Chapter Two In The Epic Story of Suikoden
Written: May 14 '01 (Updated May 14 '01)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: A Captivating Plot, Memorable Characters
Cons: Corny Dialogue, Slow Spots
The Bottom Line: Though a great game, not quite as awe-inspiring as the original.
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| tanta07's Full Review: Suikoden II for PlayStation 1 |
note: I refer to the original Suikoden many times in this review, and if you aren't already familiar with it, you might want to read my review on it first to catch the references.
After finishing the first Suikoden only a couple of months ago, I was pretty eager to run out and get the sequel. After having read many of the reviews for Suikoden II, I could tell that I wasn't going to be disappointed; it seemed that many had claimed that this sequel was even better than the original. The original Suikoden kept me captivated the entire time I played it, and I wanted to sacrifice my job, food, and personal hygiene just to keep playing it. Okay, maybe I didn't like it QUITE that much, but it was a fantastic game. Does Suikoden II deliver on as many levels as the original? Well...no. But don't let that deter you from giving it a shot, because it is a great game in its own right.
In many ways, Suikoden II uses the same devices that made the original so popular. The battle systems are basically unchanged, the army recruitment aspect is repeated again, and many of the main characters from the first game resurface in the sequel. I want to be clear in stating this, though: Suikoden II is no re-hash. Many of the same themes pop up in this game because it takes place in the same area as the original, and the same struggle is still taking place. One of the wisest decisions made with this sequel was to make it a continuation, instead of trying to re-create an entire world and setting for the new game (ala Final Fantasy). This gives the gamer a sense of continuity, and you feel like you have some experience with the struggle that is taking place.
This episode of the series is centered around a nameless main character again (I named him Woodie, after my cat). Woodie is a member of the Highland army, as is his lifelong friend, Jowy. They are suddenly attacked and their unit is slaughtered by what they think are soldiers from the City State of Jowston. As it turns out, the soldiers are actually from Highland, and the attack was meant to stir up citizen hatred in order to start a lucrative war. Woodie and Jowy just manage to escape the assault, and are quickly taken in by local bandits Viktor and Flik, who you will remember from the original Suikoden.
Some years have passed since the original battle from the first game, and Viktor and Flik are up to their usual tricks. They let Woodie into their motley crew, and it quickly expands into a sizeable force. It is once again the main character's destiny to unite the 108 Stars of Destiny, as in the original, and the main bulk of the game is spent in the on-going struggle for freedom against the Highland Army, and their over-the-top leader, Luca Blight. I just have to say, while I have the chance, that Luca Blight has to be the best bad guy name I have ever heard. And Luca is up to the task; he is every bit as evil as the worst villians in video game history, maybe even a little more so, since he gets extra credit for being off of his bloomin' rocker to boot.
One of the intangibles of what makes the Suikoden games so great is the intricate storylines. Suikoden II does not disappoint in this area; in the course of the game, you will have setbacks, victories, major deceptions, HUGE betrayals, and all without having to turn on Days of Our Lives once. I don't want to give anything away here, but Jowy plays a gigantic role in the story, and his fate and Woodie's fate are intertwined in such a way that you just know that there is only a tragic ending in store for them. This is all foreshadowed throughout the game, but like any good novel, Suikoden II doesn't show all of its cards until the very end.
I suppose this review wouldn't be complete unless I mentioned the graphics, so I guess I'll get it out of the way. Many avoided the original Suikoden because of its poor graphics, and that is a crying shame. The bigger disappointment is that many might also avoid the sequel for the same reason. Though Suikoden II's graphics are updated from the original (with FMV's, to boot!), they are still pretty far behind was passes for great graphics these days. The graphics didn't distract me in the slightest, but if some technophiles out there are turned off by them, it's their loss, because they are missing out on a great gaming experience.
On the disappointing side, Suikoden II's music just doesn't quite live up to the original's. There are a couple of memorable tunes, but for the most part, nothing really sticks out a grabs you. I actually found myself putting in CD's to listen to while playing this game, which never happened while I played the original. Each town has its own theme and style of music, but most tend to just fade into the background and don't stick in your head for very long. Suikoden is widely regarded as having some of the best music ever for a roleplaying game, so needless to say, this is a slight disappointment.
As I mentioned before, the battle systems are basically unchanged from the original. There are army battles, one-on-one battles, and regular random battles that occur while your party travels around. The army battles, which were decided like rock-paper-scissors in the original, are now more strategy based. Each unit in an army can move a certain number of hexes, and then each unit has a unique attack that they can use. This adds a new level of strategy from the original, and is without a doubt an improvement. The one-on-one battles are still rock-paper-scissors, and the random battles are basically unchanged from the original.
So you're probably thinking, "What's not to like," right? The bottom line is, there isn't anything not to like about Suikoden II, I just didn't feel that it was as epic and fantastic as the original. I will now go into a short rant about what isn't so great about this game. It pains me to point out anything bad about it, but I just want to cover all of the bases.
- The hero (Woodie) of Suikoden II is just not very charismatic. He seems pretty shy, is fairly ignorant about the world around him, and is very inexperienced when compared to the members of his army. He tends to answer questions with things like, "I don't know," or "Um...yeah," or "That's stupid," if he even answers at all. Shu, your military strategist in the game, seems more like a leader, and actually makes most of the major decisions. The hero basically does whatever Shu says, and then mumbles a few things before going off to war. He's not extremely believable as a leader, and perhaps that's what's supposed to be charming about him, but it just didn't work for me.
- The plot definitely dragged in a few spots, to the point where I wanted to start skipping past dialogue just to get to some fighting. Towards the middle of the game, there seems to be a pattern of big fight/lots of talking/big fight/lots of talking for quite a while. Again, the dialogue probably would of been more interesting if the hero had more to say than "......."
- Though the original Suikoden wasn't perfect, the sequel is literally full of glitches. They are mainly grammatical mistakes, which is going to happen in a Japanese to English translation, but there are so many of them that they tend to get distracting. The other glitches were just minor ones, but still proved to be very annoying, like a particular one in Tinto City that made my character just walk back and forth rapidly so that I couldn't control him and would have to re-start the game over and over. Grrrr
- For some reason, Suikoden II didn't captivate me like the original. It has an interesting plot that will keep you guessing and playing until the end, but it seems to be lacking some X factor that would make it legendary.
Whatever my goofy reasons are for not liking this game as much as the original, don't let them distract you from giving this game a chance. It has all of the key ingredients of a classic RPG: an epic struggle against evil, memorable characters, a strong supporting story, and a very solid battle system. In order to catch all of the references in the game, you might want to play the original first. It's not totally necessary, since Suikoden II is strong enough to stand on its own, but it will give you a better understanding of the characters and their plight. Well...two thumbs up. Check it out, everybody.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
tanta07
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Member: John
Location: Greeley, CO. USA
Reviews written: 212
Trusted by: 51 members
About Me:
The sunshine bores the daylights out of me.
Chasing shadows, moonlight mystery.
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