Never enough

[Keith Archer]

Suikoden games seem to be coming out at an (almost) satisfactory rate lately. But I want more. I'd like them to create smaller spin-off games, like the Nash series. Only, instead of quick little forays into the Suikoden world, these games would take a more in-depth look into the lives of the second-string characters of the previous games.

Look at Nintendo's Mario series. Mario gets his own game every couple of years come hell or high water, but recent years have seen Luigi, Wario, Yoshi, baby Mario/Luigi, and even Princess Peach getting their own (very fun) games.

The Suikoden games are obviously in a very different position. Just taking the six games' 108 stars (648 total), taking away quite a few that overlap and the main characters who already had their stories told, that still leaves, say, 400~450 characters that we could learn much more about.

Give Jeane her own game. She's been mysterious long enough, let's hear her story. Or how about Yuber? Pesmerga? Those two could have a game all to themselves. You all can see where I'm going with this. I'd like it if Konami used some of the "overlooked" characters to fill gaps in the continuity. These games would be developed more toward the handheld market, something to keep us satiated until our next epic war.

It doesn't have to be serious, even. I'd like to learn more about the Howling Voice Guild as much as anyone, but part of the charm of the Suikoden series has been its more... quirky characters and events. With that in mind, here's the game I'm pitching:

Genso Suikoden: Hai Yo's Kitchen

After the Dunan Unification War, Hai Yo decides he wants to open a restaurant. Not just that, he wants to run the greatest restaurant in the world. To do this, he will have to find a good location, hire talented chefs (the chefs from the other games) and wait staff, find suppliers of ingredients (the fishermen from other games? Deals with shady merchants?), create new recipes, and attract customers all while keeping his old enemies in the Black Dragon Clan at bay.

Now that I come to type this out, it seems just as complicated as a normal Suikoden game. Headquarters, character recruitment, mini-games, and battles with enemies. I had originally envisioned it as a series of mini-games connected within the context of the story.

For example, picking a location — while not a mini-game — would affect other gameplay elements. Accessibility, for one. The types of dishes the locals prefer, for another.

The mini-games would involve cooking meals using different ingredients and preparing them in different ways to create new recipes. Another would be the Iron Chef competitions against the Black Dragon Clan like in Suikoden 2. Another could involve management issues like keeping your employees happy, ordering enough supplies, or appeasing unruly customers. Another would be attracting customers by creating ads or hiring entertainers. And so on.

It wouldn't be as linear as the other Suikoden games, and you can see how it could get pretty hectic running the place. But that's life in the food service industry!

Your ultimate goal would be to become the best restaurant in the world, and a ranking would keep track of your popularity, eventually reaching #1.

Or, I just thought of this, the goal would simply be getting through the story. After you beat the game, however, you can continue playing it until you become #1, when... something... happens. I don't know what, but something.

Anyway, that's my pitch. Anyone else have an idea for a game along these lines? If so, post it! I'd love to hear what we all can come with.

[Camus the Noble]

That does sound very fun. However, the Suikoden cult following needs to grow before it can be compared to that of the Mario games.

[Kanes_Inferno]

[HarmonianHiccup]

Kind of like a "Don't talk about it too loud and always knock on wood!" sort of a complex...
I seriously doubt we'll ever get the first two Gaidens, though I think we have a good chance of getting any future ones now. Rhapsodia was a sort of Gaiden, after all...
_________________

Proud Owner and Operator of The Hiccup's Speciality Grassland Atelier, the only place to find Electric Whiffle Bats!

[Felipe]

We are evolving you know, I'm sure that no one thought that we would have 9 Suikodens at the time of Suikoden 1. Suikoden is growing, I know it will never become a Final Fantasy since the game is a continued story and each game depends one the last one (or the next one) but Suikoden has potencial and Konami know about this. I think Suikoden V will be a test for Konami because it going to be realesed at the same time Final Fantasy XII. I think Konami is going to work more in Suikoden if it sells good enough, they will see if Suikoden can compete with Final Fantasy.

We may never have games like Suikoden Party or Suikoden Tennis like the Mario series, but we can easily have a strategy game, but strategy games are better for PC. With the size of the Suikoden story we can just create "sidequests" and make a game out of it. Like a game of the Tinto X Grasslands war, the Higheast Rebbelion, the first Fire Bringer War, the war Barbarossa fought to create the Scarlet Moon Empire and I'm just talking about wars here. We can create a game of other things in the Suikoden world, like how Neclord stole the Blue Moon Rune, or a game about Yuber and Pesmerga become enemies.

Suikoden Warriors would be a great game you know, like Dynasty Warriors. Imagine you being an officer of some of the nations, and then go killing soldiers and other offices, and we could have cavalary, archers, kangakorn, people with fire spears and True Runes.

I think is funny to see normal characters doing things they would not normally do, that's why the Mario games are so good. Mario is a fighter, a tennis player, a golf player, a fighter again (Super Smash Bros), a RPG character and then he is in a Party with this friends (and enemies, Bowser plays too you know). That is funny to play, it looks like the characters were actors in the game and they have a reali life you know, it's like Mario and company were just acting in Maio 64 and they are friends in the real life and get together to play tennis or golf. Imagine a game were Riou and Luca Blight play tennis and talk normally as never ever happened between them. This make you like the characters even more, this way they look like one of us real people, you know, a Mario could easily exist. Actually I think I saw Mario the other day in the beach. :)
_________________

[Arcana]

Mario is not used in these games as a way to expand the Mario world. Mario is a mascot. He's put into every single game of Nintendo's that is appropriate to do so. If the game is meant to be a romp in a fantasy-ish world of some sort with traditional Mario elements, Mario gets put into the game. Mario is incredibly generic and really has no defined personality for a good reason. He's like the silent sports mascot in the suit.

Nintendo has a franchise character for almost every kind of game out there. Link and Zelda are for fantasy adventure, Samus is for sci-fi adventure/first-person action, Fire Emblem characters are for role-playing/strategy in a fantasy world, Pokemon are... well, Pokemon. Nintendo does a great job of promoting its characters better than its games. You can go up to anyone on the street and show them a picture of Mario, and they'll know who he is. People call any video game system a "Nintendo". Who here doesn't know who Pikachu is?

Now, show someone a picture of Odessa, Flik, Viktor, or even Cloud and Squall from the Final Fantasy games. Most people will have no clue.

Comparing Suikoden characters to Mario is like comparing apples to oranges.
_________________
Woo, 2000 posts as of Tuesday, 2007 August 28.

[Felipe]

I agree with you. I was not comparing them I just said Konami should take Nintendo as a example.
_________________

[Arcana]

Hmm, I'm not sure if you can properly apply the situation you mentioned above to the Suikoden characters. Most of them have defined personalities, and to have them ignore each other's pasts just kind of cheapens the experience, especially since Suikoden is serious game series that depends on serious characters and serious plotlines. Nintendo, on the other hand, has characters that are not known for being deep. The stories in their games are reasonably superficial, and the emphasis has always been on the quality of the gameplay and the game experience, instead of the actual storyline. Only Nintendo could manage to pull off an involving experience like Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time without a decent story. :)
_________________
Woo, 2000 posts as of Tuesday, 2007 August 28.

[Acheron]

[Keith Archer]

[Arcana]

There's a distinct separation between what I want to be made, and then what is realistic to expect from Konami, or even realistic to ask of Konami.

I personally wouldn't care if any amount of games featuring Suikoden characters were made. Hai Yo's Cooking Kitchen, or Eilie's Quest of Dagger Throwing, or a full-out racing game featuring Karayan runners, or a first-person shooter involving the Howling Voice Guild. I'd probably roll my eyes at half of them, but I wouldn't say that I wouldn't like to see them made.

But Suikoden is Konami's RPG series, and the name "Suikoden" is known for it being an RPG, and is not known for individual characteres. It's like the "Lexus" brand name from Toyota - it is equivalent to the high-end luxury car. Toyota would negatively affect the name "Lexus" if it made a cheap, entry level model that costs $10K. Similarly, for the same reason, I think Konami will keep Suikoden in a similar vein.

However, they did release Suikoden Card Stories, so there are definitely exceptions.
_________________
Woo, 2000 posts as of Tuesday, 2007 August 28.