Old or New Characters

[KC_MCDOHL]

I was just wondering what peoples opinions where when it comes to new characters in new Suikodens? I mean, do people prefer a mostly new cast with some returning faces? Or mostly old faces with some new characters?

Me, personaly, I prefer old faces. Or atleast enough old faces for the story to feel ''solid'' and with more continuinity. Take Suikoden 4 for instance, because of its timeline it is, of course, mostly new characters - I remember feeling quite annoyed by this and not really willing to explore characters too much or get too excited with characters as a result of how I felt. I realise that the point of Suikoden is its vast array of characters and getting the option to explore many of these characters but I remember even feeling the same way when Suikoden 2 game out (lol! shame on me now). I had spent so long getting attached to the characters in the 1st Suikoden that it was kind of a blow to have all new characters when the 2nd one came out. Of course, they balanced it out perfectly though by bringing back so many old faces but by the time Sukoden 3 came along I felt I had then lost that 'deep connection' with the series because the story had strayed too far (character wise).

Of course, they need to expand a storyline in order to keep it going (maybe even to try and make more money out of it) but I would honestly prefer the Suikoden story to have more returning characters - albiet in different places and in different scenarios - in order to stick to the plot instead of an almost whole new cast.

Maybe its nostalgia, an unwillingess to 'move on' from the Suikoden glory days but - I much prefered the older casts. There was still so much more storytelling you could do with them.

(lol sorry for the rant, just wondered what you guys think?)

[Nemesis]

I felt the same way =) REALLY i do... but after reading many forums, posts, and sites about the return of Old Chars.. I got sick of it. YEA~! It would be nice. BUT logically thinkin, the chance of that is low. It is possible, but low -) So no hopes up. and when the time comes, I'll say YAY! but as of now, I have no time to stress over my dreams

[Blutiger Engel]

I prefer old characters as well. I wouldn't want the entire cast to be full of old characters, but II and III had an edge when it came to their casts due to the returning characters and nostalgia factor, as well as Tactics with IV (if Tactics had all new characters I wouldn't have liked it as much).

[Lemmy Claypool]

The series would become a joke if every war every few years was being fought by the same people over and over again though. So long as it works for the story and not just fanservice I have no problem with recurring characters though.

[Matthew McDohl]

some old characters are nice to see...but I think they need to limit it to maybe 20 or so a game(depending on the timeline of course) I would like to see the characters that still have holes in their stories return and finish that stuff out...but people who we already know pretty much everything about(Flik, Viktor, and past Heroes) I dont care to see much of them although they are greats.

[KC_MCDOHL]

some old characters are nice to see...but I think they need to limit it to maybe 20 or so a game(depending on the timeline of course) I would like to see the characters that still have holes in their stories return and finish that stuff out...but people who we already know pretty much everything about(Flik, Viktor, and past Heroes) I dont care to see much of them although they are greats.

Yea, it would be a bit silly and boring to base each game around the same characters all the time. But I do feel there is not enough returning characters in recent Suikoden games. They have to come up with new material, of course, but I feel the material Konami is coming up with these days is more catered towards the 'new' generation of Suikoden fans rather than the die hard fans of old.

Although pretty much every thing has been covered with Flik and Viktor, I disagree. I, personaly, could never get bored of those two characters - I would love to see them in lots of different situations, places etc. For me, they ARE Suikoden

[Teck]

I'll say I prefer older ones as well.... Though I understand that there are plenty of stories and timelines that just CAN'T overlap in the games, I would like to see them try to keep around half of the 108 stars as recurring characters in some way each game (not necessarily as actual stars each time, maybe just small cameos here and there) so that we can get more back story on them.... I mean, how many characters do we have now? It's insane.... and does anyone else feel that some of them are really, truly useless? I mean, like some of them feel forced even....

[KC_MCDOHL]

I'll say I prefer older ones as well.... Though I understand that there are plenty of stories and timelines that just CAN'T overlap in the games, I would like to see them try to keep around half of the 108 stars as recurring characters in some way each game (not necessarily as actual stars each time, maybe just small cameos here and there) so that we can get more back story on them.... I mean, how many characters do we have now? It's insane.... and does anyone else feel that some of them are really, truly useless? I mean, like some of them feel forced even....

Precisely. I think everything you have just said hits the nail on the head

[Iesous]

(not necessarily as actual stars each time, maybe just small cameos here and there)

I think this was the key for Suikoden 2. Only 23 of the stars returned as stars. That's not even a fourth. But when you include returning characters that aren't/weren't stars, you get closer to half: Tir, Gremio, , Leknaat Lepant, Neclord, Yuber, Leon, Varkas, Alen, Grenseal, Kage, Pahn, Cleo, Antonio, Lester, Sarah, Sonya?, Sydonia? Then you have characters that didn't return but that had some link with a new character: Crowley-Mazus, Mathiu-Shu, Juppo-Gadget. I'm sure there are more of both sets.

I think it also helps when new country is at least a little familiar. Throughout S1 we heard about the city states. Teo went north to fight them. Mathiu uses them to attack Kasim's region. It just seemed natural to go there next. Plus, we got to go back to Gregminster and even see Rokkaku for the first time.

Even S3 made sense, with the strong presence of the Karaya in S2 and the strong mystery of Harmonia throughout both S1 & 2 and even the Gaidens. And the same thing happened with returning characters, this time with children like Emily, Sanae Y, and Sharon.

I think this is part of what hurt S4. We had only heard of one person coming from the Island Nations before (Amada), so I don't think we were really that interested in the area before going there. Add to that that the only 'returning' characters are Ted, Jeane, Viki, a Silverberg, Reinbach, a Maximillion, and Leknaat. Character traditions that had carried through the first three were dropped or at least significantly changed (i.e. Lost scroll makers: Raura - Hortez VII - Rene!?; Tough [red-headed] Woman: Ronnie Bell - Oulan - Emily - Karl!? - Nikea).

S5 kind of returned to the traditions, but it even messed with some of them. The loss of the Silverbergs is one, but at some point, there can't be a Silverberg in every single country and war. But also, Oppenheimer has pointed out how the Narcissist class was made almost completely insignificant in Josephine. In terms of the country, had we really heard that much about Falena? I think the only thing we had ever heard was in Georg's investigation info. I don't think that we knew that Killey, Lorelai, or Morgan had come from Falena. The Island Nations hadn't even heard of Falena until almost thirty years after the end of S4.

With all that in mind, I think the best thing to do would be to have about 30-50 character ties to the other games. Also, I think it's best to place the game in an area that we don't know a whole lot about, but that has been referenced more than once.

[Teck]

Iesous, excellent explanation, that's a lot of what I wanted to say but was too lazy too.... Thanks for that, also I'm glad to see some others have similar feelings....

[Feldschlacht IV]

I don't mind recurring characters, but it has to make sense in context. For example, there were so many older characters in SII from SI because Jowston is politically and geographically close to Toran, so it could be explained away. Even Georg Prime being in Falena made sense because SII specially mentions that he served there. But when you have older characters returning just for the hell of it, it seems goofy. New characters are great and it keeps the series fresh as long as they're interesting, and older characters are great too if they make sense being there.

[Louchan]

I prefer a good mix of both new and old characters. Seeing familiar faces in the game is always fun, but I don't they should reuse entire game casts of characters.

[Antimatzist]

S5 kind of returned to the traditions, but it even messed with some of them. The loss of the Silverbergs is one, but at some point, there can't be a Silverberg in every single country and war. But also, Oppenheimer has pointed out how the Narcissist class was made almost completely insignificant in Josephine. In terms of the country, had we really heard that much about Falena? I think the only thing we had ever heard was in Georg's investigation info. I don't think that we knew that Killey, Lorelai, or Morgan had come from Falena. The Island Nations hadn't even heard of Falena until almost thirty years after the end of S4.

We knew that Lorelai and Killey were from Falena, it was in their investigation. And the Island Nations did know about Falena, at least one Character (Bartholomew) went there after the war.

But I agree with you that most settings made sense if you consider the last game. It was the same with Suikoden Tactics: You heard a lot about Kooluk in SIV (for the very first time), and then you go there in Tactics (even though you don't get to see very much of the country).

Still, no Suikoden ever went to a place we never heard about (We even heard about Zexen in Suikoden II, Hans is from there), and I think these tiny cameos make the games so special to me.

[Nikisaur]

As much as I'd love to have my old faves in my army, I'd really hate to see them forced in so that they are nothing more than another star. I'd much prefer to see them either just mentioned, or as an NPC such as Varkas, Lepant, Tesla, Lotte, Cleo and Pahn were on the visit to Gregminster in S2. All the goodness of nostalgia while letting the series move on.
Returning characters rock if they help to expand the Suikoden world, or are beleivably involved in the plot. Flik and Viktor are really good examples of this, driving the plot of S2. I found Lucia very interesing in S2, and was stoked to see her home in S3. Also, Killey and Loralai were a welcome sight in S5, it fit in perfectly with the Sindar being so prominant.

If I do get to recruit an old character who isn't directly involved in the plot, I think it should be used as an opportunity to expand their storyline, through a side quest or detective work. An example of this would be Clive in S2, his side quest revealed a lot that was foreshadowed in S1. It rounded off his story well and showed that he was in fact, much more interesting that some mysterious guy I picked up at an inn. (I don't make a habit of it, honest.)

Basically, a returning character should be optional if they aren't involved in the plot, and character development is a must. All returning characters should be relevant to the time, place and cause they are fighting for. If there are no unanswered questions, or a characters story has come to an end, they should make way for new characters who have something new to offer.

[TrueWater00]

I personally would LOVE to see some old characters, but what I really want to see is the races that we have seen return, I mean out of 108 characters you can throw me a winger in the mix cmon! maybe another mermaid that we can actually use in battle or any of the other races we have seen in the suiko universe.

I am kind of tired of the new game means new races theme they have goin on here. I know they are in different continents and on diff sides of the world, but humans are in every game lol and that is a race, I dont see any reason why we cant have more reccuring race characters!

I love the new characters they come up with as well, but who doesn't like to see a familiar face I.E Jeane and viki in every game 1-5, its just another nice way to show how the games are connected with one another. I think that is ONE reason why suikoden II is a fan favorite, sooo many characters from the first one come back. hopefully 6 has some familiar faces