Summary
One of the best games ever created, in any genre. Hats off, gentlemen!
The Good
I've played many console RPGs. And frankly, I got a bit tired of them lately, although console RPG is my favorite genre (together with old classic adventure). So I wasn't very eager to get acquainted with Suikoden series. What's more, those games got pretty average reviews everywhere, and were extremely rare to find, and very expensive - especially this one, "Suikoden II". But when I completed the wonderful
Suikoden III, I became much more interested in the two previous Playstation games, and bought them both. I was lucky to find a used copy of "Suikoden II" for 45 bucks - most dealers wanted double as much. Then, going backwards, I finished "Suikoden II", and am currently raving over the first one, becoming a hopeless fan and addict of Konami's immortal series. Are those series worthy of being a cult object? Yes, definitely! And is "Suikoden II" really that good, being so rare and expensive? No. It's not that good. It's better.
Let me start by reminding that console RPGs must always "hit the soft spot" - we all know that the strength of any console RPG lies in its emotional intensity. What new could the genre possibly experience - especially in 1998, long after the days of SNES with its classic RPGs had passed? Yet already the first
Suikoden was an unusually creative and original entry to the ever-growing library of console RPG - creative and original not because of some flashy effects, exotic setting, or gameplay gimmicks, but because of its depth of characterization, of its simplicity and sincerety, and of its unparalleled combination of sober realism and emotion.
What's new in "Suikoden II"? The basic premise is the same - overthrow an evil empire, become a hero, recruit people, lead an army, build your own castle. Some annyoing gameplay issues have been removed - fallen characters are automatically revived after a battle (since resurrecting magic is so rare), you can equip more than one rune on a character, there is much more space for items. Strategy battle system has been remade from scratch - instead of just picking attacks for your army, you can actually move squads on a battle field.
But those are minor things. In fact, "Suikoden II" shares with its predecessor the same magical quality of being very objective and very subjective at the same time. Yes, many console RPGs have touching moments, but how to combine those moments with a quite realistic picture of a normal world, with its many countries, nations, and people, with their ambitions and intrigues, without repeating over and over again the same tale of "the ultimate evil who wants to destroy the world"? "Suikoden II" does it. Above all, this game has
good taste. As much as I like console RPGs, I have to admit banality and cheap effects are not uncommon to them. Many of them are dangerously close to being "metaphysical soap-operas". The idea of the ultimate evil destroying the world and of you saving it became one of the (if not the) most abused ideas ever implemented in video games - and not only in console RPGs. Well, believe it or not, "Suikoden II" has nothing of it. It is
very touching (oh, the tears I shed while playing it!) without being sentimental, it is
very suspenseful without being melodramatic, and it is
very realistic without being boring or devoid of fantasy. Sounds incredible, doesn't it? A large, emotional, epic console RPG without all that oversilly childish crap? Too good to be true, right? Well, "Suikoden II" is, quite simply, that good. Konami really crafted a timeless masterpiece here.
I could go on and on and speak about the game's wonderful story, but unfortunately, I can't say much about it without spoiling you the pleasure of discovering it yourself. It is a beautiful, yet very "earthy" tale about war, betrayal, friendship, envy, trust, and courage. No metaphysics, no ultimate evil here. No chosen warriors, no ancient prophecies, no girls with mysterious powers. But it would be a mistake to think this story is simple. In fact, it
is simple in a way - in its noble restraint from exaggerating, in its clear outlines, in its "earthiness". Yet it is very complex while describing social and political relationships between people and countries, while showing the net of intrigues and betrayal woven in both sides. Let's put it this way:
Final Fantasy VI is only simple and never gets complex.
Xenogears is only complex and never gets simple. "Suikoden II" lets you have it both ways. Are you starting to realize what kind of a game it is?..
The game lets you recruit 108 characters, but there are more characters in the game, because the enemies are not included in the Stars of Destiny. You'd think they would fail in characterization of each and every character while introducing so many?.. Not in the least. It is truly amazing, but every character,
every single character in the game has a clear personality and is memorable. In fact, I know many console RPGs with ten times less characters and also ten times less characterization. How those wizards of Konami did it is beyond me. Not only is every character
visually memorable, i.e. has a face you'd recognize among thousands of others (instead of relying on stereotypes such as "innocent girl with huge blue eyes, no nose, and overdeveloped breasts", "angry, unfriendly, uncombed hero with a scar across his face", or "effeminate grey-haired maniac trying to destroy the world because he was treated so unfairly"), but they also have clearly distinguished ways of expressing themselves, of behaving, and of speaking, without resorting to such cheap means as fake accents or pop culture references. Hey, no offense here, I love those good old console RPG stereotypes as much as anyone, but isn't it good to see something
new in a console RPG, without this new being super-modern 3D spell effects or fancy weapon/skill/armor upgrading system?..
Once you are introduced to the world of "Suikoden II", you'll never forget it. And you'll never forget those characters. Cheerful and child-like Nanami, enigmatic Jowy, trustworthy and good-natured Viktor (one of my favorite video game characters), sadistic Luca Blight (one of the most convincing villains ever portrayed in a game), kind Theresa, cold and brilliant Shu, seemingly timid Apple, womanizer Flik, direct and courageous Kiba, and so many others. You'll see the psychology behind politics and the movement of nations, perpetually developing, the trust and the mistrust of their leaders, the complex social relationship between countries (just think of the city Two Rivers with its human, kobold, and winged people districts). The game will make you smile and cry at the same time... Okay, I'll stop here. Go and discover this gem yourself.
All this story and character goodness comes with a relatively unlinear (for a console RPG) gameplay, with dozens of characters to choose from to form a party, with plenty of rare items, equipment, and various supporting as well as offensive runes (magic). Instead the usual mana point system, there is a limited spells system, which works very well and also requires you to think ahead. There are optional side-quests, plenty of optional characters top recruit, tons of secrets, and a high replay value (I don't think you'll get all 108 characters the first time you play!). Besides, there are also four different endings - two main ones and two hidden. Add to this cool strategy battles, duels, and mini games (gambling, fishing, etc.). Not to mention the castle that grows bigger and cooler in front of your eyes, and the fact
you can customize it at your own will... what other RPG allows you to
bath?... The party battles themselves are fairly traditional, but the whole business is very well handled: no excessive leveling up required, some bosses are challenging, but none is too frustrating, random encounter rate is low, and dungeons are not too repetitive and definitely not too numerous.
The graphics... okay, they are not 3D, but does it mean they are bad? There are some breathtakingly beautiful backgrounds in the game, the (few) videos are short, but very impressive, and the intro belongs to the most amazing ones I have ever seen in a game... although the first place goes to
Fallout.
Music is always important to me (perhaps because I'm a musician), and good music is something we don't get in every game. "Suikoden II" has one of the most wonderful music tracks ever. There are also a lot of different melodies in the game. Almost every town has its own theme! My most favorite town music is that of Radat - be sure to listen to it! It sounds a bit like Mongolian or North Chinese folk song - very beautiful. Then there is the main theme in its lyrical version, the "sad" theme, and many others. The folk style of the music fits the game perfectly. No inappropriate reggae or rock tunes, which can ruin a whole game for me, like in both
Grandia games.
The Bad
Okay, so you want me to say something here... but I don't want to. This game is just too good for me to be a bitch now and to find all kind of little things to criticize. But I guess I should mention them for the sake of being objective, so okay, here we go: the graphics are decidedly outdated, so if you are looking for flashy magic effects, real-time 3D, and 9264 hours of cinematic sequences, you've got the wrong address. There is a bit too much of "empty" running around to trigger an event. And, the game is somewhat too easy. Not that I mind, but challenge is definitely not one of the game's strongest points. The strategy battles, for example, are there more as a gimmick than as a real gameplay issue - you can win all of them with minimal logic and effort on your side.
The Bottom Line
I know, I know: I'm usually pretty mild when writing reviews, and I don't like mixing games with dirt, unless I have really something personal against the game in question. So some of you who have read other reviews of mine are probably thinking now: "Come on, this Unicorn fellow just praises every game he plays, we tried some of those and saw they were a total crap, so how does he want us to trust him?" Well, even if I write a positive review for a game, it doesn't necessarily mean it is
so good - it just means that I think this particular game deserves more feedback than it has been given to. Want to know which games I
really admire? Check out my "Have List" here on MobyGames. And whatever happens to this list in the future, "Suikoden II" is probably going to stay there forever. So trust me just this one time. This game is worth every single penny, or cent, or whatever else, that you invest in it. If you've never played a RPG before, get it. If you've never played a video game before, get it. If you've played all the RPGs and all the games around except this one, get it. This one is for real, folks.
Yes, and one more thing: after waking up in your castle in the end of the game,
don't go to the conference room! You'll trigger an unnecessary event and get a bad ending. Instead, go somewhere else... Don't you remember - "Whatever happens to us, we'll meet
here"...
