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Suikoden V finally reaches European shores about six months behind America, but for fans of the series, was it worth the wait? With 108 people to recruit into your ‘army’ – 68 of which can be directly controlled during fights – and huge full scale battles, this latest entry in the series really stands out; however, the experience is badly hurt by the O.T.T. exposition and gameplay that takes place over the first 6+ hours of the game.
Set in the Queendom of Falena, you take on the role of the Prince. As a royal male, your role is to travel the world on missions for your mother, reporting back on problems, and recruiting new allies. The goal is to gain enough support to overcome the bickering nobles who are set on ‘persuading’ the queen to make decisions which will be advantageous for them.
During the ruckus the nobles have been causing, the queen had no choice but to quell an uprising which saw the theft of the queendom’s Dawn Rune; one of three powerful runes that together make up the trinity of power in Falena. In order to do so, she herself had to don the Sun Rune, now connected to her till death, and burnt the town in question to a cinder. As time passed it became clear that the Rune is corrupting her, so even with all the power squabbles going on, the prince also has to deal with his mother’s growing madness.
So, it’s all fun for our main protagonist. With so much going on story-wise you wouldn’t believe you can get fed up, but it is possible, and very early on in the game too. Sure, it’s great when it really starts to get going, but the majority of people are likely to turn off long before that, as the first six hours or so is all about the story; getting you up to speed with the plot, the very basics of battle and how to shop, upgrade etc. There are way too many mundane conversations and pointless wanderings (you can spend 20 minutes or so wandering around the castle in a scripted attempt to find your little sister) in the first few hours, and it can be very easy to give up and walk away from the game.
In addition, it’s often unclear during these times exactly what you’re supposed to be looking for, so you can waste even more time trying to work out where to go. On the plus side, however, your constant sidekick and bodyguard, Lyon, is useful in that you can talk to her at any time for prompts as to where you should be going. Even so, there’s often a level of irritation just having to go through these mundane experiences.
But, if you have the stamina to get through the disappointing beginning, the game will reward you with a much more exciting middle and end, involving travel to exotic locations, the fun of recruiting all 108 allies – if you decide to take on that challenge – and also the different forms of combat you can experience.
Of course, the well-known battle system consisting of a maximum party of six characters has been seen before, but there are also some new concepts. Take battle formations, for example, where different placings can lead to very different results. Each character has a different attack range (short, medium or long), and different formations can see them excel in battle, or become pointless cannon fodder, so choose wisely before going into fighting territory.
The co-op attack also returns, seeing characters team up to do powerful attacks on the enemy, but sadly some of them don’t excel together, and it can be more beneficial to use single attacks. The Duel Battle is another one reappearing, but with a few changes to make it even more enjoyable.
Lastly, combat-wise, there are of course the giant battles for which Suikoden is known for. This outing sees both land and sea battles, and move from turn-based fighting to real-time, meaning the pace really livens up! Your choice of combatants also means that every fight can offer new abilities and very different results. Combat in Suikoden V is very entertaining, and the variety on offer makes it even more enjoyable.
Graphically, Suikoden V isn’t bad on the eye. Cutscenes are gorgeous, and while in-game visuals are basically what you’d expect from a PlayStation 2 title, the backgrounds are lush and varied, giving each area its own feel. The audio, on the other hand, gets very samey and irritating. Believe it or not, the majority of the tunes are reworked versions from earlier games in the series, but that’s no saving grace; the simplest solution is to just turn down the volume to a level more suitable for your ears.
Although by no means a perfect RPG, Suikoden V is an enjoyable game, but more so for connoisseurs of the series or RPG fans. Those new to the genre might wish to go for something which is more accessible and moves at a faster pace. This will be the last time the series graces current gen machines too – director Takahiro Sakiyama has announced that the series will continue on next-gen consoles, including the PS3. We can’t wait to see where the series will head with that level of power to propel it…
