Leaves you breathless
But the storyline itself was great with its various twists and turns. It is a little difficult, though not impossible, to figure out what would happen next. There's the whole traditions that are followed by the Falenan royal family from Lymsleia's Sacred Games to her getting the Dawn Rune's blessing and her purification rite at Lunas. Then, going on to Queen Arshtat and Ferid's deaths (which, by the way, is one of the most heart-wrenching scenes I have ever seen). It's just...it left me speechless. Plus it's a long story, which is always a plus.
I like the fact that the one-on-one duel is now timed which makes it seem more like a duel. You have to be able to think on your feet.
The party battles is also better, in my opinion since you can switch in people in your entourage and the new formation system is great too.
And, what can I say about the army battles? It certainly is a lot better than the army battles in past Suikodens (except maybe for Suikoden III since I liked that one as well, but this one is more army-like).
The characters are also really good. I mean, the first time I recruited Norma and Ernst left me dumbfounded. Who would have expected a story like that? My favorite character would have to still be Miakis with her Shield Rune and co-op attack with the Prince, as well as Richard. I have yet to recruit Raven (I'm only in the process) so I don't know if he'll be a part of my favorites.
The headquarters! Oh my gosh, can I even explain how much I love the headquarters. I mean, COME ON!!! It's Sindar Ruins in the middle of a made lake, years spent underwater and yet, clean as if it was just made the day before, how can you not love that? The multiple floors and many rooms always get me excited because there's so much to explore just within your headquarters. There's just so much to do!
The mini games are good too. There's checkers with Egbert, and the Mahjong-like game called The Feitas with Fuyo, Blindsman Bluff with ... that girl with the blue hair. And not to mention, THE FISHING!!! God, I never really spent much time fishing in any other Suikoden game, but in V, I can spend hours just on fishing alone!
The towns are all huge, with plenty to explore (like headquarters yet a little smaller) and each has their own unique quirks: Lelcar with its three parts, Doraat with its angled walls, Haud with...well, we'll not talk about Haud, Sol-Falena itself. They're just great.
The music, though not as great as, perhaps II or III, it still great. The only BGMs that really didn't agree with me are the town BGMS but everything else on the soundtrack just sounds wonderful and perfectly placed.
The only thing that I really have to complain about is the loading time. Some are understandable, but others just take way too long. And, after a while, you can pretty much predict if there's a cut-scene or a "moving on" scene judging on how long the loading time takes.
Still, the game is possibly one of the top Suiko games ever released.