[DS] Suikoden Tierkreis announced

...They can do this well...THEY CAN!

Bah, who am I kidding. My hopes are slim, but nevertheless I'm very excited and pumped! <3 I'll do with any new Suikoden game at the moment (Rhapsodia II eh maybe not), just to show that the series is still viable and capable of pumping out games like SV. However that whole "Parties of 4" thing brings back memories of SIV. Not a good first impression; 6-member parties is Suikoden and vice versa. God I hope Konami don't screw this up.

Also, omg, I hope the silly name isn't indicative of the game's quality. </3 [Tierkreis = Zodiac in German]

(RE that scan posted: artwork looks questionable. The 108 stars are mentioned, I hope this isn't a game in the main series, I hope it's just a gaiden...)

Jam it back in, in the dark.

Originally Posted by GB

it's saying that the 108 stars are destroyed.

Spoiler:

The locales actually look quite nice. I don't see any familiar faces yet in the characters (yet I do see an agitated mole thing wearing a headband >_>); I'd like an elaboration on the Yuber-Pesmerga subplot or something to keep me interested. =/

Konami needs to realise that if they produce a game that focuses on Neclord, they would be gazillionares.

There's nowhere I can't reach.

Originally Posted by Shin

I don't know if a Neclord game would quite make them gazillionaires but that and a Viktor and Flik based game would probably do it.

True. Throw Yuber and Pesmerga in there and you've got your next FFXIII in terms of hype. Hell, make Jeane a playable character in an optional beach-volleyball minigame and Konami dominate the gaming market for the next 10 years.

How ya doing, buddy?

Originally Posted by RPGFan

The main character is a member of a vigilante corps protecting a bordertown from thieves and monsters. The young man is an optimist who acts before he has thought through his actions. The female lead, Marika is the daughter of the town's mayor. She is a childhood friend of the protagonist and has joined the vigilante corps against her father's will.

*sigh* Sounds pretty damn cliché to me. Then again I could just be speaking as a jaded RPG gamer right there, I don't know. (It's just that whenever I hear something like "an optimist who acts before he has thought through his actions", alarm bells start ringing.

I guess you can't really judge a games' story based on the protagonist outline. Here's hoping the plot shapes up to be a good one.

I am a dolphin, do you want me on your body?

Looks and sounds pretty sweet. And some of those screenshots are just plain gorgeous. <3 The opening movie is kinda lame, but everything else sounds ok for now...

Also, given this and this, IGN's enthusiasm has thoroughly frightened and worried me.

I was speaking idiomatically.

Originally Posted by Me

[Tierkreis = Zodiac in German]

YES, MY DISCUSSION WAS EXTENSIVE.

How ya doing, buddy?

So wait...GB actually likes Tactics? I'm confused, frightened, appalled and amused.



Most amazing jew boots

8-) And what a great box art it is! If there's one thing I'm confident about with this game, its the graphical design and artwork!

Also, haha, the characters on the cover look like they're going to destroy something. 'Fernal's scary folder perhaps?! =O Girl on the left: "It's grown so big! My goodness, we'll never be able to destroy it!

Edit: No, Qwarky, it's a complementary Drama CD! You know, detailing the adventures of the scary folder etc

What, you don't want my bikini-clad body?

Originally Posted by Shin

Anyway, Suikoden covers generally survive the trip west pretty well and let's face it, once you've bought the thing how much time to you spend looking at anything other than the spine of the box?

Y'see, the thing is, Suikoden Tactics (West) has one of the blandest covers I've ever seen.



Having said that, I still preferred looking at it than playing the actual game.

Jam it back in, in the dark.

*looks at Suikoden Tactics case and cover* Oh yes, I have that one too. When I did a google image search I sort of just assumed we got screwed over with the cover as well.

Speaking of Suikoden covers, how 'bout that Japanese Suikoden I cover.

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Originally Posted by Shin

I know the American cover was ghastly but I thought the PAL cover was the same as the Jap one?

Yes that's right. (All these mistakes..and I call myself a Suikoden fanatic! =O) I find it strikingly odd that it's the American cover which contains Japanese text and bizarre art designs. But yeah, I've always been a fan of the alternative Suikoden cover. And SII's, but that's just a given.

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

Anybody got more thoughts on this? From the various previews and reviews I've read, the voice acting and battle interface seem pretty bad, but the characters and plot seem to have been met with great positivity. Good to hear that the plot's good, that alone makes it worth a purchase.

So yeah, definitely importing this one when it's released.

I am a dolphin, do you want me on your body?

GB, how many tracks are there on the Soundtrack CD? For some reason, this is the first I've heard about a promotional/enclosure CD that comes with the US game.

I was speaking idiomatically.

Haven't had much luck over here in Australia either (also a PAL region). The few shops I've been to either don't have the game on their system or say it's been discontinued. I guess I'll just bite the bullet and import from the US; I'm not gonna wait like I had to for Suikoden V (got seriously delayed over here, if memory serves).

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?

*I just reincarnated so I could post my thoughts in this thread. Please feel more than welcome to kill me once again.

Well my first impressions of this game are positive. I just played it for a couple of hours, and I just love the presentation. The graphics are superb, with exceptional detail to the lighting; and the music score is, as I knew before, wonderful. I don't even have a problem with the voice acting, with the exception of Liu (someone get him a handkerchief; or, someone slice his throat). I actually think the Hero's personality is infectious, and the eccentric voice acting reflects this---not irksome at all to me, and his fast-paced dialogue has actually made me smirk a couple of times in amusement.

But one thing that bugs me about the Hero is that he runs like a constipated old grandpa. "WE WON'T KNOW UNLESS WE TR----hold on sonny I think I'm getting the urge."

Battle system is inoffensive if a little mundane and lacking in innovation. (Random encounters are a tad frustrating though in their frequency and monotony) Oh and some of the dialogue is genuinely funny I find; one thing in particular I remember was the cake analogy from Liu. Silly, but it adds a nice element to the game.

FELIPE NO

A somewhat sizable review of the game follows:

Spoiler:

I just finished the game, in a very meticulous fashion mind you. I made sure I got all 108 stars (without resorting to a guide or anything), which meant I was frequently revisiting places after major plot advancements. But I love the Suikoden formula, so I largely enjoyed the star hunting.

Sadly, Tierkreis throws much of the Suikoden formula out the window. I very much join the consensus that this is a good game, but not a very good Suikoden game. The plot admittedly engaged me, since I'm a sucker for stories involving corruption. However the way the plot was structured, and the way everything was brought together was a tad irksome, like GB pointed out. But throughout the game, when not considering the world in the context of the Infinity, thereby eliminating all Suikoden connotations, I enjoyed the story.

The random battle encounters were extraordinarily frequent and insipid. I don't mind it much when there are heaps of random encounters, as long as the battle system is, well, fun enough to complement such potentially long gaming sessions. And the lack of an escape rope for those times when you venture deep into a monster-filled cavern to trigger a scene? Very, very frustrating. To briefly gloss over another element, the "mission" concept to the game was decent, if a bit monotonous and unrewarding. The game didn't pose much of a challenge, too; it's true that Suikoden games aren't known for their difficulty, but this game was almost laughable. I only had to use a revive spell or item three times during the whole game, and my Hero became such a powerhouse he destroyed almost anything in his path with little difficulty and minimal level grinding (and if you take Marica, Jale and Liu with you to the final battle, their co-op attack completely dominates).

Presentation, on the other hand, was detailed and enjoyable on every level for me. The menu interface was sound, and the graphics and music were wonderful. I especially like, as I mentioned before, the detail on lighting, and the look of some of the 2D backgrounds. The musical score is up to the high Suikoden standard, with a diverse range of cultural and dramatic pieces helping to emphasise the gorgeous locales and emotional scenes with skilled finesse.

I actually, contrary to most who have played the game, wasn't too annoyed by any of the voice acting. Occasionally I'd get a bit frustrated with certain lines or pieces of dialogue, but overall I thought that the voice acting was serviceable. Vaslof is one in particular who annoyed me though, and Nimni's voice was as ambiguous as it was irritating. Characters like Chrodechild and Diadora, however, had restrained voice actors who delivered every line, while not outstandingly, with great clarity of expression and tone.

The dialogue was mostly fine, though quite often it was way too cheesy and mundane. Occasional sparks of humour and wit (such as any scene with Macoute, Zenoa and others) were too often overshadowed by mindless praise of the Hero and his way of dealing with situations. He's your leader, you respect him; we get it. And on that note, albeit not in a negative sense, the characterisation was overwhelmingly solid, with a great fleshing out of each character's personalties and idiosyncrasies, as cliche as some of them were.

So overall, a great DS traditional RPG experience, one which had me for a good 50 hour playthrough. Suikoden purists will either dislike this or will have to overcome a huge obstacle to extract any enjoyment. Thankfully the presentation and story were good enough to hook me.

What, you don't want my bikini-clad body?

It's much too small to qualify though, surely? If not then I'll gladly copy and paste it into a proper review thread.

Jam it back in, in the dark.

Done. I altered things a bit and added a few points; glad to contribute to the currently bare Front Page review section!

There's nowhere I can't reach.