Before the release of Final Fantasy VII the RPG landscape was pretty barren during that generation. Sure, there was the occasional release, but by and large developers were more focused on 3D platformers and fighters. That’s why smaller titles such as Wild Arms were held in such high regard. This also gave developer Konami the perfect chance to try their hand at an RPG of their own. This came in the form of Suikoden, and like most of their releases it didn’t concede entirely to genre norms. The end result was a memorable and charming affair that spawned an entire series of games. The original Suikoden might not be remembered as fondly as the higher profile RPGs of this era or even its sequel, but it has aged wonderfully and is still worth playing for any fan of the genre. It’s that good, and today I’m here to tell you why.
Suikoden takes place in your typical medieval fantasy world. This land is ruled by numerous kingdoms, and magical powers are drawn from runes. The protagonist (whom you name) is from the Scarlet Moon Empire and serves as the son of one of its strongest generals. The story begins as the main character (in the canon he’s named Tir) has just reached the age at which he can serve the kingdom, and does so by banding together with his servants Gremio, Pahn, Cleo and Ted. The group sets out on a routine mission, but is overpowered by a monster. At this point Ted reveals that he is the holder of the legendary Soul Eater Rune, one of the twenty seven true runes in this world, and he quickly dispatches the monster. Unfortunately this makes the kingdom’s evil sorceress Windy aware that he has it, and upon return to the capital she attempts to steal it. With little choice Ted passes this rune to Tir but is captured by Windy. Tir and his remaining friends flee the city and are soon labeled as traitors. The group soon learns that not all is right in the Scarlet Moon Empire, and they join a rebel force that aims to overthrow the corrupt emperor.
This story sets itself apart in a number of different ways. Tir eventually becomes the leader of the rebel faction, and it’s up to you to recruit people to join your cause. Most role playing games feature less than ten characters that can join your cause, but this title features no less than one hundred and eight different people for you to recruit. That number is simply astounding, but it comes at a price. Most of them don’t have a lot of back story, and most lack any significant development. Unfortunately not all of them can be used in battle; many serve different purposes such as selling items or adding features to your home base. Many join naturally as the story progresses but for the most part you will need to track them down within the many towns and dungeons that inhabit the world map. Some need only to be spoken to in order to recruit them, but many have ill-defined pre-requisites that include having specific items in your possession, characters in your group, etc. Having a guide is super helpful because the story changes at the end of the game if everyone has joined up. I won’t spoil it, but the difference is pretty darn rewarding in my opinion.
The game itself is a fairly traditional RPG at its core, but what sets it apart from most other RPGs on the PlayStation is that the graphics are 2D. From an overhead view you guide Tir’s avatar through various environments that include towns, dungeons, and of course a huge world map. Battles occur on a separate 3D battlefield, and break out at random as you walk or run around. These sequences are strictly turn based and you begin by selecting commands for everyone in your party. When you’re finished these actions, as well as those of the enemy, are carried out. What’s cool about this game is the fact that you can carry up to six characters at a time in your party. This is compared to the standard three that the genre was moving toward at this point. Also cool is the fact that characters can unite with specific counterparts for a more powerful ‘unite’ attack although this feature is a little rare in this installment. Aside from your typical attack and item commands your characters can also equip various runes that give them magic or special abilities. Each person can only use one at a time, and those who are fitted with true runes cannot trade them out.
What’s really interesting is the fact that Suikoden features two other modes of battle. These occur at certain points in the story and are not nearly as frequent as your standard enemy encounters. The first of these are the one-on-one duels. In these instances one character faces off against a single enemy, and you have only three different commands which are attack, desperate attack, and defend. Duels function as a glorified version of rock paper scissors with each command being weak to another, but you can judge what an enemy will do based on their dialogue. These are mildly fun but serve mostly to enhance the story. Army battles are fights involving your army against an enemy force. You select basic commands for your squad (which usually consists of thousands of soldiers) which include things like attacking, using bows, and attacking the enemy forces with magic. The enemy has these same methods at their disposal, and like duels each command is weak against another. What really sets this apart however is that key characters that have joined up with you have additional abilities that can be used freely. This includes things like spying on the enemy to figure out what they’re going to do next, making soldiers join your side, and much more. It is this element that makes tracking down the 108 stars of destiny truly rewarding.
Although 3D graphics were all the rage in the 32-bit era it is the sprite based games that truly hold up, and Suikoden is no exception. All of the environments and characters are two dimensional, but that doesn’t mean that the developers didn’t take advantage of the system’s capabilities. Every area of this game (except for the zoomed out world map) is full of significant detail, and characters animate fairly well. On top of that Suikoden is exceptionally colorful. Standard battles and duels use 3D backgrounds with dynamic camera angles, but this also looks quite good because all characters and enemies are still sprite based. The only problem I have is that each significant character features a small portrait that appears within the dialogue box, and these are pixelated and the colors are a little washed out. The soundtrack is also quite good. The game is based upon an old story from China, and the music conveys this wonderfully. There’s a lot of exotic instrumentation, and it really goes a long way toward engrossing you in this world and its lore.
Suikoden is truly something special. The story is engaging, the battle system is fun and functional, and it has more than enough to set it apart from your run of the mill RPG from any era. The graphics might have seemed outdated when it was originally released, but this is one of the factors today that makes the game timeless. Despite having a vocal fanbase the original Suikoden has been, and still is overlooked which is a real crime. Do yourself a favor and check this classic out. Thankfully it’s available on the PlayStation network and can be experienced on every system that can connect to it (except for the PS4 for some unfathomable reason). This is truly one of the forgotten gems on the original PlayStation.
