Suikoden V is two thumbs way up in the series.
Suikoden V's story is my personal favorite out of the suikoden games. The story alone makes the game interesting and fun. The characters were really done well. I liked all 108 stars of destiny and the villians were also pretty cool as well.
Gameplay was fun and addictive. There's more depth in the combat system, both in the war parts and the random encounter aspects. The customization of your army allowed it to be to your liking. When in a random encounter/boss fight, you ould also change your party's formation to enhance certain stats for your party members depending on how you like to play.
The artwork and music were really done well. Everything fit perfectly with the game in terms of artwork and music. Although not the best graphics ever, it works rather well that one shouldn't really complain about.
Overall, the game should take about 60ish hours, maybe more depending on those who have to get all 108 stars, but it is fun playing this game. I'm hesitant to say whether or not this was better than Suikoden 2, but it's so good that it's definetely worth the time and money.