Thanks for Dragon Brigade from rpgdreamersforum.com for pointing out these interviews

Suikoden Tierkreis Director On The Future Of Suikoden
Going To Infinity, Our Suikoden: Tierkreis Interview

The director thinks the Suikoden series lives in the Infinity

The sooner he's removed from directing the better off the series will be.

All I see is "WAAAAAH! It's hard to work with continuity, let's get rid of it!"

Bodes well for the next time a new director comes along since he can just brush off Tierkreis as well and start yet another Suikoden series.

_________________
Doctorum Non Urina Singulus.

"appreciate Konami’s new freedom?"

I'm not entirely sure what that means.
Are they saying that they're just going to skip the usual and try new things, or change the concept entirely?

_________________

"I wasn't getting rid of you. I want you to do whatever you want to do with me. I know that sounded dirty, and dirty things count, but I didn't mean the dirty things. You and me can hang whenever, wherever."
-Lorelai Gilmore

also, I think they're going for the guinness book of world records of how many times they can say "Infinite" in an interview.

_________________

"I wasn't getting rid of you. I want you to do whatever you want to do with me. I know that sounded dirty, and dirty things count, but I didn't mean the dirty things. You and me can hang whenever, wherever."
-Lorelai Gilmore

You've been around for a while no to know that there's an Edit button for that kind of afterthought, RangerDeon. It's OK not to double-post.

As for the interviews, no specific opinions from me. Plenty of fans are screaming for them to drop the new setting altogether and return to the classic world in the next game anyway (especially those who would settle for nothing but exact replicas of Suikoden II).

I the future doesn't result with that. Big disappointment if it will be.

I love the idea of a Suikoden game exploring the Infinity but..

Then what will happen to the Suikoden series with "boundless nature"?
Suikoden won't be Suikoden anymore. Suikoden will be anything. Anyone, anywhere...

I still look forward to the continuity of the TRUE Suikoden.

_________________
I will bring Lordlake's fate... to the entire Suikoden World! weeeeeeh!

If they're "throwing out" the main continuity or parking it, doesn't that make Suikoden Tierkreis the beginning of the newest Final Fantasy-esque series? (New game, new universe, new characters, no backstory to deal with)

_________________
Formerly known as: Gothann

My thoughts exactly. I'm all for evolving the gameplay and mechanics. But if you strip the foundation of the games (the overall setting and core elements of it's environment, origins, etc.) you essentially strip the games of the their identity.

The main question is, will these games truly be "Suikoden" games beyond just having 108 stars of destiny.

1. I think the director felt confined within the series' original trappings and decided to take creative liberties so that he could move more freely. Whether thats to the betterment or detriment of this series remains to be seen.

2. I think the "Infinity" concept is more or less a means of marketing the game to a new audience on the DS. Making this game standalone from the other Suikodens makes it more accessible to players who've never experienced a Suikoden game before. The DS is a whole new ballpark.

One would argue that every single Suikoden game outside spinoffs can stand on its own. Short of Suikoden 2 making you go to Gregminster and recruiting old Stars of Destiny in a very blatant fashion, there's rarely any direct mention of the events in other games. I doubt they would've had a hard time making a Suikoden game that takes place in the same universe, but cut off from everything else (Western Continent, etc.) and with dabs of the age-old content, if only mainstays like Jeane and Viki.

Tierkreis being the first game to break free from the original universe can well be opening the door to abandoning the original universe, or quite simply creating a Final Fantasy styled spinoff series (like, say, the "Tierkreis" series).

_________________
Formerly known as: Gothann

Unfortunately a great number of fans fell in love in the series because of Suikoden II though, so naturally they'd expect no less in the reference-to-old-games department. And Tierkreis is doing the exact opposite.

Even Suikoden II can stand on its own. It was my first Suikoden and (of course) I didn't understand everything they said about the events of Suikode I, but that made me only more curious.


Either way, they just could make a real Suikoden on the Western Continent or even this Eastern landmass (which we definitely don't know ANYTHING about) and experiment there (of course without this dimension thing).

_________________
||Suikoversum.de - The German Suikoden-portal||

To be honest as long as I can at least "imagine" Tierkeis as a Suikoden game, even if there are large differences from previous games I can still enjoy it.

But like most it I feel it would be preferable for them to not only make connections between previous installments but also to progress or fill in more story.

I just don't want them to go off on a tangent and forget the fans that brought them this far - for wanting of new fans or otherwise.

My hope is that this will be a way for Konami to spend a little and test the water on a new platform while readying the canvas to paint another title in the main numbered series, SVI.

I completly agree with what Sovereign just said.

I could accept heavy changes to gameplay, even if they do something crazy, like a Sport Suikoden game, I 'd at least apreciate their balls in doing something so audacious, but to give up on the suikoverse is not only lazy but cowardice too. I would highly prefer to see them try to improve the gameplay (as it seems just us are not enough and new players are needed) and mess up, then give up on the already stablished universe like this.

I can not speak for others but that is not the reason I hate this game. The reason I hate it is because they didn't just go in the opposite direction they dismantled it completely junked the best parts of what made a Suikoden game a Suikoden game to me and then they insult my intelligence buy coming up some lame reasons why they did what they did. I have no problem with creative and innovative ideas that move the series forward, I do not want a Suikoden II clone as great as it was , hell I do not even have a problem with this becoming a spin off of the series that appeals to the masses and the kiddies like my son.

What I do have a problem with is them taking the main series that I have come to love and enjoy and destroying it with some lame jrpg game idea that some idiot director came up with simply because he IMO lacks the creativity to create and interesting and unique idea with in the original Suikoden universe that already exist.