Unconnected Suikoden

[Hell_Fire]

Over the last few days, I've been thinking about how good suikoden would be if the games weren't connected with eachother. I personally found Suikoden 1 and 4 to be very average games but the fact that many characters have a history and a future, make it so much more enjoyable. Half of the enjoyment from Suikoden 2 came from knowing the characters, the history of the world, lagacies, true runes, ect. The question is, would Suikoden be even half as good if they were all standalones like final fantasy?
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Suikoden Role Play - Players wanted

[Zaj I mean Mike]

No they were made to be tied to gether because some people are imortal or trade mark /fan favoits like Viki and Jeane. Although a spin off wouldnt be bad.Final fantasys are always totaly (more or less) completely different. Althoug they seem to be getting lazy X-2 and 8 games all made from #7.
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Three Billion
Chinese
Can't Be Wrong

CLERKS

[Thief]

The first Suikoden was good enough as a standalone title. I never did see a sequel coming, from that game alone. It's number two that's average, in my opinion. Too much unresolved mysteries that gave way to even more Suikoden titles.

Having said that, I would rather play Final Fantasy or virtually any other popular RPG titles out there if I wanted a games series of unconnected stories and worlds. Why should this one be the same?

[Camus the Noble]

No, I don't think Suikoden would be nearly as good if they weren't connected. Suikoden's greatest strength is the fluid storyline and the consistent them. Separating the games would ruin them.

In fact, I think that the games are too separate as it is. Suikoden III wasn't too bad, but Suikoden IV was too far removed in time. Now Konami has to explain what happened in the one hundred fifty years after the formation of the Island Nations.

[poorguy171]

The thing I love most about the Suikoden series in general is the connected storylines. Rather than just a bunch of games with the same name, the Suikoden series is like one big game divided into many. Unlike FF or Star Ocean, you really have to play every Suikoden game to really appreciate the series. I know I'm dying to play Suikogaiden because I know I missed a lot (and the translations at Suikosource just aren't enough).
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[Cedric]

[Axiose]

Rikimaru's secret for a start. Who's he looking for?
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[Axiose] [Fliktor]

[Himuro]

[Bekka]

Suikoden is as great as it is because of all the links. If it wasn't for them I think the games would still be a good series, but the questions keep you waiting for the next game hoping that they will be resolved.

It's great when you're just walking around the latest game and suddenly spot one of the older characters. Even if they're not playable it gives you a sense that these people have real lives and don't just disappear after a game ended. It gives you the feeling that time is really passing there.

The small links can really help to give the characters depth. For example how Futch had Humphrey's weapon in Suikoden III. The little bits Konami adds can be really interesting.

[Watari]

I really loved that the suikodens where linked to each other in some shape or form. Even if it has to be Jeane and Viki. Don't get me worng I play the Final Fanasty games and I am glad that they are not link. Seeing on how Final Fansty X-2 was. It adds more depht to the game. You are not halfing through the game thing how and why this person is here. Yes there are some people that just so up out of the blue but most have the background that make them interesting.
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Sti?rth?ir le Machaire B?iteach

[Clouds In A Suit]

I'm going with the general consensus that's been established thus far, and say the Suikoden games should stay connected. It's one of the aspects that drew me into the series. In other RPG's, I've often wondered what the characters did after their adventure/quest/victory over the opposition. This series gave me that for the most part. Even if characters don't physically return, the references are always nice.

If Suikoden were to go the Final Fantasy route, it would be a shame, because the world that's been created and is still being added to, is very interesting to me. There's still a lot that can be done with it.

Suikoden is the only RPG series that I've stuck with. With each installment, I'm more intrigued with what will occur next or who will show up again. Yes.

[Pepe]

I'm going to agree with everyone else. I found 2 to be the best, if only because I played through one prior, and there were tons of characters from the first game to make an appearance. This also made 1 to be more entertaining, when i played through it again. 3 and 4 i'm not so big on, if only because they feel like completely seperate games...I'm hoping Konami makes a bridge game for 2 and 3, which incorporates characters from both. 4 is, for the most part, a lost cause in this light, other than making Jeane and Vikis stories more ambiguous and amusing.
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[Kikito]

I think that the Suikoden games are better because of their connections. That is what always leaves us wanting more. In other series like Final Fantasy, they have to give us a bit of info on the next game to spark interest(unless you're a diehard fan, for which you don't need much sparking). In the Suiko series our interest is always on. The Suikoden games actually feed off each other. A little detail on the new Suikoden game can add deph to a previous game, thus "improving" it without actually changing the original game. In the Final Fantasy franchise, they have to start from scratch in each game, and while this makes way for the use of more creativity, the games have to be good themselves, because they stand alone.

[Vince Muerto]

I would not like that. That's my reason for not liking Suikoden 4. The thing that drew me in to the Suikode games was the ongoing world and characters and all. There are already enough RPG series that aren't related or are loosely related. Connectivity of the games is what makes Suikoden what it is to me.
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yay signature!

[Admiral Ackbar]

I'm voiced my opinion on this before when Suikoden 3 came out. I believe the Suikodens should all have strong connections to each other. Suikoden 2 had a lot to do with Suikoden 1. You didn't have to play S1 to understand S2 either. S3 had few reutning characters and barely referred to the previous games and I actually felt let down a low by it.

Suikoden 4...I don't even like to talk about. Of all the flaws it has (and there are more flaws than positives) the worst for me was the lack of any connection to the other three games.

Returning characters is crucial. Even if they aren't crucial to the plot. Characters like Lorelai, Pesmerga, Jeane, Stallion, and Sheena didn't have any real reason for being in Suikoden 2 but they were more than welcome by fans because we wanted to see returning characters. Look at Futch in Suikoden 3. He had the lamest excuse for being in the Grasslands and it was obviously made up by Konami to justify his being in the game. But it worked. We wanted Futch, and we got him.
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