suikoden... underrated or overrated?

[Erinyes]

I would like to say about the bad guys in S3 :? no one is truly evil...everything and everyone has their logical explanation why they seemed to have turned bad like Luc

Anyway, Suikoden 1 has the great plot but the characters has missing background and history and so does the plot (but the main idea is good)

Suikoden II was truly their masterpeice. I myself is very surprised that Konami had improved a lot (then after Suikoden II was Gaiden which was a success) jus tafter the first series. A lot of enhanced gameplay, graphics, sounds, plot and characters. Every character had its personalities, background, history and so on which made it better. It was very logical, romantic, angsty, humorous and so forth

Suikoden III, which I never played seems to be good but they could have filled MORE flaws in the story. The plot was thin but it does has a good idea on the contrary, it still lacks a great and COMPLETE story

Suikoden IV...never played it, never seen it but heard of it of course...I am completely an idiot in this subject since I am fully unaware of this game--yet perhaps

:?
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~Even those who are eager to die still wants to exist...~

[Tenritsu]

I'm looking back at the times I played FF1, (gah haven't played 3, although I'm not really in a rush to haha) 2, 4, and 5 to some extent, where the basic story lines came to "beat 4 fiends or something" , "Kill the emperor who wants to destroy for no reason" or "We must stop <fill in blank>"... Suikoden was a fresh breath of air for me, and stories actually were good. and don't get me started about mystic quest (when i saw that, I almost literally laughed so hard I would need... whatever, that game was baaaad in my opinion)

Now, playing Suikoden 2 before Suikoden 1, I must say that both are very good games, and as other people have said, Suikoden 2 was a masterpiece. A lot of the characters you saw played a role big or small, I remember the whole Apple trying to recruit Shu scenario, and I thought "you'd never see this in Final Fantasy"

I haven't played 3 or 4 (I know I know... I'm trying as hard as I can), but I can easily say that the whole series is underated... Now you've heard this a million times, but I say that it's under-rated because I wouldn't have even heard of this game unless I borrowed all my friend's playstation games. If I hadn't I'd probably go: what? Suikoden? That's a weird name, haven't seen it much in the mags, guess I'll just choose a "better game". It goes back to how the series has had less advertisement as well as a smaller budget compared to FF series.

Besides, I love how characters in the game have a reason for being evil, hence being sorta not evil -.-... And I believe it's the first time I've seen in-game politics, which is really nice.

So, as I can't say much about 3 or 4 cause I haven't played them:
Suikoden 1: Under-rated
Suikoden 2: Beautiful, still under-rated

[Felipe]

Suikoden 1: Underrated

A good game, for the first one it did a good job. Really good.

Suikoden 2: Masterpiece

The best of them all, the best 2D graphics of a Playstation 1 game, have the best characters of the series and the best hystory as well. You know the story that originated the Runes, the battle of Sword and Shield.

Suikoden 3: Overrated

Well, it's not bad, but is not really good either.

Suiokden 4: Underrated

Good, nice story, nice characters, but something is missing.
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[Erinyes]

it's missing more action and parody ;) more romance and twist :D but yeah, Suikoden 4 is still great
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~Even those who are eager to die still wants to exist...~

[Sexan]

Suikoden 1- not the best game ever, but.... OMG. The plot, the caracters... Everything is so great. Defenitly underrated.

Suikoden2- if you played this game, you loved it. underrated

S3- a great game, with a great story, and great characters. first time that the main characters had a built personality. i loved it. underrated

S4- just one thing. the characterization sucked hard. the voices werent bad at al, they were very theatrical, au contrare.
rated :D

[Sexan]

[codemasterda]

Suikoden 1- I remember coming home from school, I was home alone, I found suikoden on the top of my parents dresser, I poped it in and tried it out, I could not take myself away from the screen, I have not been so entranced by an RPG before, I was ticked off when it froze when I was about to attack kwanda's fort.
So I sold the faulty copy, and got a new one, the game kept getting better and better, only problem was, the game was short. This game had a beutiful ending theme.

Suikoden 2- Now this game fixed alot of problems the first one had, a new war system, the battle system slightly improved, the craphics were upgraded slightly, it looked more colorful then the first one, The story was so moving, this game can get my emotions going, from the opening theme, to the end, I was in tears on some parts. This game was truely a work of art.

Suikoden 3- Konami had a good thing, you expect them to go with it, they didn't they ruined the good thing, I hated the map system, the battle system was ruined, the war system was meh, The story felt rushed. Need I go on, the game was just awful.

Suikoden 4- This game tried to repair what suikoden was, but they screwed up when they messed up the world map with a floating boat, I liked the paper rock sissors, war system, I hated the fact that the amount of party members were reduced from 6 to 4. I liked the story, the voice actors were alright, not oscar winners but they get the job done, the heor runs like he has a stick up his buttt or something. other then that, I do believe they are reviving suikoden 1 sequel at a time. I hope five can bring that spirit back that 2 did.

[bbsting120]

Reading through hear i'm finding that most people who liked 3 disliked 4, and then those who thought 4 was underrated think 3 is overrated... interesting.

Well my two cents:

Suikoden I: Underrated. I've heard a lot of people say they don't like this game, but I loved it. And without it, suiko 2 would still be a good game, but it's made better by its predecessor. Plus it was my first trip into the suikoden world so it has a fond place in my heart I guess.

Suikoden 2: Masterpiece, pure and simple.

Suikoden 3: Very underrated. Talk about wonderful characters and plot, graphics which I thought were great (even playing it again now they still hold up) and I enjoyed the gameplay a lot, even though I did sometimes get tired of running around so much. I will admit the music was lacking.

Suikoden 4: Abomination. I honestly can think of nothing very good to say about the game. I only finished it just to have it done... i got almost no enjoyment from playng it--from the bland characters and atmosphere, the weak story, and the watered down gameplay. Meh meh meh meh.

[Lepant]

many of you seems to be hating final fantasy because the serie is more popular than suikoden. but i wonder why you should only accept it, they were here before suikoden and made many sequels. and someone said ``it took only 1 game to konami bafore prodicing a master peice, wile square took 6 games`` well maby its true for some of you, but how was suiko 3? and suiko 4? disapointong wile final fantasy still had great games after. dont get me wrong here people im a true fan of suikoden maby as much as you all, but i am a fan of ff too and i think we shoudnt be jealous of any other games, only enjoy the one we have
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after live...there is death..but after death..is there life??

[Breeze]

I don't know if Suikoden is so much underrated as not noticed. Those who do know about the game appear to really like the series (besides Suikoden IV) and appreciate it. Hence, it can't really be "underrated". Now, if all of us who knew about it hated it, when it was great, then perhaps it could be considered "underrated". As for Final Fantasy... Final Fantasy is a classic RPG series and it isn't overrated, again, so much as highly noticed. It's still a great series; some flaws, sure, but every series has its flaws. And FFIV is a wonderful game, from what I can see. Same standard plot, maybe, but still enjoyable; after all, the Suikoden series has major "standard plot", and it's still great. So I don't think it took until VI to make a good game ;)

Aaaaanyway, here's my personal opinion on the Suikoden games:

Suikoden I: It's a great game, to be certain. It has its flaws, yeah, but it's damn addicting and it got me to love the series so much. Really, it's when you compare it to Suikoden II that it starts to look so bad. On its own, Suikoden I is a pretty darn good game. Great characters, decent story, etc. Just a little simple and not a lot of options. So I guess it's a little "underrated".

Suikoden II: Its translation errors drive me crazy, but other than that it has a decent storyline, though after Luca it seems to fall a bit. Characters aren't bad, either. There are also a lot more quests and extra things to do in this version. Ultimately, it's an awesome game, just like the first. People appear to have given this the praise it deserves.

Suikoden III: Okay, to the graphics aren't go great. But they aren't too bad; Konami just messed up a bit with the 3D. I don't think the story is too bad and I like a lot of the characters. However, the map really leaves something to be desired, as does the battle system. Still, when I do play it, I enjoy it enough to play it for hours on end :D It like Suikoden II seems to be being treated just fine.

Suikoden IV: Haven't played yet; still working on Suikoden III

*shrug* So yeah. That's my opinion for you. :)
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What do you think are my strengths and weaknesses?

[Nash Latkje]

All that I have introduced the game to has enjoyed the game almost as much as I have, no one hates it nor says any negative comments about it so i take it that they like it quite a lot... but anyway, looking at some websites such as even gamespot and all them... they did seem to give the suikoden games a rather extra low score maybe because of its vintage or the graphics... but i believe that they have definately underated the first two suikoden games....

Genso Suikoden
Not the ultimate Role playing game in the world... but it has many things if not then everything a decent and a great role playing game should have. it has a huge variety, it has a good story, it has some good designs and decent graphics overall when thinking back to it's vintage, it's not complicated nor annoying or anything that role playing games such as the elder scrolls three morrowind was... which freezes often ... overall i believe that genso suikoden was most definately underated... it got around a fvie out of ten... average is Not good enough... it deserves a bit more...

Suikoden 2
Suikoden two basically took Genso suikoden and just added the sugar on top of the cake... it is everything genso suikoden is and more... great storyline, nice characters and development, nice graphics and the battles and everything are pretty nice... the game is still simple and to the point... the game still has some little faults but the good points most definately outweighs the bad by at least ten times... suikoden two was given roughly a six to seven ... which is above average so that's alright... but maybe it should have got a little bit more perhaps? lmao...

[Sancho147]

lets see, suikoden overrated or under rated.

suikoden-underated
in my opinion this game is what made the suikoden series what it is today. with out that game we wouldnt be here talking about it now.

suikoden 2- a little overated
it was a good game but it did not have a driving story line that suikoden 1 had. it did improve on the character recruiting and the graphics, but other than that it was a little overated.

suikoden 3- could be either one
it was a great game but it had its downfalls ( typical in games because there is no such thing as a perfect game) i heard alot of good and bad things about this game such as the trinity sight system was a big plus. also the fact that more than a few characters are actually important unlike what was seen in past suikodens. or the graphics were not the best they could have been. i also heard that people complained about the lagging problems the game had.

suikoden 4- just plain sucked in my case
i personally say i wasted the 50 dollar price tag this game came with. first off, the story was not deep enough like in the past games. there was little to no detail about the characters. another thing is the voice acting was horrible. when they needed to show emotion, it was like they couldnt show it. they should have done alot better on this. also as mentioned before, the hero and snowe plot was to close to suikoden 2s jowy and riou plot. they should of thought about it different.

those are some of mine and a couple other people (some who use this forum, and some who do not use this forum) that enjoy this game.

[Himuro]

Suikoden is underrated to me. Suikoden I, initially does not feel like a masterpiece, but Suikoden II adds so much to Suikoden I you can help but appreciate it even more when you play I the next time. II to me, is the best rpg period. The only that game needs is indepth battle system and it would be the perfect rpg. Suikoden III is also a masterpiece to me. Trinity Sight allowed an endless amount of characterization and made once linear stories as non linear as you could get. Non linear is good. Not to mention it has all the gameplay qualities I wanted in I and II: deep battle system, difficulty. However, at the same time there were features I liked in II more than III. For example the castle. I would say that III was going in the right direction of making the perfect rpg Suikoden II almost is, but it failed in some areas. Still a great game though. Not to mention I love the villian in III because he's so non-cliche.

To me it runs like this:

Suikoden I: overrated, because of nostalgia
Suikoden II: deserves the praise it gets. it really is that good. However, most of the fans refuse to see change which leads me to my next point:
Suikoden III: underappreciated AND underrated.
Suikoden IV: omg this is just awful

Suikoden IV, as you can see, after 3 masterpiece games...this is my most disappointing game ever. Never have I played a game where I was so disappointed because it was a shadow of the series' former self.

[Camus the Noble]

Well, most people on a Suikoden board will probably think that Suikoden is better than it gets credit for...

That said, I think that Suikoden is very underrated. It's mostly due to Konami's lack of influence on the genre. Square-Enix is far and away the prodominant producer of RPGs.

Of course, Suikoden III multiplied the fanbase many times over, and Suikoden IV likely increased it by a bit. Hopefully, Suikoden Tactics and Suikoden V will have similar effects.

[poorguy171]

Allow me to begin with a summary of my feelings:

Suikoden--well-rated
Suikoden II--overrated
Suikoden III--underrated
Suikoden IV--vastly underrated

Now, I'm sure many fans will hugely disagree with this. I'll explain my reasonings a little later. First of all, let me say that these opinions are not based on professional reviews or critiques. These are based off of what I see when I talk to fellow Suikoden fans. When it comes to reviews, everything is underrated except for Suikoden III (which mostly received high marks, except for those biased who reviewers who spent the entire review comparing III to II and saying how it was missing that "Suikoden feel").

Suikoden, the very first game in the series, and definitely not perfect. And fans realized this. While it had flaws, fans still appreciate that original charm this game has. It's not held as highly as the other games, but it's still well-respected, which is exactly how things should be in my opinion.

Suikoden II is vastly overrated. All I see is constant praise, and the game is treated as perfect. While I love this game, and it is my fecond favorite RPG, I still believe that this game receives too much praise. First of all, it is very-much-so a "rehash" of I. While there are changes, even the main plot is very similar. It did step up the character development and story, but I still feel it had its flaws.

I feel Suikoden III is often very underrated. I don't believe the game is perfect, nor do I believe it is the best Suikoden game (it is my favorite, but I feel it is impossible to name any of them as the "best'). However, due to the fact that it is different, this game is bashed too often. I honestly think that the only reason Suikoden fans dislike this game is because it's different. Yes, they changed the battle system. FOR THE BETTER! The battles in thise game are more complex and challenging than many other games in the genre! Yes, they did carry over fewer characters. Instead, they brought over many children, which I enjoyed just as much if not more. Oh sure, they might've dropped the world map. Guess what, it's 3D now. As seen in several examples, world maps just don't look or work as well in 3D. Besides, a smaller scope of area for the story means more development for each location. Gone are the one-time-only-visit towns who's only purpose is to make our search for more characters longer. My most hated complaint is that Suikoden III "doesn't have the Suikoden feel." That is just b/s. I played the series in order, and I thought Suikoden III was perfectly Suikoden-ish. It had 108 SoDs, the rune system, the build-your-own-castle, and an emotional tale centered on war. I would love for someone to explain this in further detail, because I just don't get it. Suikoden III has one of the best stories and casts in the genre, a beautiful and detailed graphical style, very cultural music, and a wonderfully deep and complex battle system. But these are almost always ignored, and instead fans look only at the flaws. Funny, they don't do that for Suikoden II...

Lastly is Suikoden IV, probably the most underrated game in history. The story may be less complex than past Suikoden games, and the characters may be vastly underdeveloped. But I personally found this to be quite a good RPG. Don't get me wrong, I could go on for days about how it stinks as a Suikoden game. But that's just it. I'm comparing it to other games. Yes, it is part of a very established series, but that doesn't mean it's going to be identical. I won't go into detail right now, but I really believe this game is underrated. It is easily the worst Suikoden, and not an incredible RPG by far, but giving it scores of 6, 5, or lower (out of ten) is just unfair. And lastly, the ship sailing system didn't seem too slow to me at all. Maybe it's just because I'm a very slow-paced person, but that is a very exagerrated flaw, and I had no problem with it at all.

So, yeah I'm weird. I have very different opinions, compared to most in the Suiko-fanverse. But I really don't care. I respect each game differently, and realize that while it is a series, each game has it's own strengths and weaknesses. Honestly, I hate to see any Suikoden game get bashed. Even IV isn't that bad, and I'm really sick of people going on an on about how II is so great, I is awesome, and the others suck. Remember, different doesn't mean worse.
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