[General Discussion] Suikoden Club v7!

I've always thought the Suikoden series was good enough at providing enough good swerves in the storylines that were good enough at keeping them from getting boring. The pacing is generally excellent.

Just curious: At what point were you when you stopped Suikoden 1?

I really dunno if someone who didn't care for the original Suikoden would really like 2 a great deal. Seven hours into 1 a lot of stuff happens...Seven hours into 2, you're JUST getting to the start of the good part(s). Both games are at their strongest from the mid-point and on, IMO.

But as for storylines, the only real thing you'd have to worry about from skipping 1 and going to 2 are some recurring characters and an event that happens late in the game to tie the two games together.

Jam it back in, in the dark.

This time last week, I was 30 hours into the game. I'm now finished my initial runthrough, am standing at a cool 64 hours total and I'm ready to get serious about tracking down the rest of those damn stars.

Just an amazing game...I always thought in the back of my head it could surpass the first two, but I didn't think it would do it so convincingly. So many "holy shit" moments, I was mentally exhausted by the time I got to the end.

I have to say, Miakis is my favorite character overall...Cute and she has some hilarious stuff ("Here Prince...Put this wig on!"), but still completely deadly and can put on her serious face in a heartbeat. A very "complete" character, though the same can be said for all of the main cast members (plus several others...Roy started out annoying, but earned my respect later on, especially from "the scene")

Warning: Spoilers:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=DU2ct0cENbA& … ikoden%20V

And I second the sentiment of the Suikoden IV guys possibly doing VI...Ugh. At the very least, they need to go back to six-man parties and ditch the boat.

Last thing: Great review Enkidu, but I actually thought the opening music was the best in the series.

There's nowhere I can't reach.

I'm actually surprised, since Suikoden V is so...elaborate, yet there was a really short gap between it and IV (plus Rhapsodia/Suikoden Tactics). I assumed it was similar to how Square was able to pump out FF8-9-10-X2 in successive years, by using different teams.

And don't forget Norikazu Miura as well, who composed part of IV and all of Rhapsodia and V (save for the opening). Suikoden 1 is still my favorite score from the series, but Miura's V work makes it easier to let Miki Higashino enjoy retirement. I hope they bring him back for VI...The quality of his work jumped a lot from IV/Rhapsodia -> V.

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

Originally Posted by TonyDaTigger

Spoiler:

It would seem pretty natural to want to stay and fight instead, maybe assume that you could revive Roy later like you did Gremio in Suikoden 1.

"

Maybe...I figured several things before I made the choice:

Spoiler:

1. I figured Lucretia knew what she was doing when she suggested abandoning the castle. I have faith in Lucretia...

2. Either Lyon or Miakis was going to get the Nanami/Gremio 108 treatment already, and from the warning of having severe casualties, something bad on top of that was going to happen.

Of course, I thought it might be something like General Ridley in S2, where you lost him, but still got his star because of a replacement character. But I regret not taking that path (and having it pointed out on YouTube by a friend), especially since I wasn't anywhere near 108 at the time I did it. Not exactly a spoiler at that point, but it did lose some of its' "holy shit"-ness from not actually playing towards it.

Heh..."You tried to be the hero, but you just got yourself killed! Idiot!" I like Childerich. He'd make a cool avatar.

Originally Posted by Generic Badass

And I must be the only person here who didn't think V was all that great. Solid, but not up to my standards for the series.

Heh, I'll definitely admit it has its' flaws...The loading, for one, was painful. Stars are kind of hard to find. The "playable opening" is far too long. Not enough instances of normal battles and boss battles normally centered around putting on shades and casting spells (sup Zerase!). The Brady Games guide has quite a few errors in it. But everything else more than made up for them...The characters, the story, the pacing, the scenarios, the large-scale battles, battle-prep options, graphics, music, voice-acting, attention to detail, the castle design...All top-notch, I thought.

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

I remember hearing something about that awhile back...The lead designer quit in the middle of 3 or something of that ilk? Any stray details you can spare, please...

How ya doing, buddy?

Originally Posted by rpgcrazied

I gave up on the last boss(suikoden V) ;/

He's not bad...Just make sure you can take magic hits, since he'll use the spinning thing every other turn (and then some). I didn't know what to expect, so I went in with a balanced party (in other words, not one prepared to deal with him). I had my two main fighters (Goesch and Miakis) beat up one of the arms, so I could see what he would do after losing one and sometimes Hero and Lyon would join in with a combo...It was almost worth making him waste turns regenerating them. Bernadette and Zerase were in the back, firing "hit everyone" spells, plus I used a Shield Rune on Lyon and she boosted everyone's magic attack several times (my normal strategy the entire game). I think I swapped Sharmista in for Lyon at some point to get more magic attack attacks in and I also had Viki ready with another offensive spell rune, plus Miakis had an offensive spell rune on her as well that I used, since I wasn't getting combo attacks out of her (don't remeber specifics, since I started my New Game+. I beat him with 5 members alive on the first try.

I had more problems with the Zweig/Georg boss earlier on (the Lyon/Hero bosses were pretty easy). That came down to one all-or-nothing blow, since I had all my weak members in that team (I didn't know I'd need 18+ characters...I had two dragons in that party).

Cetra: Thanks for the info. I would indeed say the new producer was a huge fan of the earlier games.

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?

Fun little scare last night with Killey...(are recruitment issues considered spoilers?)

Freed him from Agate Prison, then exited the castle to meet with him, then showed him the ruins, then he leaves. The Brady Games guide says if you do these things PRIOR to the Twilight Forest Ruins, he'll join you. So I think I did something wrong when he ran off and didn't join (even consulted with Oboro, who gleefully reports Killey has apparently disappeared from the planet...:aargh: ). One quick (and desperate) check to Yangxu's (excellent) character FAQ later and I learn he will join AT the Twilight Forest Ruins (as opposed to at your castle) if you've done everything. So I'm still running clear. Thank you Brady Games for making my heart come to a sudden stop.

Other minor scare was when I almost couldn't find the window maker in the Dwarf Camp...That little blue guy is hard to see.

And best part of all at this point was Lun's response to Subala being her "boyfriend". Those two sure didn't hold anything back...Makes fishing all the more fun watching them and Logg going back and forth.

How ya doing, buddy?

Originally Posted by Cobra

Just finished in few mins ago after 95h of playing time. I didn't expect it shouldn't last that long but I put this one on the episodes I& II level of excellency. My dream team was Tiger formation, in the head of the arrow Georg, followed by Richard and Miakis, hero in the middle and Killey and Zerase in the back.
Now what is left to do for the VI is excellent graphics and it'll be the perfect game.

Wow, was that one playthrough or two? I'm 87 into a New Game+ and just reaching the halfway point again.

Yeah, the Tiger formation is my new favorite this time around. It's really versatile and S-characters don't seem to lose a thing in the second row back (despite reading otherwise) I'm trying to use characters I missed the first time or didn't use primarily, so no Goesch, Zerase, Georg or Bernadette this time around...Miakis was my favorite character, so she'll stay and so will Lyon probably (though it's rare for both to be in the party at the same time). Faylen is great with a Power Rune and she can handle magic duties well enough, Shigure is currently in the lead slot (combo-machine), Sagiri is the same deal as Faylen (minus any magic potential) and Roy is a good Mid-Ranger with Magic, plus a combo with the Prince. Plus, I have Viki and Jeanne in the entourage, armed with Lightning/Rage Runes and magic powering orbs when needed (not too useful with auto-battle), plus Zegai (I'm amazed he was a mid-ranger). I'm going to go a little ways and try Belcoot in either Shigure or Roy's spot, since I'll still need about a dozen more battle-ready characters soon. Choices, choices...THIS is why six-man parties are such a great thing.

I'm actually happy with the graphics in this one...The changes I would make for Suikoden VI would be:

-more voice acting...I'm not an advocate for fully-voiced games, but every VA in this game was great and most were only given a few lines. Boz, Toma Fuwalafuwalu, Bernadette, Euram, Guisu, Childerich, Roy, Faylen, even Miakis...They all needed to talk more.
-Maybe go for more cut-scenes, instead of the group-speaking parts...The ones in here were great as is. Again, I'm not a fan of massive amounts of cut-scenes, but if they're going to be the same quality as the Roy one I linked to before or the ones with the Barows clan or the ones near the end...Gimme! There's probably enough here for a 100-episode anime series.
-more dynamic camera shots, especially during battles.
-Make the game harder.
-More military battles. Seriously, these deserve an entire game of their own.
-Maybe button-timed blow during duels.

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

I'm in love with Moroon w/ Crazed Orb, Nikea with Boar Rune and her critical hit skills maxed out (2500-3000 damage per shot) and Faylen/Urda w/Double Edge Orb and Power Orb (plus Jizos...will probably need to change these for the final encounter, but it cleans up random encounters nicely). I alternated Shigure with Nikea, since I already maxed out Shigure's combo and attack skills...Moroon is very similar (good power, lot's of combos) and I dig him for the music change and its' just cool having a beaver in the party. Too bad Faylen and Urda only have 1 extra skills slot.

Richard is almost...cheap. I used him as soon as I got him and he just did pretty much everything right (similar to Georg and Zerase). He's not that interesting a character, so I figured I'd just rather use Moroon instead. It's fun creating good, wacky teams that kick some ass...That's always been the best part of any Suikoden game, late in the game with so many characters to play around with (I remember using Shiro/Kinnison and Hix/Tengaar in Suikoden 2). This game seriously needed an uber-tough bonus dungeon. I almost want to use Byakuren, but I don't want to give up two slots.

At this rate, I should have 18 characters prime to go for the final. And if all else fails, I have Viki, Jeane, Nelis and Norma lined up with all of my major attack-magic runes in the entourage.

How ya doing, buddy?

Originally Posted by Kaelin

Suikoden V is great. The biggest problem you may encounter is that it takes a good 5-7 hours before the story really starts to pick up. I didn't mind this as it felt like I was just enjoying a chapter of my favorite book in the evenings for an hour or two before I would go to bed. But Game Informer made it out to sound like it was the most boring experience that they were ever forced to play through (one reason why I take magazine reviews with a grain of salt when I know the game is good). Just give it time, and once five's story really kicks in you'll be having a blast

Let's also not forgot: Game Informer also spent half of that very review comparing Suikoden 5 to Final Fantasy VII. I'm sure anyone looking for good S5 info was thrilled about reading a review that was 50 percent talking about FFVII and 25 percent whining about how long the first couple of hours were.

I loved most of the intro (ESPECIALLY the Barrows intro scene...I would love to see that one Youtubed) but the second half of the Sacred Games and the events right after that kind of dragged on before...BAM! The good stuff hits. Oh well, at least Logg and Lun were entertaining enough. I think I enjoyed them more than any of the mindless zombies I've seen in S4 thus far...

Heh...(thinking out loud)

Lun: "Geez pop, this game really sucks."
Logg: "Hahaha, yer old man's gonna make this game a lot more excitin'...Hold on everyone!"
+99 Speed Boost for the Boat from Suikoden IV.
Whole S4 Cast: "Ugh...(barf)"
Lun: "Nice goin', pop, you dumb-ass. You made 'em all seasick and stuff!"
Logg: "S'all right...Most of 'em look constipidated anywho! Specially that hero guy..."

Most amazing jew boots

Is there any additional dialogue if you have Viki with you and go to recruit Mueller/Wilhelm? I was able to get them without her (think I lost between 200-300 troops...forget which battle it was) and I got the one where Wilhelm asks Mueller and Mueller replies they have no reason to turn down the offer to join.

Also, what do they say if you didn't meet the requirements?

How ya doing, buddy?

Actually, if it's any indication, the used price for S3 has jumped to $40 (from $27) at Gamestop. And S4 seems to have dried up entirely, though that may be for the better. Plenty of Suikoden Tactics though...

I didn't see S5 available the last time I went to Gamestop either. Hmm...

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

That is true about the camera...I liked the overhead view well enough, but the world is so pretty, it would have been nice to see it from various angles. A couple towns pan around when you first enter though.

How about that...Something positive SIV has that V doesn't. Nevermind SIV's camera controls were annoying as all hell though and the enclosed, claustrophobic areas kind of defeated the purpose at times.

It's been awhile since I've played this and I can recall much of the adventure quite well and fondly. I really would love to see this entry get it's own anime, even it's just a cheap cash-in retelling of everything.

I was speaking idiomatically.