Am I and others who may feel this way V hypocrites or…

[jjrrs]

After 3 years of seeming like the biggest dork in the world by trying desperately to get my best friend who cares nothing for rpgs to play the suikoden games, I finally got him to start on V as I pushed him to do so and watched over him while he did like an annoying house wife.

Over the last week of acting like the biggest "P" as in cat I can ever remember being to nag my friend to play the game, "we" got to the initial incident of V. I was amazed how someone like him who is still completely turned off by the idea of playing an rpg was able to gain the slightest interest in a suikoden at all, not that V doesn't deserve it since it obviously is a hell of a game. This was the same person who played the first suikoden up to the point of getting toran lake castle, thought is was not that interesting and just gave up never playing it again.

During this process, I also got time to take in some aspects of the game again that I didn't appreciate as much the first time around; unlike most people's second play through being done with more care than the first, I didn't get to pick up on more of the new details that I missed since I was trying to rush everything and get to key events to keep someone else's interest level up. But what I got to enjoy more was the music, some minor events in major scenes that I didn't care much for the first time, and how truly powerful and emotional some events were dispute knowing what's coming. I have always been the one to say V is lacking in many aspects of the game and it was not as good as some others in the series, yet now I wonder if the way that I'm (and maybe others is too) looking at the games maybe causing me to be too hypocritical toward V.

I stand by the problems I had with V that I did during my first play through: bad/weird foreshadowing of the story; many events during the war were short and not too interesting; despite good side quest and interesting characters who joins the party, many had nothing to do with the story after they were recruited; ending was anticlimactic while trying to hard to make certain characters that deserves to be hated look like good guys... In terms of the good parts of the game, in my mind I don't think newer games like V deserve too much credit for reusing good things from previous games. Gameplay wise, it was obviously good to have the skills system, 6 members party, different rows... and all that stuff back, but I only think V deserves credit for introducing the different formations and the entourage to make things more flexible (with that said, setting the formations and its overall usefulness can still use some work) I also feel like I should jump in to defend the early games in the areas of the effectiveness of emotional scenes and plot twists, as well as better music, because of the lack of voice over, much weaker technology, and etc. I think the key events from the first game and II could be just as emotional and heart gripping if they were recreated today with better music to boot, while nothing created new in V is done well enough to be really established as a must have feature for the future.

All that said I currently consider V a very close 3rd best game of the series behind II and suikoden in that order. Not to say I would even rather replay suikoden or II before I replay V, but through the only way I can look at breaking down these games to compare them head to head, I still think the first two are classics that just offered more to the players and would be considered to have established more trademarks for the suikoden series. My current attempt to proceed through the game once again reminded me how great of an overall experience V is, which makes me question if I am looking at this comparison too closely to be fair to V's accomplishments or if anyone else even see things the same way I do.
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[Flamo Bringer]

well, i got a cousin who likes to watch me playing the Suikoden series though....
but dunno why, he seems like not so interested in playing it....
he just likes to watch me playing... :?

[Hawksaber]

My brother is the same way.

He watched me replay Suikoden II THREE times over. Each playthrough, he'd sit down and check off characters as I recruited them. To this day, he still comes in and watches me finish the last boss of every Suikoden game and totally spoils the game for himself. He'd just rather watch the story unfold I guess?

[eXistence of Fly]

[Zachwie]

I personally enjoy watching people just play entertaining video games. I really enjoyed watching my friends play the Silent Hill games, but that is a different topic.

Suikoden V probably is not the best Suikoden to get someone who does not enjoy any RPGs at all, into the series. I thought the game took a really long time to get going, and I have played all Suikodens and quite a few other RPGs. The first 8 to 10 hours move slowly, and there really isn't much for you to do that would draw a new player into the series and hold him there.

[Athene Airheart]

Yeah, I thought V was a little slow to start. And it took me a while to get used to the graphics. And I flat out HATED one or two of the characters, also learning to get around a couple of the cities was a real pain... but now that I've finished it, I think it's a good game and I'm glad it's as long as it is. IV was so short and limited that it was good to have a game that actually gave me room to roam! But recruitment was so touchy that it might not be a good first Suikoden game to play... regardless of what I said in another post.

Now that I think about it, III might actually be a better choice for someone who is new to RPGs. But V might still be better for fans of modern RPGs.

Because there is so much you can miss in Suikoden if you don't know what you are doing, and because the order to do things in can be a little complicated, my housemate would much rather watch the story unfold as I play it than play it herself. So we both have fun. But she can't stand watching I or II!
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[blueflame]

Based on all your replies. I think the final Suikoden or some part of suikoden should be a movie. It would be cool right? I'd really love that. Sorry this is not part of the topic I think. I just wanted to say that

[Inko]

I thought that all of the Suikodens had a rather slow start, mainly because it's less free-form then after you get your main base. As far as recruited characters having nothing to do with the story after they recruited, some did, like Belcoot. Musics concern, I perfer the older music in the Playstation Suikodens to the newer Suikoden 3, 4, and 5. Sometimes to me music makes a game, and I really did appreciate the soundtracks to those games.

[blueflame]

Ya i liked the music as well in the old games. Usually, I listen to Suikoden music in the car or like when I'm relaxing. Did the composer change or something? Man! If ever, I hope he/she comes back.

[Puu]

[poorguy171]

Personally, I find V above I and II in almost every regard (and above all the other games as well). I've argued and debated about the game ever since it came out, and despite all the bashing I've seen of it (which isn't too much, but still a lot I disagree with), I still love it. I'm not sure why, seeing as I did play the series in order, although I'm assuming it's because I didn't actually start the series until a few years ago (much later than most obviously). Therefore, I didn't really get an emotional/nostalgic connection with I and II like others did just because, while I hadn't played many other console games, I still viewed them as "aged."

Nostalgia can do a lot, and I see this all the time (and definitely not only with Suikoden). People will start naming the flaws of III, IV, or V, and I'll look back at I and II and see the same (or even worse flaws). Even in this topic. Not enough characters involved in the story? V has the most involved in the story of the entire series (yes I've counted :D). And I would consider I and II's events to be shorter and less developed than III's or V's. I don't intend to start a debate over this, I just feel like people raise I and II especially on such a high pedastal, and often look past the flaws (I do the same thing with III and V, my two favorites).

I expect people to compare the Suikoden games with each other. However, just because a game is not exactly the same as your favorites, that doesn't mean you should hate it or degrade it. And when looking as the older games, try to look past the nostalgia and love you have for them. Even though I consider V a perfect game for myself, I still acknowledge that it has many flaws and also that not everybody is going to love it. I just figure, if the flaws are nothing critical, why not enjoy a game if you can? I love II, despite it's rushed story, development issues, and god-awful translation. Why? Because it has a compelling story with fun gameplay, a great cast, and many emotional events. If I can enjoy those, then the painful translation and other other issues suddenly become insignificant, at least in my eyes.
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[Geddoe]

I'm getting my 11 year old niece interested in Suikoden 5. But here's something a little telling.

I tried to get her interested in Final Fantasy 4 and she played it for about an hour, hour and a half before she put it down and frowned at me. "This game's graphics aren't that interesting."

I explained to her that that game came out when I was a teenager, and that was the best they could do in those days. I also told her that the point of 4 was the story and not so much the graphics. She wrinkled her nose at me, picked up my ps2 controller and started XP farming for me. [I train my niece and my 4 year old well. I know.]

The point is, she loves 5 to bits but I'm not terribly hopeful about her liking 1, 2, or even 3 because of the graphics. Then again, in that respect, I think she's spoiled, that she won't play a game for it's story, just for the amount of pretty eye candy that's in it.

Another thing - I like the music from 1, 2, and 3 better than I liked 5's music. Don't get me wrong, I like 5's music, but it's always music from 1, 2, or 3 that I find myself humming when I'm around the house.
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[Tullaryx]

She may actually end up liking 5 even more just for the fact there's a character in it that's around her age.
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