Suikoden II

[petrushka]

This is old-school, I know, but I just read from the myGamer front page/news site that Konami is finally releasing a digital version of this on PSN so those with PS3 and PS4 will be able to play it from there.

I really loved this game when I played it and I was a little bitter because Suikoden I has been digital for a while but there was no word for Suikoden II for so long and what was the point of this 108 stars, living!Gremio save if I couldn't port it to my Suikoden II gameplay for the bonuses?

But no seriously, any of you played this before? I'm never sure how popular Suikoden games are so it's always nice to see someone else who's played this.

 

[fjellse]

Suikoden I was fantastic, but I don't think the series has ever been particularly popular in the West.

I played the original only a few years ago, at a friend's recommondation, and I was really surprised at how much I enjoyed it. I was thrilled when I found out that Suikoden II is only better, but I haven't gotten around to trying it yet, so it'll be nice once they release it on PSN.

Have you played the other Suikodens? I notice that past II, they seem to be in 3D, and the 3D doesn't look like it aged very well.

 

[petrushka]

I think it was popular enough since all the games so far (apart from the two Suikogaiden games) have been translated but yeah, I don't think it's wildly popular or anything. Which is why it's always nice to see people who've played it since it's not that common.

I think the fandom's consensus is that Suikoden II is the best amongst the current released games. I played until Suikoden III and this game is indeed my favourite but having never played the fourth and fifth ones, I don't really have the authority to say it's the best so far. I have heard that V is a call back to II and that IV can be addicting once you get used to it.

I can't judge on the 3D quality since it still looks fine to me? But Suikoden III is different gameplay-wise because there are three main characters from three different factions that you have to play whereas in the first two, your POV is mainy your Silent Protagonist with occasional scenes (that you cannot control) from the other faction,

I hope you can play this game when it's released! More importantly, I hope you enjoy it, hehe.

 

[WAVWirmer]

This game is one of the best old school JRPG the story was amazing and the battle system was very nice. So good in fact that it inspired many RPG's for years to come. What made it so expensive and collectible was that back when it originally came out they printed and shipped very few copies. So they hard to get your hands on them to begin with and with the time they got harder and harder to get a hold of. Its a great game that I will be getting on PSN.

 

[TonyMHFan]

This is old-school, I know, but I just read from the myGamer front page/news site that Konami is finally releasing a digital version of this on PSN so those with PS3 and PS4 will be able to play it from there.

You mean PS3, PSP, and PS Vita, right? It isn't available for the PS4, though perhaps through PSNow it is.

But no seriously, any of you played this before?

I haven't, but since its been released I'll probably check it out in a few months to see what allll the hype is about.

 

[petrushka]

I haven't, but since its been released I'll probably check it out in a few months to see what allll the hype is about.

Haha, hope you have a good time then! I don't know if you've played the first Suikoden game but the first two of the series were pretty much the side-scrolling, turn-based type of JRPG that was popular before. Except in Suikoden, you can have up to 6 people and some of these people can have combination attacks which either ups your attack power or gives you some funny "unsuccessful" ones.

And of course, you collect 108 playable characters in total, as if it was a Pokemon game.

Suikoden II is often considered the best in the franchise but I can't really vouch for that because I haven't played the fourth and fifth ones. It is my favourite out of the three I've played though, so it would be awesome if you enjoy it somehow too. Good luck and have fun!

 

[Cereus]

Suikoden 3 was pretty decent and I immensely enjoyed it. 4 wasn't as good story wise, but there were some interesting gameplay elements added to it such as the naval battles. I never had the chance to play 1 or 2 so I might have to find some time in order to play them haha.

 

[BluBird]

The only one I played in the series is 3 on the PS2, and as much as I appreciated its expansive roster, that game bored me to death due to its frequent random battles. Couldn't get through the first couple of hours back in the day as it left a bad taste in my mouth.

I'm curious about the first two though, especially II. I was actually thinking of starting S2 immediately because I don't think I have the time to go through two massive JRPGs.

 

[AmenoKaji]

I didn't hear this info, but oh man, that is great, I loved Sukoden when I was growing up, I would kill to play this game again.. god I don't even remember the last time I played it.

 

[petrushka]

that game bored me to death due to its frequent random battles. Couldn't get through the first couple of hours back in the day as it left a bad taste in my mouth.

Er. Yeah, the first and second suikoden is also pretty much like that. It's a pretty quintessential JRPG with the random fights and a need to grind. I don't know if the fourth and fifth has changed much but the first three depend on this a lot. I can't really remember if there are any items to diminish it either, like there were for other games with random encounters like Persona/SMT.

If you're not into it, the first two games might not be to your liking either. Suikoden I and II depend on Silent Protagonists (each with their own respective exposition fairy characters in Gremio and Nanami), collecting people for your castle, battling random encounters while you progress the plot or go to side quests.

Random encounters are REALLY often in the first two games so...