Suikoden V

[Alatriste]

OK, I finally finished it after more than 90 hours. Short, it isn't...

Final verdict: very good plot or screenplay if you like; the story is deeply interesting for a change, you really want to know what happens in the end. But the game play has got serious issues:

- long loading times. And there are many, many loading times...

- battles too frequent but too easy. It's maddening when navigating a maze consists of an endless series of meaningless battles interrupted by brief moments (under 5 seconds on average) of trying to actually walk a few meters... and there is no automatic mapping!

- No tutorials (really, Konami guys should just play any Final Fantasy game to see how to embed tutorials in the play seamlessly), no clues, in general too scarce information (I don't know if the original had a better manual or it's a case of BOFG - Buy Our Fucking Guide - and I thank God for the Web and all its walkthroughs).

- Sometimes, loooooong stretches without the opportunity to save your game.

- Poorly designed interface. For example, you must first see in which fields the characters in your group need training. THEN, you exit and start training them... because you obviously will remember in which exact fields is good each one of them, after all there are only 108 of them!

- You can't quick-end the scenes. Of course, the storyline is the best thing in the game, but you are supposed to play these games more than once, and when you already know what the characters are going to say you really would appreciate a way to speed up things... 

Would I recommend this game? Yes, but only to the patient, or to people wanting to learn patience. It's rewarding, but the reward takes forever.

[DisturbedPervert]

Suikoden V   

This is my pretty much my favorite RPG ever.  Yes, there are problems.  The loading is ridiculous, but it's the PS2.  The random battles are too often and somewhat annoying.  The game is not difficult enough, you hardly ever die.  But as far as story and plot goes it doesn't get better than Suikoden V. 

[Josquius]

Its nothing on Suikoden 2 but like all the games in the series (possible exception of 4) it rules.
The wait for Suikoden 6 is killing me. That would make me go out and by a PS3 ASAP.

[Jaron]

The main character in Suikoden V is very annoying though.

[Alatriste]

The main character in Suikoden V is very annoying though.

Well, he could use a good tailor and a haircut, and people surely called him 'Prince Flowerpot' behind his back at the start of the adventure but see, in Falena queens and princesses are strong willed and ruthless, princes are supposed to be soft, smiling and beautiful, good only to be married to foreign powers, although why should foreign princesses marry them is a mystery... perhaps their uselessness insures they won't interfere in politics? Think of the hero as a girl, because in a sense Suikoden V is a feminist work.

Oh, and I will take him over Cloud or Squall any day. Now those two were really annoying!

[Caliga]

I played one of the Suikoden games (think it was on SNES) and thought it was awesome. 

[Jaron]

The whole background story with the runes and all that was very cool to me.

And...


I got a kick out of how a minor party character from part 2 became the main bad guy in part 3. That was kinda neat.