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In the 30+ years I've spent playing JRPGs, only a handful of games have left such an lasting impression on me since childhood. The Suikoden series (more importantly, Suikoden 2), had greatly shaped the way I saw the world growing up, with values and beliefs, which looking back on I still hold onto today. It would take many words to adequately describe the influence this series has had on me and the respect I have for the late Yoshitaka Murayama, but for the sake of keeping review as "concise" as possible I'll try to explain why Suikoden 1 & 2 represent the peak of the series and what sets it apart from others as one of the greatest JRPGs.
Politics, drama, war, love, vengeance.. hope. The Suikoden series explores themes that were prevalent during the late 90s and early 2000s. So while the themes were certainly not unheard of or groundbreaking, the series distinguished itself through its presentation. It incorporated these themes not just in the narrative but also through its many signature systems, like 1v1 duels. These intense battles between two characters punctuated pivotal moments in the story, adding intensity after a major battle. Duels follow a rock-paper-scissors turn system based on attack, defend, and desperate attack. While the system is straightforward, it does an excellent job of immersing you into the story, making battles engaging. Some duels can be quite challenging that can catch most off guard for the unprepared player that underestimates the straightforwardness this mode can be. I honestly love this system, the stakes in these duels were heightened by the fact that you couldn't restart them if you did lose. This added an element of suspense, making each duel feel significant and the veneer and integration of the narrative put into these moments is incredibly engaging. No matter how many times I experienced these duels, they remained a highlight of the game for me.
Another system widely considered a highlight for the series was the base building aspect, allowing you to recruit a large cast of characters who then contribute to a growing castle, at its core, recruiting a diverse range of characters, each with their own unique abilities and stories, which contributes to a sense of community and progression as your army expands. Although the depth of customization in Suikoden 1 might be considered somewhat shallow compared to later entries in the series. As a whole, it was always seen as a fun and engaging feature that sets the foundation for the series' signature "gathering a large group of allies" concept, but what complemented base building and made fans enjoy watching it all come together was through another staple system, army battles. A unique gameplay mode that allows you to engage in large scale battles by amassing all the characters that you have acquired (up to 108 playable characters, many said characters I might add, can be missable if you're not keen on finding/acquiring them all) against enemy armies. The possibility of permanent character death adds an element of suspense and novelty to the game. which at the time was kinda new to the JRPG scene
I can't forget to mention the signature rune system that perfectly complements the "six star of destiny" grid field turn-based battle system. In Suikoden 1 and 2, the rune system are different by a small margin but but in general,it provides players with character customization options, even with some characters tied to specific runes like the souleater, the system offers flexibility in shaping units into various roles, enabling offensive, defensive, or support builds. The rune combination feature further enhances gameplay by introducing various spell and attack combos based on which rune each two character is using, encouraging experimentation. It still remains as one of my favorite battle systems in the genre that always reminded me of the Breath of Fire series.
Music is phenomenal, tracks like "Days Past" (which remained as my alarm clock/ringtone for many year) , "Name Entry", and "Reminiscence" to name a few still sticks with me to this day. Suikoden 2 alone has over 100+ tracks, mostly composed by the legendary music composer Miki Higashino, best known for her work in the Suikoden series and the Gradius series are all fully redone in HD quality. Even the sound effects have also been touched up, although, some audio changes are debatable whether or not they're an improvement, but I like the inclusion none the less as this collection sets this apart from the original.
All in all, I had my doubts that Konami was going to fumble this collection, knowing their background and their two-year silence on whether or not they were going through with making this collection. However, in that time, when the team announced that they had recorded new sound effects, many people weren't pleased with the changes. After receiving a lot feedback, they went back and re-recorded new sound effects to be more similar to the original game and made plenty other changes to the QoL since then. This remaster collection also polishes the beautiful sprite backgrounds into sharp, colorful, and vibrant HD backgrounds, with newly added visual background animations and effects that don't necessarily take anything from their original counterpart charms.
Along with widescreen support, a cleaner and user-friendly UI that's accessible to a modern audience, faster battle speed-up options, sprinting is now available from the get-go and diagonal running is a thing now, finally. Even inventory management has been streamlined. Items are jointly shared across all members in your team, much like the later Suikoden titles and they added the biggest improvement of all... the option to turn off event timers. For those who had to deal with Clive's C&B torture for many years, your shackles have been broken!
It's great to see that the studio retained the original character sprites in this remastered collection, as it helps maintain the nostalgia and authenticity of the game. The fact that the new character portraits were re-drawn by Suikoden veteran Junko Kanano to fit modern HD screens is a huge plus. As so many classic remastered games have failed to maintain the retro spirit by adding terrible CRT filters or redesigning the sprites to the point of unrecognizability. It shows that the team behind this collection understands the importance of preserving the original experience for longtime fans. Even Star Ocean 2 remaster had the right idea with this approach and look how well received that is. It's unfortunate that some of the cut content from the original version, such as post game content, were also scrapped in the collection. However, the hard mode difficulty is a welcome addition, since it provides players with a more challenging experience addressing the difficulty most players desired in the original titles.
Truth be told, its somewhat disheartening to think that we may never get a Suikoden 6 and even if we did, it wouldn't feel like Suikoden considering the series creator, Yoshitaka Murayama is no longer with us. There are so many unanswered questions about different regions and true runes, as well as the true origins of characters like Jeane and Viki. We missed out on so much in terms of untold stories. However, I'm grateful that Konami and the team behind this collection brought back such an important series to me for a modern audience to experience. If you love classical JRPGs. Just for Suikoden 2 alone, this collection is a must-play, as it's still of the best all around classical JRPG out there but it can't go without saying that it wouldn't be as great (as a stand alone) without the prequel. The first game laid the foundation and did all the heavy lifting, making both essential for fans to experience on their own.
With that said..
Pass me a bowl, we tasting Gremio's famous stew again... for Murayama sake.
There are now 109 stars of Destiny.