Story ratings for each Suikoden

Ask questions about the events that take place during the Suikoden games themselves.
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Rai-Jin
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Re: Story ratings for each Suikoden

Post by Rai-Jin »

My rating

1: 7.5/10
2: 9/10
3: 8/10
4: 6/19
5: 9/10
bla
KFCrispy
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Re: Story ratings for each Suikoden

Post by KFCrispy »

I feel that Suikoden I actually had the most solid story. It wasn't the most entertaining or involving or interesting, but it did not have holes I saw in the other games.

Suikoden II's plot starts to fall when Jowy decides he is going to be hostile and forget about discussing things with Riou. At this point, he has reasons for acting the way he does, but they're not logical enough to justify the rest of the story. Anybody knows they cannot control every action of every person under your iron-fist rule. His idealism did not make sense when he had Leon by his side; Leon should have come up with a workable idea for a ruling structure and dealing with the Allied forces, and the plot would have been far more interesting.

Suikoden III has the most intricate plot and depth in my opinion.. seeing the events unfold through several perspectives was a wonderful idea, and when I think about the first 3 chapters of this game, I feel that there was nothing else any character could have done differently to get out of the situation. However, there is a huge fall in story-telling and depth once we hit Chapter 4. Things unfold quickly and we have to accept the illogical world of magic as well as Luc's stubbornness.. plus, Caesar is "smart" for no reasons and extremely undeveloped, and you are relying on him to tell you what to do next for the rest of the game: "Go here. Now go there. You go there. I found this out, so go there." .... DUDE. At this point, he is no longer a strategist, just a method of progressing the game.
One of my favorite things about this game is that you don't save/revive anybody just because the 108 Stars of Destiny gathered once again. I think that idea has been overused already, after seeing it twice.

Suikoden IV feels like it failed to tell its story behind the Rune of Punishment, and the way the events unfold feel uninspired and unoriginal. Our clever strategist has no real strategy; help our allies and we'll team up to fight the big bad wolf. Well no sh*t, Sherlocke, but I was hoping for actual challenges that we had to overcome. We end up climbing a huge building that is housing some random tree we have to destroy for no reason. But half of the failure is that they did not try to explain the story in any way. Things happen, and nobody cares to ask why. The Fog Ship and Ted are completely random and are there just so fans could use Ted with the Soul Eater.

Suikoden V deserves some credit for showing the story unfold. Its cutscenes are very memorable. Some problems I have to point out are that Lucretia depends too much on luck, such as knowledge of ancient flood-control things that hadn't been used in hundreds or thousands of years and relying on them as the only method of survival. It feels that the motives of the Godwins could not justify the final battles, especial Marscal heading for the Sun Ruins and forcing you to fight the Sun Rune Incarnation. Please. Also, they do not explain the reason behind Lyon collapsing/dying at the end so it feels very forced for the sake of tradition.
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Chaco
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Re: Story ratings for each Suikoden

Post by Chaco »

Suikoden 1: 9/10
The first in the series and one of the best. It had a great story and a lot of uniqueness to it. I liked the mini-games and recruting 108 Stars. When it first came out in Canada (where I am) I thoguht of it as a good game compared ot a lot of others.

Suikoden 2: 10/10
The best game not only out of all the Suikoden Games but out of every other game Ive ever played. And I have played ALOT! This game offers amazing Storyline packed full of plot twists and sidequests. It had the best Mini-Games and a great Music Track. It also had a great replay value and I have been playing it since I got it. And tht was when I got my first PS2 which is when it came out. Bad things? New Game + would have been nice thats all I can think of. Oh and of course it had Chaco in it plus BEST BAD GUY EVER...Luca Blight!!

Suikoden 3: 8.5/10
This game had a lot of goods and a lot of bads.
Goods: The story itself was decent and lots of good ad bad twists. The Gameplay was pretty good. The replay value wasn't as good but it had a replay value. I really was dissapointed with this one to be honest but it was still a good game.

Bads: The 3 POVS made me confuzzled. I just like having a simple linear storyline instead of one that jumps all over. Although it was unique. The graphics could have been better but I don't care to much about thoese. The Music was very differnt from older games and not as good. Not enough Mini-Games either. I didn't like the pairing system they had it was annoying.


Suikoden 4: 7/10
Goods: The Mini-Games were pretty decent. I liked the idea of the HQ being a ship because it was new and it worked pretty well. The story was okay and the characters were okay and it had a New Game +. This is my least favorite of the 5 but it was still a decent stand alone game. It had voice acting but some of it kinda sucked. There was a mute hero again which was nice.

Bads: The world map SUCKED. The invisable walls drove me up the walls and the friggen infinite emptiness. Not to mention going from One island to the next took a long time. Next problem only having four people in your party at once! That was balony. The graphics (Especially for water) was horrible and unrealistic.


Suikoden 5: 10/10
This game came VERY close to beating Suikoden 2. It was such an improvement from the previous two I almost died. The graphics were awesome the story was epic and the character backstories were so well explained even for minor charactersl The BEST thing about this game was being able to have an entourage and switch party members. I found that very usefull and time saving. Also the New Game + was great and the differnt formations worked well. I liked the Music alot and the HQ was cool. I loved the mini-games that it had and fishing was fun!
The Duels in this game were fun and the voice actors did a great job. the War battles were very fun and I love the mix of Sea and Land. This is a very good game and is second only to Suikoden 2.

Bads: Okay there were a few things wrong but not much. The loading time between battles was very long and annoying and the amount of time it took to get the game going was rather long. <By that I mean to become leader of HQ and get SOD tablet> Graphics COULD have been better but did not in any way need to be. Other then that it was gold.

Thanks for reading sorry for it being so long.
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-Chaco
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Kranach
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Re: Story ratings for each Suikoden

Post by Kranach »

ok currently playing suikoden IV... i don't know but i like it... it is the only suikoden that made me almost throw the controller... but there is something to it that still makes me wanna play it... i give it a 9/10
Suikoden I - Fuma/Kage/Kasumi
Suikoden II - Mondo/sasuke/Kasumi
Suikoden III - Landis/Watari/Ayame
Suikoden IV - Akaghi/Mizuki/Kate
Suikoden V - Shigure/Sagiri/Raven
chypa
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Re: Story ratings for each Suikoden

Post by chypa »

suikoden II: 9.5/10
suikoden III: 8/10
suikoden IV: 7/10
suikoden V: 10/10

i thing suikoden II was the best, but then i realized that suikoden V is the best!
i cried in the arsthat dan ferid scene...
huaaa... it's soooooooooo sad..

there're only two game that made me cried.
i'm impressed with suikoden V
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Rune
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Re: Story ratings for each Suikoden

Post by Rune »

Suikoden: 7/10
It's a good story, but the lack of character development for many characters really hurts it when comparing it to the other games. It's still a fun game to play, and while being a short game, the story is surprisingly long and well-developed. It's the shortest game in the series, but the story doesn't feel that way.

Suikoden II: 9/10
This game is often a fan-favorite for a reason. The story is top-notch, and while the game is fairly short, it's still a full-length tale. The only major problem is again the lack of character development. It's much improved from the first game, but is still a flaw. I also think they could've developed some of the plot events more, but that issue only stemmed after playing V...

Suikoden III: 10/10
Suikoden III is my second favorite in the series, and one of my favorite stories. It's not as heavy on the politics, which is the only thing I don't like about it. The multiple perspectives add a ton to character development and the themes, and it just adds a lot of depth to the story. The story also involves a lot more factions/nations, which made the story feel a lot bigger and significant as well. It's just done really well.

Suikoden IV: 4/10
It's got a good premise and has a ton of potential, but there is such a lack of development and sheer substance that it can't even begin to compare to the rest of the series. I enjoyed the story, but it could've been so much better. Only a handful of characters are actually involved in the story, and only a few of them receive a full amount of development. The antagonists are especially bad, and the entire backstory of one is given in a single cutscene (and not even fully explained). The plot is also short and fairly uneventful.

Suikoden V: 11/10
My favorite story period. It's got everything you could possibly desire: development, emotion, politics, drama, surprise, and more. It's the longest and most developed story in the series. Over half the 108 characters are involved in the story in some way, and every single event in the story is explained and developed (even events that happened before the story). The character development is also the best in the series, even the hero gets developed through your dialogue choices and what others say about him (only III does a better job). The story is interesting, exciting, emotional, and extremely well presented. Even the slow introduction is justified IMO.

I'd suggest starting with Suikoden IV and Tactics; they're the worst in the series, but not bad games on their own. From there, just get whichever game is easiest to find. They're all excellent games, and I doubt any will disappoint.
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Id
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Re: Story ratings for each Suikoden

Post by Id »

Suikoden 1: 9/10
Suikoden 2: 9.5/10
Suikoden 3: 4/10
Suikoden 4: 1/10
Suikoden 5: 7/10
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Shinsengumi
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Re: Story ratings for each Suikoden

Post by Shinsengumi »

suikoden 1: 9.5/10
The first & original

suikoden 2: 10/10
The best story & a great battle system both major & normal.

Suikogaiden 1&2: 8/10
Based on what i saw it looks good, But i did not play them.

suikoden 3 ps : 8/10
The best character design but the worst battle system, Also the true runes did not appear only in the end of the game.

suikoden 3 manga: 10/10
I understood the story better.

suikoden 4: 6.5/10
Loved lazlo's past & the rune of punishment, The battle system was good but i rather 6 members instead of 4, There was no story & no quests, I love sailing but this is ridicules.

suikoden 5: 9/10
The sun rune ticked me off, I wanted to use it but no they give me the dawn rune, Anyway, The story is good & the characters are good, The stupid flash ending of the sun rune was very very bad putting those godwins in it & what's with them flying in the ending credit again with those godwins, Great battle system loved the switch but i'd rather a challenge, I DID NOT LIKE THE RUNE ATTACKS FINAL FLAME & EMPTY WORLD WERE THE SAME, The major battles are good.
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Re: Story ratings for each Suikoden

Post by jonathan_priest »

What the hey, I'll throw out my thoughts as well... :D

Suikoden 1: This is my favorite of the series, mostly because it was the first one I played and the game that got me to love RPGs. But I loved the concept. Not only are you building an army of 108 memorable characters, you're essentially playing the role of the villain. If Tir had decided to stay home and not get involved, nothing would have happened, sure. Instead, he not only decides to get involved, but decides to join and lead a revolution against the very government he has grown up respecting. You have pirates, theves, bandits, ninjas and so many other characters that are social dregs, you wonder how you can consider your side the heroes? My score: 9/10

Suikoden 2: I honestly am not one who gives Suiko 2 as much credit as everyone else. Riou was little more than a figurehead, made leader because of his rune, Jowy's motivations after Luca's death were transparently thin and underdeveloped, Shu used everyone and ignored any good ideas from his allies, and Nanami's constant desire to run away, while a very human aspect, is unrealistic as you are the leader and the hope everyone puts their faith in. That said, there were vast improvements over Suiko 1. Characterization, army vs army battle I found confusing but more entertaining, the cooking contest, and Riou did seem more human than Tir, though I think Tir was definately the better leader. Score: 8.5/10

Suikoden 3: I LOVED the skill system, this gave so much customization to your characters. Though truthfully, I can't say I have faith in the leadership of Hugo, Geddoe or Chris, I feel this is a game that put the fate of the army in the hands of the one who had the rune, (suiko 2) not the one who was best suited to lead (suiko 1). The trinity system was wonderful with characterization, and Geddoe's team was tear jerking at times and hilarious at others. But I felt the other characters got a short stick if they weren't part of the main groups. I'd love to know more about what Futch was doing since S2, or Emily, or Mua. There are so many characters I wanted to know more about but after chapter 3, the game hits a downward slide and never slows until the breakneck pace that is the mad dash to the end. All of the other games were about building and army to fight a serious threat. This one was about fighting a serious threat with the army you already built. Score: 7/10

Suikoden 4: Tons of potential, but I had assumed the Island Nations would have had more significant islands, they are supposed to be a world power after all. Hardly any places to visit. Only 6 real inhabited islands and one of those is taken out before you can ever explore it. And a tremendous amount of empty space between say...Middleport and Na Nal or Nay Island. High encounter rate, low character development and a war that starts out promising quickly disintegrates to one man's desire to hunt for a True Rune that no one should want. A strong, charasmatic enemy in Troy that again, goes unexplored. The game simply feels rushed, and I have always felt this was Konami's attempt to branch the story away from the creator's original intentions. 150 years in the past for a prequel? Can we get any more removed? Score 4/10

Suikoden Tactics: Overall, not a particularly fun game, and it goes to show how bad Suikoden 4 was when you need an additional game to tell the story you never completed in the first place. And the fact that the Kooluk empire is dissolved at the end of the events is a slap in the face of every Suikoden fan there is. Why tell a story about an aggressive nation that no longer exists in the current time line? There are several countries that exist, that could be told. It's like spending three months in school learning about the Ottoman Empire and simply brushing over the fall of the Soviet Union. Its pointless and does little to flesh out the overall history. Score: 5.5/10

Suikoden 5: Simply, I found this game brilliant. Brilliant story, brilliant characters, and a brilliant motive. The enemies are just human enough to understand, but still twisted enough to take joy in seeing them die. And the fact that Ferid and Arshstat are two of the most endearing characters in the series makes the tragedy all that brutal. I do however think the silent protaganist is past its time. I'd have love to see the prince defend himself when Alenia and Zahak spend most the game calling him traitor when they're the ones who sold out the Queendom. The only real beef I have other than loading times is Lecretia. Really, the woman's knowledge of geography is a plot device, and when all the characters around her are made dumber so she can look brilliant, it makes me think she's a tad Mary Sueish. But still, I loved the game, loved the political intrigue and everyone betraying everyone else. Score 9.5/10
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mhatter106
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Re: Story ratings for each Suikoden

Post by mhatter106 »

Suikoden I - 7.5 An unbelievable story, which Id rate higher but the sequels' story were even better!
Suikoden II - 9.5 Utterly Fantastic
Suikoden III - 10. Say what you want about there not being a real tenkai, The TSS made this story amazing.
Suikoden IV - 5. I had a hard time caring about the characters enough.
Suikoden V - 8.5 Recaptured the magic and grandeur of the storyline. I was riveted.

Tactics was more about the battle gameplay than the sotry so i didnt include it here.
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Tenko5
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Re: Story ratings for each Suikoden

Post by Tenko5 »

I cant comment on 1 or 2 because i never played them
I loved three i played through it about 5 times after i got it. The skill system and war battles were awesome. Also, the story was very well told and i liked the first three chapters alot. Though their wasn't much need for a strategist in the game Ceasar was more like a motivator or something. The duels were pretty boring but still okay.
3: 9/10
Lets just not get into 4. I found it more boring than LoZ: Wind Waker sailing everywhere.
5/10
The fifth one was amazing. I feel like if you combined 3 and 5 you would have one of the top 5 games ever. The duels were the best since they had more than just one attack. The war battles thought were hideous. I liked in 3 how each person determined the strength of the unit. Now, it's just more rock, paper, scissor, and gets old with the duels too. I don't like the skill system takes way too long and only being able to equip 2? That's just weak.
8/10
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mhatter106
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Re: Story ratings for each Suikoden

Post by mhatter106 »

If you really liked V, try to get a hold of a copy of II. You'll be blown away. Although, if you manage to get s1 too, play s1 first if simply for the fact that theyre both good but s2 is even better.
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Paler than Moon
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Re: Story ratings for each Suikoden

Post by Paler than Moon »

My rating would be
Suikoden 1: 8 Basically it's a great story plot but there's just not enough wonderful scenes and the script is so-so compared to Suikoden 2.

Suikoden 2: 10 The best one. A tragic hero who lose his friend, his sister, and there are so many beautiful and unfogettable moments in Suikoden 2.

Suikoden 3: 7 Like Suikoden 1, it's very raw except for the whole Luc thing.

That's what I've played so far...
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RangerDeon
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Re: Story ratings for each Suikoden

Post by RangerDeon »

I haven't played tactics yet.

S1- 10
S2- 10
S3- 8
S4- 7
S5- 8

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tera_majin
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Re: Story ratings for each Suikoden

Post by tera_majin »

S1: 8
S2: 9
S3: 9
S4: 5
S5: 9.5
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