Back To Reviews
By Contributing Writer Rob Pecknold Rating: Awesome The original Suikoden had deep main characters and customization in the form of your castle and your party, as well as a story that was better than most anything previously released by a company other than Square. After playing Suikoden 2, I think it's safe to say that Konami can now be added to the small list of companies that can make great RPGs (along with Square, GameArts, and uh... just Square and GameArts). Suikoden 2 tells the story of a classic hero (whom I named Squall following my recent obsession with Final Fantasy 8) who must band together with a collection of friends to vanquish evil and reclaim their nation from the grip of a corrupt army general. This may not sound that good in writing, but it really is a great tale in execution. The story is even better if you have played the original game thanks to the re-occurring towns and characters. I didn't realize how attached I was to Suikoden's characters until they returned safely in the second game, and that's a great feeling to have when you're playing a good RPG. Suikoden 2's game environment feels like a living world. The story takes place in the City State of Jowston, which was barely mentioned in the first game. Now, since the Grasslands and the Holy Kingdom of Harmonia are prominently mentioned in Suikoden 2's ending, but relatively little time is spent in these areas of the game, I can't help but wonder whether or not Suikoden 3 and 4 will take place in these areas. One of the best parts of the game has to be your castle, which constantly expands as you get more and more of the game's 108 possible party members to join your cause. You can customize the castle so much, it's almost ridiculous. Every character adds something to the castle, whether it's just their presence or it's sculptures, restaurants, baths, or stores. The castle element in Suikoden and Suikoden 2 is one of the best gameplay innovations found in any PlayStation RPG. The graphics in the towns are very detailed and interesting. The character designs and animations are also top-notch for a 2D game, but the 3D battle backgrounds are pretty bland. Maybe I just hold 2D graphics in my heart more than most gamers, but I really like this game's 2D graphics simply because they are so much more "different" than a lot of the 3D crap out there for the PlayStation. Also, a lot of people complain about the pixelation that is present during Suikdoen 2's duels, but I think the duels (pixelation and all) add some personality to the game that isn't found in many games with 3D graphics. Suikoden 2's music fails to deliver on the same level as the rest of the game. Sure, there are some great, epic themes to be heard, but it just doesn't seem that Konami put as much work into the music as they should have. Then again, maybe I'm just bitter because they took amazing themes from the first game and butchered them with horrible re-mixes in the sequel. The classic Late Night Talk theme from the first game is now incredibly annoying and drab, and the same can be said for many more of the original game's great tunes. But even some really bad music here and there isn't enough to stop the monster of a game that is Suikoden 2. Words cannot describe how happy I was when I saw that Flik and Viktor, who appeared to be lost in battle at the end of the first game, were alive and well (and up to their old tricks). About a third of the characters are returning characters from the first game, and many of them (like Chleo and Lepant) can't be played, only seen or heard about. But don't let that discourage you, because just the fact that they are alive and well is good enough for me. It's amazing that Konami was able to make a game that triggers these kinds of feelings, and it's all the more reason to go out and buy Suikoden 2 right now. Send your thoughts on this review to rob@mastergamer.com
© 2001 ivan@mastergamer.com