and Opinions of Suikoden I

Post by Jeremiah Ecks »

I played Suikoden I back at Christmas 1997, and was hooked. It was only my third real RPG behind Eye of the Beholder and one of my all-time faves, Secret of Mana. I'd wanted a Mana-style playing experience for a while and expected Suiko to be the same. How wrong was I?

I think it hasn't aged as well as some would like to think and, yes, after seeing II it's difficult to go back... but I think it still to this day reigns as one of my favourite RPGs. I think it's pacing is excellent - something other Suikoden games seem to lack (yes, V, I'm looking at your), it's characters may be cliche-ridden but they're all interesting and varied. It's concept is expansive and it was quite a feat to pull off such a large cast back at that time. I think it's combat system is decent enough (II wipes the floor with it, though), and I'm a sucker for a lot of those rock/paper/scissors-type things in the games.

Weak point is that some of the villains are a bit weak (Windy and Neclord are okay, but everyone else is a bit drippy). Good point is that some of the characters (Tir, Viktor, Cleo, Pahn, Mathiu, Liukan... whoever) are really excellently written.

I can still play I now and enjoy it loads. I'd choose to play it over other more 'established' RPGs.

I may submit a review for it on Gamefaqs one of these days.

It's great... it's not perfect, but it is the one that made me fall in love with the series.

-Jeremiah Ecks,
who thinks... 8 out of 10, maybe? But at the time it'd've gotten a 9, easy.
"Everything is something, but nothing is everything."
eldrasidar
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Re: [Discussion] Reviews and Opinions of Suikoden I

Post by eldrasidar »

one of the tricky things about suikoden 1 is that although being the first of the suikoden series, it has a tendency to be played anachronistically. I didn't play it until after 3,4,5 and 2 because i couldn't find a disk(i don't know how i found 2 first) and certainly since it's popped up on the PSN, many new players can play it, but they do so with the experience and expectation that more popular series like final fantasy have created. For me I know that it took quite a long time for me to appreciate this game as much as the rest of the series, because I was bogged down in it's technical problems. but after contemplating it, I find it's impressive that it takes about as long to play as suikoden 4, and yet it has more than twice the depth of plot and character, and yet still doesn't seem overly rushed.

from a technical stand point, suikoden 1 is nothing special, the music is good, but for me at least, having heard most of it being reused and remastered in later games, it's not all that inspiring. graphically, it's better than SNES titles, but final fantasy 7, which came out just over a year later, proved they were still very medicre. Even the combat system, although it has some interesting points, is fairly basic, and I think everyone much prefers the improvements that came with suikoden 2. indeed, I know many people today who would probably avoid suikoden 1 because of it's technical infancies. this is their loss though, because once you get over it's technical mediocrities, you can get invested in its wonderful cast of characters.

the story and characters are what makes suikoden stand out. most games prior to suikoden 1 have fairly terrible character development and plots, and somehow with 108 characters plus villains and so on, suikoden is able to generate decent backstory's and narratives for most characters. Is it the best plot, not really, but as someone else mentioned previously, the game doesn't seem to have to force you into it as much as other games, including other suikodens, do. all it really takes is a little push from victor and you're off. a lot of people here are very in tune with some of the more emotional parts of the story, and that's a sign that the story does a good job bringing characters and story to life.
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Re: [Discussion] Reviews and Opinions of Suikoden I

Post by Jeremiah Ecks »

one of the tricky things about suikoden 1 is that although being the first of the suikoden series, it has a tendency to be played anachronistically.
That's extremely true, sadly.
the music is good, but for me at least, having heard most of it being reused and remastered in later games, it's not all that inspiring.


I argue that SI has the best overall soundtrack of the entire series. By far.
the story and characters are what makes suikoden stand out.


Always has, always will I think. I think it's what Suikoden lives and stands on, which is why it's tragic that SIV and Tierkries seem desperate to concentrate not on their wonderful wealth of characters but create new ones. I know it's difficult to make new ones each game, but why do you need to do that when you can happily recycle about 300+ other characters, most of whom are never mined to a massive degree, spend ten minutes tops per retunring character reading up their continuity on one site or another or actually just asking someone or looking at the investigations of each, and then bob's your uncle. New fans won't care if the game is great, old fans will love the old references and attract them back.
most games prior to suikoden 1 have fairly terrible character development and plots,


Final Fantasy IV-VI? Secret of Mana and Seiken Densetsu III? Phantasy Star? Star Ocean? Lunar I & II? Earthbound? And most of all, Chrono Trigger? How many is 'most'? :shock:
the game doesn't seem to have to force you into it as much as other games, including other suikodens, do. all it really takes is a little push from victor and you're off. a lot of people here are very in tune with some of the more emotional parts of the story, and that's a sign that the story does a good job bringing characters and story to life.
Because there's something for everybody, really. Viktor is the tragic Wolverine-esque loner. Flik is the embittered survivor whose love is dead. Tir is the 'coming of age' hero. Pahn is always hungry. :mrgreen: Cleo is the loyal 'sister' and quiet backbone. Fukien is a Buddhist. :lol: Morgan is disabled and overcoming his disability. Liukan is a grumpy old man. Luc is the intelluctual with no social graces. Milich is... well, I don't know if anybody exists like Milich! But you take my point. There is something for everybody to identify with. One of the benefits of the Transformers narrative line too. Variety is GOOD!

-Jeremiah Ecks,
who wonders if one can compare Transformers characters with Suikoden. Luca Blight is Galvatron, that one's easy. Hugo? Hot Rod. And Tir has to be Optimus Prime. :mrgreen:
"Everything is something, but nothing is everything."
eldrasidar
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Re: [Discussion] Reviews and Opinions of Suikoden I

Post by eldrasidar »

Final Fantasy IV-VI? Secret of Mana and Seiken Densetsu III? Phantasy Star? Star Ocean? Lunar I & II? Earthbound? And most of all, Chrono Trigger? How many is 'most'? :shock:
just go to gamefaqs, and browse around playstation, snes, nes, sega saturn etc. check out how many rpg's there are for those systems. there was a lot of good ones, but when you look at the whole picture, for every good one, there's 10 mediocre ones.
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Re: [Discussion] Reviews and Opinions of Suikoden I

Post by Jeremiah Ecks »

Mega Drive, Master System and Nes, sure, but not Snes, Playstation or the like. The norm is for good RPGs with good characters. Whether people like the stories and characters is personal preference - I know I can't stand FF X for one, but I also acknowledge that it's story was thought out and not just a laissez faire thing - is up to them.

I'd say the majority of RPGs on the Snes and Playstation had compelling stories and good characters. I can give many examples but telling me to look on Gamefaqs isn't an example in of itself. And being fair on the MegaDrive, again, the major players on the system all had decent enough plots - maybe not Sword of Vermilion, but most did.

Off topic, anyhow. The fact is, we're posting here so we all know Suikoden rules and at time of playing I it was the only other RPG game I played at that point, apart from SoM that I gave a damn about the characters. So it works totally on that last point. I just want to give a bit of credit to those other pre-Suiko games which weren't as bad as you'd think. And I mean the esoteric 'ones people have never heard of' ones too.

-Jeremiah Ecks,
who loves Sword of Vermilion, whilst he mentions it, but has never once been able to complete it. Which I suppose makes it a bad game technically...
"Everything is something, but nothing is everything."
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wladodragovic
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Re: [Discussion] Reviews and Opinions of Suikoden I

Post by wladodragovic »

Heheh, Suikoden I is definitely my favorite RPG (I haven't played many, but I know even FF couldn't take that place). I've passed it for the 10th, 15th time just a few days ago, and now I'm playing Suikoden 2.
I must say, Suikoden 2 almost has it all, a better translation to english (not perfect though), better graphics and sort of better fighting experience.

But you must admit, it just doesn't have the spirit of the first one. The music of the first one just wants to make me cry. It's mostly nostalgia that makes me wanna play the game over and over again...
And I really don't care about the few screwed up dialogues when I can just relax and enjoy in the other fantastic things of the game.
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Silverberg
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Re: [Discussion] Reviews and Opinions of Suikoden I

Post by Silverberg »

I think Suikoden I did exactly what it was supposed to do.

1. Gives you the general background of the world: Why runes exist, how they work, even some geography.
2. Teaches you the fundamentals of the series playstyle. It took me a long time (before internet tips) to figure out where certain characters were hiding. Once I figured out that they could be in really good hiding spots or even in places you've been to before, I knew what to expect from the series by the time S2 came out.

I can always have a friend borrow S1 who's never played an RPG before and they can always get into it because of how narrative the story is in terms of what you need to do next. They tell you where towns are, who to talk to, and generally, make it very easy to progress the story when you're not quite certain what to do next. And the best part, it doesn't take a 40 minute tutorial to figure out how to play, unlike FF games, which inundate you with new ways to play each and every game. What were the biggest changes in S2? you can hold a button and run, storage of items is easier, and you can attach multiple runes.

And I like the characters. Like, there were characters you wanted to have in your party, not necessarily because of how powerful they were, but because of how cool they looked, acted, or played in the story. Even though no one really knows the deal about Pesmerga, how many people here didn't always want him in the party? I always thought Rubi and Sonya were cool to have too. Also fun to smack enemies with frying pans with your chefs.

However, the thing I love most about S1 is the fact that if I get bored for a couple of days, I can pick it up and play it start to finish in about 11 hours. And it's just fun to do that once in a while.
"Black Rune, pink balloon! This guy killed Gremio!!!"
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Piisuke
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Re: [Discussion] Reviews and Opinions of Suikoden I

Post by Piisuke »

I decided to create a blog and post reviews of the games I have played. My first game I reviewed is: Suikoden. http://digitalwalls.wordpress.com/2011/ ... e-corrupt/
death_to_sanchez
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Re: Judging a book by its cover

Post by death_to_sanchez »

lucreborn wrote:Only thing i can say is dont judge a book by its cover, being one of the worst game covers ive seen, its definitly not the worst game ive ever played, in fact it ties with my #1 rpg. If you want a good game with good gameplay and a game you can play again and again down the road. This is it a great start of a great series.
I like the cover of suikoden! I think it's fun to see if I can remember every character in the little collage on the front after I haven't played it for a year or two! Same goes for the others.
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Re: Judging a book by its cover

Post by Antimatzist »

death_to_sanchez wrote:
lucreborn wrote:Only thing i can say is dont judge a book by its cover, being one of the worst game covers ive seen, its definitly not the worst game ive ever played, in fact it ties with my #1 rpg. If you want a good game with good gameplay and a game you can play again and again down the road. This is it a great start of a great series.
I like the cover of suikoden! I think it's fun to see if I can remember every character in the little collage on the front after I haven't played it for a year or two! Same goes for the others.
lucreborn is most probably referring to the US-Cover which has a totally different cover artwork which is really ugly and has nothing to do with the content...
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Re: [Discussion] Reviews and Opinions of Suikoden I

Post by Hxc Flavor »

I played Suikoden II before I played Suikoden I, so naturally when I played the first game I was glad it had the same 2d sprite graphics and battle system.

What I didn't like about the game was that it seemed rushed. Once you defeated one of the generals, it seemed that Mathiu was kicking you out of the castle immediately to go take down another. But, I would have to say the thing I disliked most about the game was NOT BEING ABLE TO RUN. Without the Godspeed rune or Stallion in your party made traveling anywhere very irritating.
"I'd be happy to demonstrate its sharpness on your neck."
death_to_sanchez
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Re: Judging a book by its cover

Post by death_to_sanchez »

Antimatzist wrote:
death_to_sanchez wrote:
lucreborn wrote:Only thing i can say is dont judge a book by its cover, being one of the worst game covers ive seen, its definitly not the worst game ive ever played, in fact it ties with my #1 rpg. If you want a good game with good gameplay and a game you can play again and again down the road. This is it a great start of a great series.
I like the cover of suikoden! I think it's fun to see if I can remember every character in the little collage on the front after I haven't played it for a year or two! Same goes for the others.
lucreborn is most probably referring to the US-Cover which has a totally different cover artwork which is really ugly and has nothing to do with the content...
Oh yeah, I just looked it up and you're right, it's hideous! haha
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