Suikoden IV

[ShadowPaladin V1.0]

Just goes to show that a 32 minute ending can leave you more in the dark than a 32 second one :D .

 

Because you didnt turn to dust I concluded that you must have been trapped inside the rune and not been able to escape.

 

I was trying to work out how many times you would have to play before you exhausted all the NPC options..Then I gave up

 

I missed 5 of the stars too.

 

As usual they really nailed the "stronghold" perfectly. And the pre battle events were very well done and gave a real feeling of fear and anticipation.

[deganawida]

You actually finished it? Heck, I got 10 hours into it and was so thoroughly bored I returned it the next day. Disappointing after Suikoden III.

[ShadowPaladin V1.0]

You actually finished it?  Heck, I got 10 hours into it and was so thoroughly bored I returned it the next day.  Disappointing after Suikoden III.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

Actually it reminded me a lot of Skies of Arcadia. I got lucky and found Viki very early on, but I also just enjoyed the roaming about (once I had slash or the champion rune). The "intro" was definately longer than it needed to be though.

 

The mini games were also amazing.

 

The rune card game and the pon game I can play those for hours.

 

III was very innovative , I'd like to see more games work like that.

[Darque]

Suikoden 3 is good?

 

Hmm... I bought it on impulse for ten bucks a few months back.. and never touched it.... I may have to now

[Oerwinde]

Suikoden 3 is good?

 

Hmm... I bought it on impulse for ten bucks a few months back.. and never touched it.... I may have to now

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

Suikoden 3 is quite possibly the best RPG on PS2. Its not as good as Suikoden 2 though.

 

As for Suikoden 4, I haven't played it yet. Can't afford it. I just hope Konami doesn't take it off the market before I do like they did with suikoden 3. (Got one of the 2 copies Future Shop had in all of Canada.) How does the 4 character combat add up? Does it make it just like every other Japanese RPG like I figured it would?

[ShadowPaladin V1.0]

I just started a new game+. Got all my money carried across and all the spare crap that people were not wearing. But most interesting is that it removes the fog from the chart map, now things make a little more sense in regards to restrictions of where you could sail. And for people who dont want to spend 4 or 5 hours uncovering the map it will show up anything you missed first time too.

 

I never did get to play Suikoden II. Although I have a mint condition of number I which is apparently worth a lot of money these days.

Opinion seems divided on III , I guess the multiple perspectives thing is an aquired taste.

 

Actually didnt notice a lot of difference in the combat it's totally familiar. Combined attacks are still there, plus you can have two back up parties which makes for easier leveling and learning of combo attacks.

 

With one or two exceptions the combat wasnt difficult. Seems that new game + has turned it up a notch though. A damp hairball put a serious dent in my party with spells that it never used in the previous game.

[Oerwinde]

I just started a new game+. Got all my money carried across and all the spare crap that people were not wearing. But most interesting is that it removes the fog from the chart map, now things make a little more sense in regards to restrictions of where you could sail. And for people who dont want to spend 4 or 5 hours uncovering the map it will show up anything you missed first time too.

 

I never did get to play Suikoden II. Although I have a mint condition of number I which is apparently worth a lot of money these days.

Opinion seems divided on III , I guess the multiple perspectives thing is an aquired taste.

 

Actually didnt notice a lot of difference in the combat it's totally familiar. Combined attacks are still there, plus you can have two back up parties which makes for easier leveling and learning of combo attacks.

 

With one or two exceptions the combat wasnt difficult. Seems that new game + has turned it up a notch though. A damp hairball put a serious dent in my party with spells that it never used in the previous game.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

Ok cool, when info first came out for the game 3 things disappointed me: 1)The guy who did all the designs for Suikoden 1 was coming back, meaning a huge step down in art quality for portraits and such, 2)It was taking place a hundred years before, pretty much wasting all the cool child characters from Suikoden 3 that would have been awesome as adults in 4, and 3) Cutting the combat system down to 4 people. The whole war aspect and huge number of characters kinda made the 6 person combat a requirement for believability and character usage. Glad at least one of those isn't justified. I have doubts the prequel thing is that bad either. The art I still hate though. The designs for Suikoden 2 and 3 were so much better than 1 and 4. I hate the japanese obsession with Motion Capture too, all the videos I've seen show some pretty stiff combat animations. Motion Capture just doesn't work with non-photo realistic characters unless theres HEAVY tweaking.

 

Its a shame you missed Suikoden 2, best RPG on the PS1, rivals pretty much every PS2 rpg as well.

[ShadowPaladin V1.0]

Prequels are always an odd choice.. I'm not familiar enough with the Suikoden universe to spot all but the most obvious references (like a certain NPC).

And it's been so long since I played part I that I dont know who crossed over from IV to I (except in one instance).

 

The motion capture gives a very styilsed feel , which I personally like.

Although I'm enjoying the game immensely there are one or two elements which would probably annoy people to the extreme.

 

I dare say I could track one down if I really felt compelled. But since Squenix did the whole anthology thing perhaps Konami will as well at some point.

[Oerwinde]

Yeah, Suikoden 2 is going for around 100 bucks US used on ebay, some jackass has a new copy posted for 350 bucks, no bids surprise surprise. I managed to luck out and get mine used for 60 bucks CAD. I found Suikoden 1 pretty easy to find, got mine new for 10 bucks the same time I got Suikoden 2.

 

Apparently the ship movement is just ridiculous, along with the encounter rate. Its nice they brought back a world map but if its a pain to use thats a shame. I hate how console RPGs nowadays don't have a world map.

 

I only know a couple from Suikoden 1 that are in Suikoden 4, Ted and Jeane, not sure if Viki is the same one, because apparently she can teleport through time as well as space.

[ShadowPaladin V1.0]

Apparently the ship movement is just ridiculous, along with the encounter rate. Its nice they brought back a world map but if its a pain to use thats a shame. I hate how console RPGs nowadays don't have a world map.

 

I only know a couple from Suikoden 1 that are in Suikoden 4, Ted and Jeane, not sure if Viki is the same one, because apparently she can teleport through time as well as space.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

I don't know what you mean by ridiculous. It's on the slow side (especilly if you dont use the boost button) but that gives a nice feeling of sailing to me. After around level 30 I find it quite theraputic.

 

The encounter rate is high, but I dont think it's that much higher than the other games.Actually seems lower than Skies of Arcadia but its been a long time since I played that one. Its relatively easy to phase out all of the non xp giving encounters. The retreat button is also almost 100% effective on non XP giving encounters, pluse you have the slash rune which makes it a case of a single button tap.

 

The only real issue I had was that teleporting dosnt trigger some encounters, which was why I missed out on 108 stars in my first game

Still gives me an excuse to play again :D

 

I like it anyway. I miss the split story perspective of III though.

 

Off subjest a bit but have you played Baten Kaitos yet?

[Aaron Contreras]

Shoddy graphics.

Dull battles. Should've stuck with the six person party.

Uninspired character designs.

Obscene encounter rate. Way too many battles.

It feels unfinished and underfunded.

[Kitch]

I've played a bit into Suikoden IV. It just makes me want to go play Suikoden II again. I'm not all that impressed yet.

[ShadowPaladin V1.0]

What was so special about II ? It's the one I've never played.

[Oerwinde]

Well first of all After playing Suikoden 1, the story just blows you away. At one point after you kill a major boss you think to yourself, "Man, he's dead already?" then you realize he's not the end boss and you still have another half of the game to go. The characters are fantastic, and your stronghold gets all sorts of little filler people in there to make it feel more like a city than a castle. Its longer than Suikoden 3 without relying on a gimmick like the trinity sight system to do it, and without feeling forced. The army battles are actually strategic, the spritework is amazing, etc. etc. etc. Its just an all around great game. It has that Suikoden feel where YOU are the main character, you're not just moving someone else around. Something that the trinity sight system ignored. (Hugo was such a little bitch)

[ShadowPaladin V1.0]

After FFX I havnt really found a story the blew me away. I'm so glad I stuck with that game because I was never a huge fan of the sphere stuff and actually quit playing twice really early on. FF's are "famous" for false endings. Grandia was like that too, as I recall. I thought Suikoden III was very innovative, VI isnt particularly, but it's not as bad as some people have claimed. I still think the encounter rate in Skies of Arcadia is a lot worse. The only time I've gone grrr in Suikoden IV is when treasure hunting. But I hate being hit by randoms when I'm solving a puzzle anyway irrespective of the game.

 

I've just gathered all 108 stars in SIV just have to storm the fort and sit back and enjoy the good ending

[Oerwinde]

After FFX I havnt really found a story the blew me away. I'm so glad I stuck with that game because I was never a huge fan of the sphere stuff and actually quit playing twice really early on. FF's are "famous" for false endings. Grandia was like that too, as I recall. I thought Suikoden III was very innovative, VI isnt particularly, but it's not as bad as some people have claimed. I still think the encounter rate in Skies of Arcadia is a lot worse. The only time I've gone grrr in Suikoden IV is when treasure hunting. But I hate being hit by randoms when I'm solving a puzzle anyway irrespective of the game.

 

I've just gathered all 108 stars in SIV just have to storm the fort and sit back and enjoy the good ending

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

What's the bonus you get for getting all 108 stars? 2's bonus was a little disappointing, you get the best magic spell in the game, but unlike 1 and 3, it doesn't affect the story.

 

The thing with the Final Fantasy false endings is you think to yourself "Wait a minute, I still have 2 discs left" With Suikoden 2, they didn't waste space with all those FMVs so you only had one disc. You just think "Wow, this game is only 20 hours?" Then boom, you still have another 20 or 30.

[ShadowPaladin V1.0]

With 108 stars you get an extra scene with a certain someone who's name begins with L.

 

And you get an extra scene right at the very end which changes the outcome of the story.

[Oerwinde]

With 108 stars you get an extra scene with a certain someone who's name begins with L.

 

And you get an extra scene right at the very end which changes the outcome of the story.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

Nice.

[ShadowPaladin V1.0]

It was, but it still never answered the question of your identity. I think there were more than enough clues around though.

Nobody seems to like the ship travel very much but once I got the fisherman with the driftnet I hardly ever teleported. Every time you arrived somewhere it was like opening a goody bag.

 

Got till Thursday now to finish ShadowHearts before part II arrives.

[Darque]

How is ShadowHearts?

 

I've played it's prequel, Koudelka, and it was pretty good.

[ShadowPaladin V1.0]

How is ShadowHearts?

 

I've played it's prequel, Koudelka, and it was pretty good.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

Good question. I havnt started it yet.

 

I know it's got quite an interactive combat system where you press buttons around a dial but thats about it. Add some more tommorow evening if you like. Next doors cat is sick and I'm taking care of it overnight to make sure it dosnt get worse so I cant really play as the consoles not in this room.

[Oerwinde]

It was, but it still never answered the question of your identity. I think there were more than enough clues around though.

Nobody seems to like the ship travel very much but once I got the fisherman with the driftnet I hardly ever teleported. Every time you arrived somewhere it was like opening a goody bag.

 

Got till Thursday now to finish ShadowHearts before part II arrives.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

Sounds cool. I know the reviews I read mainly talked about 3 things: The ship movement(Slow, bad controls), The encounter rate, and apparenly its like half as long as the other Suikoden games.

[jaguars4ever]

How is ShadowHearts?

The combat system is just too...weird. :ph34r:

[ShadowPaladin V1.0]

Sounds cool. I know the reviews I read mainly talked about 3 things: The ship movement(Slow, bad controls), The encounter rate, and apparenly its like half as long as the other Suikoden games.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

Ship movement definately something a lot of people will hate slow , yes. Bad controls, nah it's really simple stuff. Reefs etc are not visible so sometimes you will get spun around for what looks like no reason. Once you reveal the map it makes more sense. I think the fog was a mistake but then again it does show all the bonus islands without the fog.When you get your fleet you can sometimes bump into each other, and you cant rotate on the spot to get back to the same island. Encounter rate, honestly dosnt seem that bad no worse than Skies of Arcadia and as I said before you can release non xp encounters or just equip a champion orb.

 

It's definately short if you just play the main path. First time I was expecting a flase end and I got totally thrown by not sending my storng party to the wrong place. If you do the other elements like finding all 108 stars, the treasure hunts, revealing the map etc. Then its about the same sort of length.

[Darque]

How is ShadowHearts?

The combat system is just too...weird. :ph34r:

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

 

Weird... how?