Summary
Is it possible not to love Suikoden?..
The Good
Suikoden means "Tale of Water Margins", more exactly "Fantasy Tale of Water Margins" (original title
Gensou Suikoden). For those who can't figure out what this name has to do with the series' content, "Water Margins" is a classic Chinese novel written in 16th century by Shi Nai'An (or, according to another theory, by Luo Guanzhong, the author of
Three Kingdoms). It tells a story about a rebellion against a corrupt empire, initiated by small forces, that later unite the so-called "108 Stars of Destiny". This is also the basic premise of all Suikoden games - except the fact that the locations, characters, and concrete stories are totally fictional.
Already this premise can give you an idea about how different Suikoden is from other RPGs. By deliberately avoiding most popular Japanese RPG clichés (saving the world, abundance of pseudo-metaphysical ideas, little attention paid to social and political problems), Suikoden became somewhat of a cult series thanks to its unique combination of appealing realism, detailed characterization, large and engrossing worlds, and an original, addictive gameplay system.
"Suikoden IV" is by far the most hated game in the franchise. Fans and "professional" reviewers alike mixed this game with dirt. While the game is certainly not perfect, I think those fans overlooked what makes it great and concentrated too much on picking on its minor flaws and comparing it way too much to its predecessors.
In "Suikoden IV" we control a single nameless hero, the future leader of a united army, and just a young, scared-looking boy in the beginning. The personal story of the hero is the main focus of "Suikoden IV", and in my opinion it is the most interesting one of the entire series. The game is split in two uneven parts, the introductory one, where the hero is training with other Gaien Knights, and the main one, where his real adventure begins. The hero has a distinct air of innocence, which accompanies him through the whole journey, and it is interesting to follow his gradual development from a scared boy to a mighty leader. The contrast between the first part in Razril, where the hero is not yet perceived as such, and the second part, starting with fear and loneliness, and ending with a great union of nations, is very impressive. The game manages to create a unique atmosphere surrounding the hero. The ending was in my opinion excellent, and I loved its sad undertones.
The story of "Suikoden IV' is decidedly darker and more intimate than in other games of the series. It's more about personal struggle and less about wars and politics. That's what the fans refused to understand, they demanded another war epic and overlooked a sad, touching, personal story of a high quality. What other moment in Suikoden games can compare to the hero's final decision?..
Same goes to the characters: yes, there are less characters that participate in the story here, but those who do are deep and memorable, perhaps more so than ever before. Snowe is in my opinion the single most memorable character in the entire series, and his relationship with the hero is the focus of the story and part of what makes it so suspenseful.
The best feature of "Suikoden IV" is easily its unique atmosphere. What sets "Suikoden IV" apart from the other games in the series is its unforgettable atmosphere of sea. The world of "Suikoden IV" is a vast sea with many small islands, so most of the travel you will make won't be on foot, but navigating a ship. Your headquarters this time is not a castle, but a ship. You get it early in the game and can sail freely through the game world, visiting known and unknown places. In my opinion the sailing was a great experience. You really feel like you are there, under the hot sun, enjoying the breeze, the smooth movement on the vessel, the vast sea, the horizon. There is nothing like the sensation of sailing for a long time through the sea and suddenly discovering an unknown island in view.
I was amazed to discover that many people criticized the sailing without even knowing how to navigate a ship properly. For God's sake, people: HOLDING R1 MAKES THE SHIP GO FASTER! Read the bloody manual!.. Even those who figured that out still complained about the ship's speed, ignoring the obvious fact that a ship is not a car, and in order to make the sailing realistic, they had to make the ship somewhat slow and clumsy.
"Suikoden IV'" has a terrific graphics engine. Finally, FINALLY, you have the ability to turn wherever you like and to look wherever you want - something I've been missing so much in other Japanese RPGs. You can even move from first-person perspective! That gives the game a whole new layer of immersion! The graphics are overall excellent. I particularly loved the attention to detail Konami is famous for. My favorite example is a turtle on the deserted island. If you come too close to it, it will hide its head and legs into the armor, just like a real turtle would. To actually see that, you'll have to adjust the camera and to look at the turtle from first person perspective. I simply love such details in games. It was also cool to see so many animals in the towns, especially cats and dogs.
Musically, the game is also very appealing, appropriate medieval tunes decorating most of the locations. No unnecessary techno-like music which I don't like hearing in medieval-style RPGs. But the best bits of music are the intro and the ending themes. I watched the intro several times mainly for the music. As much as the intro was beautiful direction-wise and graphically, I enjoyed its music most of all.
The strategic army battles of previous Suikoden games were replaced by strategic naval battles. Although generally too easy (just like the army battles in other Suikoden games), they were a pleasant diversion and had a pretty interesting battle system. The last battle was also more challenging and rewarding and really felt like intense combat.
As in all Suikoden games, you have your own home base - in this case, your own ship. The more characters you recruit, the more interesting stuff there will be on your ship. You can have an own lottery stand, mushroom-growing room, newspaper, gambling game, blacksmith shop, and even a confession booth! If you recruit a certain person, you will be able to hear confessions of all other recruited stars. Some reveal deep secrets, while others are simply hilarious to read.
The Bad
The ship travel was a cool idea, but what really bothered me was the amount of random battles during it. Of course, it gave you extra experience and money (especially because you could fight with three different parties on a ship), but those battles destroyed the effect of a solemn, meditative sea-roaming.
What the critically-minded fans say about party management problems is true, even though it is not a serious flaw, but rather a minor gripe. I found it pity that they reduced the number of active party members from six to four. It was an unnecessary decision. Item and equipment management is quite cumbersome, like in the first "Suikoden". In order to equip or unequip your fighters, you had to make them active party members. This really discouraged planning and experimenting with various party members - vital things for Suikoden.
A more important problem is lack of any innovation in the battles. It's the same old Suikoden system, only more simplified. With a party of four there is less strategy available and less desire to madly experiment with party formations, as it was the case in earlier Suikodens.
The world of "Suikoden IV" certainly has a unique feeling to it, but it is not as lively as before. Of course, one has to regard the context, since the game is set among socially underdeveloped island nations, but I missed the bustling life in the previous game. And the locations in "Suikoden IV" are too small.
The voice acting (for the first time in Suikoden games) was okay, but nothing to write home about. I almost preferred the silent dialogues of other Suikoden games to it.
The Bottom Line
"Suikoden IV' is a game with a great story, wonderful atmosphere, cool gameplay ideas, and awesome graphics engine. Most of the criticisms directed at it are a prime example of what I call "reversed fanboyism": fans gather together, isolate a game from a series, and start hating it because it didn't do everything exactly like the other games. Sure, "Suikoden IV" has flaws, but the low ratings it has got are absolutely unfair. With some patience and understanding to what the creators of this game wanted to express, it is more than possible to enjoy it.
