Anybody played Suikoden V?

[Cam-kun]

I really like the art in this game and I hear that the story's really good. Any thoughts on this?

(BTW, I used to come to these forums a lot - mostly lurking - but I stopped coming a long time ago for whatever reason. So... Uh, hi.) :P

[Smith]

http://animenation.net/forums/showthread.php?t=180190
Welcome back to the AN Forums. Judging from the number of pages the thread I linked to has, a good number of people played and play Suikoden V.

[Cam-kun]

Haha - I didn't even see that, thanks.

[Akito]

Anyone who hasn't played it should be punched in the face.

[Haruhi]

Anyone who hasn't played it should be punched in the face.

or roundhouse kicked by Chuck Norris.

[Gasaraki]

The game isn't THAT great. I still say it's way too goddamn easy.

[MightyDustLoop]

I think it wouldn't be TOO easy if you were unfamiliar with the game's inner workings. When you figure skills, cons. attacks, and of course rune slots make characters monsters, it's not too bad. I'd say average for a Suikoden, which is probably just about perfect, seeing as those unfamiliar with the franchise shouldn't get too bogged down.

But I wouldn't say this is a must-play at all. Here we are nearing the launch of the next gen, and the graphics and load times for this game are reminiscent of a PS2 launch game. Character designs are nice, but this series deserves more than the couple bucks Konami is spending on it.

[Akito]

The game isn't THAT great. I still say it's way too goddamn easy.
If Suikoden V was "too goddamn easy" for you, then what are some RPGs that you thought had a medium-level difficulty? I'll admit, the Suikoden games have never been that hard, but Suikoden V was definately significanty more challenging than the first two games.

[MightyDustLoop]

No joke. It was no DQVIII, but it was pretty damn close. Hard enough for me, since I never cared enough to bother having 18 people equipped with the top runes and armor and leveled weapons.

It's hard to breeze through Suikoden games to make them more difficult though, thanks to the instant levelling system.

I suppose they could have artificially made it harder, by not adding the convoy system. Since you spend the whole game dragging people around, many of which you couldn't care less about ever fighting with, that would have made the game as hard as any RPG out there (that doesn't have "Shin Megami" in the title) but pissed me off too much to ever bother finishing it. I think it had the right mix. I get frustrated easily and pass if games waste too much of my time, and here I actually beat some 55 hour game. Go me.

[Akito]

I had to spend 10 hours grinding for money just so I could properly equip my 18 characters and sharpen their weapons. I also found that any time there were new sets of enemies on the overworld, they would usually slaughter me if I tried to fight them. The enemies in dungeons were even worse. In fact, I'd even venture to say that Suikoden V is a lot harder than most of today's RPGs. Sure, it's no Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne, but it's certainly more difficult than a majority of other PS2 RPGs I've played.

[Gasaraki]

If Suikoden V was "too goddamn easy" for you, then what are some RPGs that you thought had a medium-level difficulty? I'll admit, the Suikoden games have never been that hard, but Suikoden V was definately significanty more challenging than the first two games.
Weird, when I first played Suikoden 2, I thought there were some really hard battles personally. However, that was years ago and it was only like my 3rd RPG I'd ever played so that may factor into it.

In Sui5, the only annoying battles were the Budda statue ones in the Ceras Lake Ruins and the final boss, but only because it had so much life.

As for medium difficulty, I guess Star Ocean 3(in the extra dungeons moreso) or Valkyrie Profile. Grandia 2 had some difficult boss battles too, as would have Grandia 3 is I didn't find out a way to farm experience from a certain enemy. In Sui5, I didn't do any of that though, I never took any extra time to level up or anything aside from whatever levels I gained during quests to earn extra characters. I just played straight through and only had a little bit of effort on those 2 bosses I mentioned and that's it.

[Manafairy]

I still say it's way too goddamn easy.

I actually totally agree. While I love the story and the characters (-sans Lucretia- Worst Suikoden strategist ever) the difficulty level is almost painfully low. This was the first game I've played in a while where only a handful of battles (Boss battles included) have taken more than a single turn to complete (and those battles tend to end in two or three turns at the absolute most). I ended up completely giving up on Formation skills in hopes of at least giving myself a vague challenge but no luck. Fortunately, the game had enough other merits to save it, but I really wish it had made it at least a little harder.....

[MightyDustLoop]

No one uses Formation skills. Well, at least I didn't. Abusing Killer and Double Edge and Wrath runes (or the Wall plus Firefly or Target orb or whatever) is what makes the game easy, and it should be, since those are the stronger "weapons" the game has to offer. If you have the party equipped appropriately, of course it's going to be easy. If it were hard THEN with the way the levelling system is, it would be impossible for those who didn't abuse those runes and equip them on powerhouses. Seriously, if you're using a Faq AND calling this game too easy, that's utterly ridiculous. I stood no chance of recruiting all 108 without one, and FAQs really should be optional IMHO.

At best, they could have maybe toned down a couple runes and characters. Other than that, and the laughably easy one on one battles (almost always been that way), I thought it was pretty meticulous. The pace and game crawled enough at moments to be frustrating (even messed up a couple war fights), and I had to keep a close eye on my healing spells and items lest I run out, making sure someone in the friggin party was on hand always to take care of that crap.

BTW: Lucretia kicks arse. She's uber hot. People say she's not of Silverburg calibre but that's bull, she never made any serious mistakes. No one knows who exactly she was operating other or if she was truly following her own agenda (though we have our suspicions). And her sexuality is totally ambiguous. I found her to be a bit more mysterious than the average strategist we're stuck dealing with in these games.

[Haruhi]

(-sans Lucretia- Worst Suikoden strategist ever)

You're kidding, right? Lucretia is right behind Mathiu and Shu as far as being a strategist is concerned. She kicks the crap out of Caesar and whatever her name was in Suikoden 4.

As for the games difficulty, I thought it was pretty average. Not too hard, but certainly not too easy.

[Rahxephon91]

So i'm guessing this game is worth it even if you didnt like the 3rd one?

[Hisoka]

So i'm guessing this game is worth it even if you didnt like the 3rd one?

Suikoden V = love. It's on the same level as the first two games and one of the best I've played in a long time. It's very very worth it.

As for Lucretia, I thought she was a great character and rivals Mathiu and Shu.

[MightyDustLoop]

So i'm guessing this game is worth it even if you didnt like the 3rd one?

Closest they've gotten to another "2".

To be perfectly honest though, the game is like...what? 3 or 4 years newer? And the production values and polish don't seem any better than 3, which is utter bull ****. But the gameplay is good, like the originals with a few minor updates, and the story is pretty solid. Some think that a few of the plot twists don't make sense. Some think they're intentionally ambiguous. And some think they're just plain stupid. But that's exactly what makes them controversial, and why it very well may have staying power 5 or 10 years from now to fans.

Hopefully sales were decent, they'll make another, and since it should be next gen they won't cop out with crappy production values again. Suikoden 1 and 2's final product didn't look all that much worse than this crap.

[Rahxephon91]

Graphics are not a big deal in RPGs to me as long as the story,art design,and battle system are good. I'll atleast try this out.

[MightyDustLoop]

Graphics, I can overlook. Overly large towns that take a long time to run through (why they wait until the end to fix that)....should've been caught in development. Crappy load times....no excuse at this stage of this gen. Forgiveable for some, but I can understand why this series isn't so popular. It takes some patience.

If I wasn't a fan of the series starting this, I would have gotten pretty bored and quit myself before the game picked up speed. I know my attention span is getting short, but I try to be fair. This one can be grueling at times and that keeps it from being a favorite of mine for this gen. But I enjoyed it all in all, and was really into it by the end.

[Akito]

Graphics are not a big deal in RPGs to me as long as the story,art design,and battle system are good. I'll atleast try this out.
Under those circumstances, you should enjoy the game just fine. The only real problem are the load times, but that's just something you have to accept this day and age.

[MightyDustLoop]

Under those circumstances, you should enjoy the game just fine. The only real problem are the load times, but that's just something you have to accept this day and age.

The hell it is my friend. KH2 looked a lot better and had less load time. I hate to throw it out there, but since they came out at similar times....

And you and I know damn well what kind of enormous relative budget Square titles like KH2 gets, but that doesn't mean the average joe who rents this title does. Should he be expected to overlook it? I think not. It's the finished product, it affects the experience, and it's a factor I fully expect gamers to weigh when deciding their purchases.

[Akito]

Loading times are an annoyance, yes, but they're not a reason to pass up a great game.

[shiriko]

Suikoden V was really good... but I LOVED Suikoden III the most. :3 Always my favorite! (Plus, I love the opening theme XD)

[Dalmain]

You guys are spoiled. The load times aren't that bad.

[Gasaraki]

Yeah, they are that bad, you're just ignoring it. There's no reason for the load times to be like that for a late PS2 game with mediocre graphics

[SuperHiko]

eh?

Lucretia was a pretty GOOD stategist...

considering she knew everything and was always one step ahead of everyone...

Not to mention that none of her plans ever failed.

and as for load time....who cares?

after awhile you forget about them as you anticipate the next series of events that you are about to witness.

Seriously, anyone who dawgs S5 just because of that is a lamer.

I guess no one counts all the CS and talking scenes as something that would cause some loading issues....nope that couldn't be it.

Maybe you'd rather enjoy the game with NO cut scenes and a faster load time then?

Quit complaining.

and of course I am never one to care about graphics, so KH2 can eat a banana. It fails to S5 in every way possible.

[Mooserocka]

im still playing 4 i cant beat it lol.

[Westlo]

I actually totally agree. While I love the story and the characters (-sans Lucretia- Worst Suikoden strategist ever)

*booker t voice*

you did not just say that, tell me you did not just say that!

[Ikari Warrior]

Yeah, they are that bad, you're just ignoring it. There's no reason for the load times to be like that for a late PS2 game with mediocre graphics
Yep, when you consider there's a 3-5 second loading time between each screen, there's simply no excuse for the sheer number of loading screens. Sometimes they don't take that long, but it's quantity of loading screens, not length, that gets on my nerves. It seriously, pointlessly, ruins the immersion factor.

I disagree that the graphics are mediocre, however, the camera is pulled too far back (even on the closest camera setting), and the colors seem to be washed out. Everyone is wearing bright/pastel colors. I couldn't see half my party most of the time when I was exploring the first city in the game. Then again, the color issue could just be my TV.

Also, this isn't really a "bad" thing, but it's one of my gripes, is that there is almost way too much talking. I got Suikoden 5 and DQ8 at the same time, and played Sui 5 for about 2-4 hours, and conversely have nearly beaten DQ8. The colors are more vivid, the battles are more frequent, and I can' actually see where I'm going, without having to deal with a ridiculous camera.