I read a review on Game Fan magazine back in the late 90s of Suikoden for the PlayStation game console. The review was the single reason that I took a chance on playing it, that and that the reviewer named the main character Turtle. I went into the game with only the knowledge of the review and ended up on a journey that left me as a lifelong fan of the series.
The series has spawned nine games from the direct timeline, with three of them, Suikogaiden 1 and 2 and Card Stories, never hitting the States. The series also has one game for the Nintendo DS, Suikoden Tierkreis. After that, it just seemed to fall off the radar as with a lot of Konami titles. I never thought that we would see anything new much less a return to the games. Imagine my surprise when Konami announced that Suikoden 1 and 2 were returning to consoles with an HD remaster. I am so excited that this series is returning so a newer generation can recruit the stars of destiny and experience this cherished RPG. I wanted to spend some time going over my initial thoughts and my hopes for this series now that Konami is bringing it back.
Upon watching the trailer, I was greeted with the familiar sights and sounds of both games. The music immediately created a wave of nostalgia from the opening themes that created this craving of wanting to dive into the games. I am glad that, as of the trailer, the music has remained the same. The music was one of my favorite aspects and I still listen to the soundtracks of the first three games even today.
There are some changes to the art style where the character portraits have changed from pixelated art to a more modern anime style. I think both styles work, and I have no problem with this change. The other change is the clear crisp look of the world and environment. Again, I think this brings out the game world more and makes it look sharp. Because details are still scarce I don’t know if anything else has been changed with the plot or characters. The only thing I can do is wait for more information until it is released in 2023.
What I am looking forward to is completing the Clive quest in part two. I have never been able to get it completed mostly because I take the hidden shortcut to recruit Futch and Humphrey before taking on the White Deer quest. I’m not sure if that is a reason for not being able to complete Clive’s quest, but I am hopeful that this time around I can finish his quest. Only time will tell.
I do hope that there will be a physical release and not just digital. There’s just something about having these games in my hands instead of digital where the license can be removed. Given that these games are hugely expensive for the older systems I do hope that it’ll happen.
I am grateful that after all these years we can return to this series. I’m looking forward to recruiting the 108 stars of destiny and experiencing the magic of Suikoden all over again.
esperdreams 