Role Playing Retro: Suikoden

With university study being over and the job hunt on a bit of a break (haha), I thought I’d play a few of my favourite video games to pass the time. As anybody who was born in 1990 can understand, video games have been a big part of my life. I’ve been through three or four different phases of consoles, and this was all before I turned 18!

I will say, I’ve played my fair share of games, some god awful and some mind-blowingly brilliant. When I think of the games I enjoy the most and play the most, often three letters come to mind: R P G.

Now before you click ‘back’ and move on, you have to admit that RPG (Role Playing Games) can produce the finest games ever made. Look back at titles like Final Fantasy 7, Star Ocean: The Second Story, Chrono Trigger, and more. They all captivated and provided over 30 hours of gameplay each. If you haven’t had the chance to play these games please do. You are missing out.

One title I want to focus on for this particular edition is a game that predates most of these (except Chrono Trigger). Released in 1996, ‘Suikoden’ was a very early entry into the RPG market by Konami for the original Playstation (PS1). Konami would later go on to become famous for ‘Metal Gear Solid’ three years later, but wow were they on to something here.

You play as Tir McDohl, son of Teo McDohl – a respected captain of the Scarlet Moon Empire. Heading out of the royal city of Gregminster on an errand, it gives the lead character a chance to interact with people outside of the kingdom. After meeting other people and realising what the empire has become, the protagonist abandons his lineage, his father, and rebels to take on the empire. You start from small beginnings, few friends, and little direction on how to build an army. Over the course of the game you meet new characters, forge alliances and aim to achieve what many considered impossible: Overthrowing the empire.

The plot isn’t anything that’ll make you jump out of your chair, but the execution is where the game shines. Here’s a brief extract of the plot for those who have not played it:

“This early chain of events forces the Hero to cross paths with a rebel organisation where he is sheltered, although he is only convinced of the need to struggle against the Empire when the hideout is attacked and sacked by Imperial forces. Recruiting the help of Mathiu Silverberg, a former Imperial strategist, the Hero’s Liberation Army starts off as a small force working to unite rebel factions throughout Scarlet Moon, and eventually becomes a force large enough and powerful enough to bring down the Empire itself.”

To this day it amazes me that this game came out in 1996. It has aged very well thanks to its graphics (beautifully rendered in sprite form, the type of graphics that SNES RPG’s were famous for) and the fact that you can recruit (and fight with) up to 108 different characters. 108! To put this into perspective, most Role Playing games tend to focus in on anywhere between 3-8 characters. To have this many to experiment with was a joy to say the least, and added hours of gameplay to the game trying to find the best combination attacks.

Between the graphics, the story and the presentation, Suikoden is a game I still love to play. When I first rented the game I literally did nothing else for that weekend it was that good. It basically has everything a RPG fan could ask for:

* Presentation – These graphics never look bad no matter whan you play. Unfortunately games like Final Fantasy 8 haven’t aged too well graphically (although at the time they were top class and pushed the PS1 to the limit).

* Great battles – Being able to fight with 6 characters at a time means plenty of opportunity for action. This also means the boss battles are appropriately harder than you would expect. ‘Unite’ attacks between chosen characters can be devastating and the fun of finding out which characters can unite means plenty of strategy involved too.

* Powerful cut-scenes / character development – You will struggle to find better for 1996. you may struggle to find better now. Suikoden’s cut-scenes were fantastic (although now probably beaten by other games).

* Colorful, vibrant and addictive – It looks amazing. It’s one of the reasons why it caught my eye originally and  keeps it addictive. Often I play it for hours at a time.

It’s rare to get a hold of now, commanding prices of over 100 dollars on trademe and ebay. But if you ever get your hands on a copy, treasure it. It’s 30 hours of play you won’t forget for a long time. If you still doubt me, here’s a clip to get you interested:

James

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