Virtually 30 years later, Suikoden 1 and a couple of are nonetheless marvellous adventures that expertly mix supernatural shenanigans with the extra worldly horrors of bloody battle and the politics behind them, sprinkled with simply sufficient foolish minigames (cooking) and collectables (for the tub) to present them stability.
Have to know
What’s it? Two basic RPGs given an inconsistent polish
Anticipate to pay: £44.99/$49.99
Launch date: March 6, 2025
Developer: Konami
Writer: Konami
Reviewed on: Intel Core i7-7700HQ, GTX 1070, 16GB RAM
Multiplayer? No
Steam Deck: Playable
Hyperlink: Official web site
These remasters stay so near the legendary originals I can comply with outdated walkthroughs with out making any changes, nonetheless discovering the identical objects in the identical treasure chests and the identical buddies in the identical locations. In Suikoden the individuals you kind bonds with may very well be something from historical vampires to cape-wearing squirrels, and the collection’ defining base-building function encourages me to recruit as lots of the 108 characters obtainable per sport as doable.
Even as we speak, in a world of cinematic Remaining Fantasys and Falcom’s impossibly dense world constructing, these tales stand out. Each video games effortlessly weave the non-public and the political collectively; typically the higher good have to be fought for at any price, and typically it is price throwing all of it away for a childhood pal. The retro-blunt nature of the textual content, every little thing quick and to the purpose, solely enhances these dramatic scenes. Each line has to serve a goal, each villain inspired to go straight for the throat, each heroic sacrifice extra poignant as a result of it is performed out earlier than I’ve had an opportunity to course of what’s taking place.
The handfuls of allies I assemble in every sport do not simply combat alongside the lead characters in battle. They will additionally add new options to my residence base: preserving maintain of surplus objects, establishing store, even offering my very own private teleportation providers. It is as satisfying to see a wreck of a citadel slowly flip right into a fortress full of heroes because it’s ever been, and every sport’s relative brevity—these are tales comfortably cleared in 30 hours, not a bloated 300—means there’s at all times somebody new to recruit simply across the nook.
Or to combat within the sport’s customary, duel, and armed forces model battles.
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Common fights are snappy and chaotic, typically displaying a number of characters from my handpicked group of six leaping into the fray without delay. The view continually shifts as this goes on, providing an thrilling close-up of a vital hit or sneaky counterattack, or pulling again to present a robust spell room to indicate off its full impact.
New to this assortment is the flexibility to hurry up these (and solely these) customary encounters, though as this additionally quickens the great music to match I usually most popular to attend just a few seconds longer for a bout to complete than topic my ears to ruined tunes.
Dramatic duels additionally pop up every so often, tense rock-paper-scissors challenges the place I’ve to guess what my opponent will do subsequent based mostly on their dialogue and react accordingly. On the other finish of the size are military battles, with hundreds of troopers mobilised without delay. In Suikoden 1 these broadly comply with the duel guidelines, however with the added capability to order sneaky allies to try to discover out what the opponent will do subsequent, or smart strategists to maximise the subsequent assault. In Suikoden 2 these are extra considerate technique RPG model affairs the place I transfer a number of models round a grid-based battlefield and command them to assault, defend, or carry out some form of particular talent. Greater than easy selection, these disparate kinds breathe life into each video games’ conflicts, some issues simply too large or too vital for a plucky one-size-fits-all RPG get together to deal with.
Who will get a slot in my customary group relies upon considerably on the end result of the large-scale skirmishes. Celebration members can die in army-sized battles—and solely in army-sized battles—in each video games, the distinction between momentary defeat and everlasting dying nothing greater than unhealthy luck. It was a nasty concept again within the ’90s and it is disappointing to see it return unaltered.
And it is sadly not the one apparent tough spot that hasn’t been polished out of those remasters.
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One semi-modern comfort that is conspicuously absent from each video games is the flexibility to avoid wasting wherever, and even simply droop the video games at will so I can choose them up later. One of the best this assortment has to supply is a particularly rare autosave system that solely prompts in rooms I can save in anyway. Critically. It is so ineffective it is nearly insulting.
Suikoden 1 particularly suffers from a scarcity of contemporary polish. That sport’s menus are nonetheless as awkward as they had been the primary time round, that includes such irritating “highlights” as having the ability to relaxation or save however not relaxation and save, and the method of equipping freshly bought armour then promoting my outdated gear includes a ridiculous dance between the shopkeeper and my very own stock and again once more. Suikoden 2 fastened each of those points on the time, and retains its enhancements on this remaster. Why could not this 2025 assortment prolong to the form of enhancements Konami already applied again in 1998?
The primary sport can be conspicuously missing the grander elements of the HD remaster’s graphical upgrades. In Suikoden 2 a burning bloodbath casts a heat bloom impact over pin-sharp sprites, and clear water ripples because it flows over a stony riverbed. A vampire’s citadel is lastly wrapped within the thick shadows it actually ought to’ve had the primary time round, and the 3D battlefields used for random encounters are filled with new prospers that merely did not exist earlier than.
Suikoden 1 was at all times the extra graphically primary of the 2 video games, however when subjected to the remaster remedy (which may’t be toggled off) its interiors are inclined to look sparse and sterile, missing the muddle and dings that may distract from the sharp edges and make them seem extra lived in. Store counters are the identical featureless ruler-straight slabs of brown they had been 5 PlayStations in the past, and everybody within the land appears to own a number of copies of the very same picket stool inside their relentlessly right-angled houses.
Different new options fortunately fare higher. For the primary time ever, Suikoden 1 and a couple of have problem ranges. Simple and regular might be switched between at will, whereas exhausting mode is an all-or-nothing game-long alternative. And remembering what I’ve completed and the place I must go subsequent has by no means been simpler, due to a dialog log that permits me to scroll via the final 100 strains, after which save any key items of data or useful course for later reference.
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All the extras launched within the Japanese PSP launch are additionally included in some kind, with diagonal motion probably the most substantial of the lot. It is nonetheless clear these video games weren’t created with it in thoughts, however these corner-cutting jogs are so handy it would not actually matter. The PSP’s expanded widescreen areas make a comeback (together with an odd determination in a single space that makes it seem like a citadel wall is paper skinny and propped up by help beams), as does the gallery, though the choice to permit me to pay attention to each piece of music from the beginning however solely enable me to rewatch occasions I’ve already cleared after I’ve completed an entire sport stays a weird one.
These are improbable RPGs wrapped up in a middling remaster. Most of the new additions have merely been lifted straight from a 19-year-old PSP remake, and barely tackle something that severely wanted extra care to enhance. An inconsistent lick of paint that in a single sport highlights as many flaws because it hides and a few extra problem ranges actually are the one vital distinctive options right here, and certainly not the perfect Konami might do for these unbelievable video games.
