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Buff
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 Posted: Mon Apr 17, 2006 12:11 am Post subject: EGM Magazine Rates Suikoden 5 |
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in the may 2006 of egm magazine they finally have ratings for suikoden 5. all three people gave it a rating of 6.5. they said the good points are familiar-feeling but compelling story. the bad is blah graphics, fighting system needs an overhaul. and they said the dumbest name is georg. here is what all three people said.
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Suikoden 5 is a hard game to judge. On the second hand, it's got the same ol' story. Everything's hunky-dory until one day a massive coup sends everything out of control, and one hero must gather the 108 stars of destiny in order to make things right again. Graphically, the game looks clean but completely lacks style, and while the random battle system is improved slightly over it's predecessor's, it still feels archalc (probably because it's almost exactly the same as it was in the original suikoden.) The game also takes way too long to get going-- we're talking several hours of setup before any thing important.
On the other hand, I can't be too harsh with the game. Underneath the musty exterior is a compelling RPG that will keep you playing despite it's foibles. The fighting setup isn't too bad thanks to the inclusion of duels and army battles, and the whole thing has that pokemon collection thing we all seem to love so much, with 107 characters to meet and recrui.
The series needs a major shot in the arm, as it's starting to show its age more than ever. Even so, Suikoden 5 is still entertaining, and that's what really counts. |
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With Suikdoen 5, Konami attempts to get it's fan-favorite RPG franchise back on track after part 4's misguided displeasure cruise into nautical approach. A back-to-basics approach means that this installment directly channels the series' finest effort--Suikoden 2--though it ends up feeling more like a bad cover version than an honest, modernimprovment on the formula.
At the predictiable ingredients are here: 108 charismatic characters to amass, climatic 1-on-1 duels, giant strategic battles, and a town to construct.... Sure, it's deep and mildy engrossing, but we;ve seen it before. Glacial pacing, lenghty load times, and an obnoxious, often infuriating new camera angle (good luck navigating the towns) keep Suikoden 5 from being the return to form it was intended to be. |
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The latest Suikoden's story is as good--and long winded--as ever, narrated through tremendously well-acted, very pretty, and frequent cut-scenes. But the cut scenes impress (which helps move the story along), a strange murkliness totally undermines the in-game graphics' detail and artfullness, even when you zoom in on the action.
And the large scale strategic battles--that's right! War!--move in disconcerting real time, resembling something like an upset anthill, with battle untis all moving in a panic. Though these war screensfell woefully out of place, they at least make the game feel more epic. Actually my Russian lit professor back in college used to shout at us, "What is epic? It is long and boring!" Yeah kind of like that. |
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Fudozukushi
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| Posted: Mon Apr 17, 2006 12:24 am Post subject: |
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They all sound like 8 year olds who were raised only to be Square Enix fanboys. How pitiful, KHII had longer load times but no one ever complains. People are getting so accursedly lazy these days if everything isn't a straight path they won't walk it.
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Buff
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| Posted: Mon Apr 17, 2006 12:26 am Post subject: |
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only one person mentioned the load time and i put that in bold.
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siefer
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| Posted: Mon Apr 17, 2006 2:13 am Post subject: |
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I found the reviews to be too short and contradictory over issues that shouldn't be contradictory (graphics for one thing).
I was quite upset over the lackluster review (thus far, I feel that IGN's review has been the best, non-SARS review yet, pretty much hitting all the strong parts, and not so strong parts accurately), not so much because I personally disagree with it, but because it affects the judgement of potential Suikoden buyers.
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Tensatsu Star
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| Posted: Mon Apr 17, 2006 3:29 am Post subject: |
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EGM's reviews was never reliable anyways. If the game is mainstream or it have extreme gore and flashiness they'll give it high score. :x
At least they didn't give a lower score because of one minor detail.
*Looks at EGM's review of Suikoden 2* |
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Timbo
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| Posted: Mon Apr 17, 2006 3:49 am Post subject: |
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I have to disagree, I think the review is pretty accurate. I got the game a few days ago and I have to say that the load times bug me alot. There's a pretty high encounter rate and you have to load after every battle, you have to load when you go into differnet buildings or towns, you have a 'mini load' at the beginning of battles; I found the loading to be more than many other games I have played.
Also, the pacing of the game is way too similar to Suikoden 2. In Suikoden 2, you do a few short missions and realize a few schemes are underlying what's going on, the Mercenary Fortress falls, you go to Muse and try to figure out what to do about these schemes, Annabelle, the currnet leader, dies, you wander around from city to city trying to escape Highland for a while, end up winning one big battle with the help of a great straterist that you get from doing an arduous mission, go back to all the cities and unite them against Highland.
Suikoden 5 so far( I have gotten to the point of helping Lordlake), you do a few little missions and find a few schemes from Godwin, you go back to Sol-Falena to try to make a plan to stop the Godwins, Arshtat, the current leader, dies and Sol-Falena falls, you run around to Hauna, Rainwall, RaftFleet and the Orcale's place, you win a big battle saving Raftfleet with the help of a strategit you break out of prison, Raftfleet joins you, then the beavers join you, then Lord Lake joins you. The locations are new, but it's very similar in it's patterns of play.
Don't get me wrong, I am thoroughly enjoying the game, but I do feel that it is a little too similar to Suikoden 2.
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Sami
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| Posted: Mon Apr 17, 2006 4:08 am Post subject: |
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| They do a good job of bringing out the most important criticisms. I pretty much agree with everything except the grade itself, especially "this installment directly channels the series' finest effort--Suikoden 2--though it ends up feeling more like a cover version than an honest, modern improvement on the formula," and the murky graphics. Suikoden II field screens (towns etc.) looked better than Suikoden V. |
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Hawk Thanatos
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| Posted: Mon Apr 17, 2006 4:50 am Post subject: |
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It sounds to me like they didn't play very far.
60+ hours? Bugger that, let's go play KHII, where having an attention span longer then 5 minutes actually makes the game worse.
Kinda like that. |
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Buff
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| Posted: Mon Apr 17, 2006 5:10 am Post subject: |
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| Timbo wrote: |
I have to disagree, I think the review is pretty accurate. I got the game a few days ago and I have to say that the load times bug me alot. There's a pretty high encounter rate and you have to load after every battle, you have to load when you go into differnet buildings or towns, you have a 'mini load' at the beginning of battles; I found the loading to be more than many other games I have played.
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ya but the load times in to battles and out of battles arn't that long. they take for me at least a couple of seconds. but yes there is a high encounter rate like 4 which sucks. but just wait till you get the champion rune.
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Hawk Thanatos
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| Posted: Mon Apr 17, 2006 5:24 am Post subject: |
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| I didn't find the encounter rate high at all. I found it pretty average to most of the other games that I play. I play a lot of old SNES games though. |
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Blazing Camp
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| Posted: Mon Apr 17, 2006 11:55 am Post subject: |
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Wow, those reviewers are so lazy. They say that the series needs an "overhaul" and yet they probably have'nt even played the first 4 games. And of course if the graphics are'nt good and the intro is long (even though most RPG's have long intros-Suiko 5's intro sets up the story well) then that warrants a below-average score.
I bet EGM had a page long review with gleeful praises and pretty screenshots for KHII though. :roll:
My advice to people regarding RPG reviews is this. If you're looking for an objectional and more accurate review, look on PRG-center sites like RPGfan or RPGamer. GameFaqs is okay though there might be some fanboyism. It's alot better than paying for magazines that give out mediocre reviews.
*deep breath* I'm done. 8-) |
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Janus Valentine
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| Posted: Mon Apr 17, 2006 12:15 pm Post subject: |
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Yeah, you should never trust those big shot magazines. I remember back when I used to read them religiously.
The only rpg's i've ever seen get good scores are Final Fantasy and Kingdom Hearts. They just give mainstream games top scores (Grand Theft Auto, Metal Gear Solid, Devil May Cry etc) and about 5 pages while a game like Suikoden would be lucky to get a corner and half the score it deserves.
Granted that the loading times are absolutely dreadful but there's so much more in the game that makes up for it.
Edit: According to the main site, Kingdom Hearts got a 9.3 *rolls eyes* |
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Leb
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| Posted: Mon Apr 17, 2006 1:15 pm Post subject: |
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If all you guys are going to do is whine and complain about how unprofessional some magazine is, I'm closing this. I imagine GameFAQs has a bitchfest going on there for you to participate in, so posting here will require actual thought. "wtf is wrong withese guyz" is not thinking.
They're unprofessional? Prove it. The points they made are valid. |
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Sami
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| Posted: Mon Apr 17, 2006 1:29 pm Post subject: |
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| Blazing Camp wrote: |
| If you're looking for an objectional and more accurate review, look on PRG-center sites like RPGfan or RPGamer. GameFaqs is okay though there might be some fanboyism. It's alot better than paying for magazines that give out mediocre reviews. |
Objectional? You mean "objective" as opposed to subjective. Reviews are by nature subjective, and RPG sites' reviews are greatly biased. RPGfan especially (of the larger RPG sites) has some atrocious reviews. They are a chore to read thanks to the amateurish writing and dwelling on insignificant, petty details while glossing on major points because of their RPG fandom, and there's no peer review process to guarantee that the review actually is supported opinion instead of a single invidual's view.
| Blazing Camp wrote: |
| Wow, those reviewers are so lazy. They say that the series needs an "overhaul" and yet they probably have'nt even played the first 4 games. And of course if the graphics are'nt good and the intro is long (even though most RPG's have long intros-Suiko 5's intro sets up the story well) then that warrants a below-average score. |
Wow, you are so lazy. Did you even read the quotes? They make a lot of very valid points, and obviously they have played the game thoroughly. Their criticisms are indepth and certainly not limited to the graphics. What is cut from the reviews is the deeper analysis behind the criticism, but the points given are no less valid because of it. |
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Camus the Noble
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| Posted: Mon Apr 17, 2006 4:10 pm Post subject: |
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They really aren't as bad reviews as some here have characterized them. They capture many of the flaws of Suikoden V quite well, as Timbo and Sami have said. It is true that the camera angle in Suikoden V is mediocre. It is true that the load times are more than a little irritating. And I completely understand what reviewer number three says when he complains of the "strange murkiness" undermining the game's graphics. They might not be the best thought out reviews, or the best written, but they are pretty accurate. However, there is one statement in the first review that I have to take issue with.
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| it's got the same ol' story. Everything's hunky-dory until one day a massive coup sends everything out of control, |
Really? Is that the same ol' story? Funny, that's not how I remember most of the other Suikodens going down. Let's take a look-see (warning: contains spoilers for Suikodens I-IV):
Suikoden I: As the game opens, everything is mort certainly not hunky-dory. The government is corrupt and in the pocket of a power-hungry sorceress. Furthermore, there is never a massive coup d'état. There is a small rebellious organization that hopes to one day be able to pull off a coup. There's a difference there. Also, the spark that sends "everything out of control" is not this presumed massive coup, but the Scarlet Moon Empire's retaliation against the rebellious organization: the raid on the headquarters at Lenankamp.
Suikoden II: In this game, there is actually no coup whatsoever. The storyline is focused on the war between two sovereign nations, the Highland Kingdom and the Allied City-States of Jowston. If we use the definition of a coup d'état as the violent overthrow of a country from within, then there is no coup, as neither of those countries are violently overthrown from within. The closest thing to a coup would be Luca's murder of his father, but that does not actually overthrow the exisiting government, it just speeds its processes up a bit.
Suikoden III: Where's the coup here? In fact, the decline of the "hunky-doriness" of this game's story is facililatated by the stagnant, and therefore easily manipulated, governments of Zexen and Harmonia. Furthermore, no country is actually destroyed in this game, invalidating the claim that a coup occurred. Thus, the reviewer's thesis does not hold up here either.
Suikoden IV: Again, this is a war between two nations, or rather, one nation and one conglomerate of nations. Still, no government in this game is violently overthrown from within, nor is any government actually violently destroyed; thus, no coup takes place.
However, apart from that, the reviews are pretty much right. I don't know if I'd give it a six and a half, but that's based on how their perceive the differences between the points on the one-to-ten scale. When I rate things, seven is the threshold of decency, and anything below that is mediocre, bad, or terrible. However, as all of these reviewers seem to think that the game is at least decent, it would seem that their scale is not as upwardly skewed as mine. |
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