One of the best RPGs out there.

User Rating: 8.5 | Genso Suikoden (PlayStation the Best) PS
Game Review-Playstation-Suikoden

Review 211

Released: December 1996
Publisher: Konami
Game Genre: Role-Playing
ESRB Rating: E for Everyone
ESRB Descriptors: Mild Language, Animated Violence

Story: 30%
Gameplay: 40%
Graphics: 20%
Durability: 10%

Story (10/10)
You are the son of Teo McDohl, one of the five great Imperial Generals under Emperor Barbarosa. You begin the game in the first few days of working for the Empire, following in your father's footsteps. Teo leaves to fight an insurgence, leaving the hero with the house's servants, Gremio, Cleo, and Pahn, and his best friend Ted.

This is one of very few RPGs that can pull off such an in-depth storyline without taking away from the gameplay or resulting in incredibly long dialog sessions. There are 108 people that you can recruit in Suikoden. That may seem like a sweltering amount, but not all of them are fighters. One, for example, is an innkeeper that will set up an inn in your headquarters. Another opens an item shop. Also, not all 108 are story-dependent. Through each main section of the story, there are two or three characters that you must take with you.

Gameplay (10/10)
One word; incredible. Konami knew all too well the most frustrating (not difficult, frustrating) aspects of role-playing and eased up on them a bit.

Battle system:
Your standard turn-based RPG, with attack, defend, magic (Rune), and run commands. The magic in Suikoden is very unique. Characters must be equipped with certain Runes to use magic. As you travel, you gain spells that can be used in battle (some characters quicker than others). These spells are limited, and grow fewer as they grow more powerful (7/5/3/1, typically). Characters are split into three attack types; S, M, and L. S characters have to be in the front row in order to attack; M and L characters can attack from either the front or back row. Six characters fight in a single party.

Dungeon system:
One of the most frustrating aspects of an RPG is exploring. Too many RPGs create impossible, puzzle-filled dungeons that take forever to explore. Sure, some players enjoy this, but for me, it just means wasting time while forgetting the purpose of being there in the first place. Suikoden erases this. Dungeons are medium-length, contain only a few puzzles, and are easy to find your way through.

Leveling system:
This would normally be lumped in with the battle system, but I feel it needs its own in Suikoden. With 108 characters, you'd think that leveling certain ones would get annoying, right? It's an RPG. That means hours and hours of battling senselessly to gain five levels for a weak character. Not in Suikoden; it features an amazing catch-up system. While the other 5 members of my party were around level 25, a level 13 character increased to level 19 in one battle against six kobolds.

Miscellaneous:
Weapons are by far the most annoying part of Suikoden. You can't change a character's weapon, but you can sharpen it, increasing its level. Unfortunately, it gets unbelievably expensive after level 5 or so. To get it from 15 to 16 (the maximum), it costs 70,000 bits (bits are the money system). As for armor, it is typical for an RPG. Buy it at shops and equip it. Each character can equip a helmet, armor, and two accessories. Some characters can equip shields.

One last thing:
Battling with a party of six is not the only feature of Suikoden. There are also one-on-one duels that appear through the game, in which you have to correctly counter your opponent, and large scale army battles, in which you also have to counter your opponent, but with many more options. Characters can die in large scale battles.

Graphics (5/10)
Hey, not every game can be perfect. Suikoden looks like Konami just stretched out some Super Nintendo graphics.

Durability (7/10)
Decent length for an RPG. It took me 30 hours to beat the game; I recruited all 108 characters, but only used about 30 or 40 of them.

Overall Score (8.7/10)
Rounded Score (8.5/10)

Final Thoughts:
One of the best RPGs out there.