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Suikoden Community Thread | Please tell me the answer, is fate unchangeable?

vireland

Member
Also, not to sound like an ass or anything, but why are people excited that Vic Ireland is making some cryptic hints that Suikoden II may one day come to the PSN? Does Gaijinworks have anything to do with Konami, or are people just excited because he may know some people in Konami that may have told him something...

Because, while not erectionary, cryptic hints in the absence of real announcements can still provide a pleasurable tingly feeling.
 

Dark Schala

Eloquent Princess
Good to know :D Worst case, french seems easier to learn than japanese, to me :D
Sorry for the tangent, but French is a fantastic secondary language to learn just because many of English's loanwords stemmed from the language historically (like, the Norman Conquest and stuff--because French and Latin were the written languages of the upper class/bureaucracy and they tried to diminish English use but spoken English was used by the common people--it's very fascinating). And I'm not saying that because French was the first second language I learned. Try it out. It makes learning other Romance languages much easier too.

I wouldn't skip Suikoden IV. I greatly enjoyed the game, the music is IMO, really good, and I love the character artwork (the artist for Suikoden I and IV are one and the same). It also has some neat characters. The only problem though is that it seems far removed from the rest of the Suikoden because it's like 150 years in the past.
daoster, we need to talk more.
 

Tiu Neo

Member
Because, while not erectionary, cryptic hints in the absence of real announcements can still provide a pleasurable tingly feeling.

Yep. We just want to believe. You gave us hope, when we tought all was lost. ;_;

(I have the disc, but the more people play this fantastic game, the better)

Sorry for the tangent, but French is a fantastic secondary language to learn just because many of English's loanwords stemmed from the language historically (like, the Norman Conquest and stuff--because French and Latin were the written languages of the upper class/bureaucracy and they tried to diminish English use but spoken English was used by the common people--it's very fascinating). And I'm not saying that because French was the first second language I learned. Try it out. It makes learning other Romance languages much easier too.

My native language is Portuguese, so I already have an advantage :D I learnt english, no kidding, just so I could play RPGs. :p I also know a bit of japanese, for the same reason, but dropped the classes after a few months.
 
Add my name to the list of people who promise to buy Suikoden 2 for PSN. I'd do it to support the game no matter what, but I actually am worried about the condition of my physical copy. I had a few freezes the last time I played.

(French and Latin were the written languages of the upper class/bureaucracy and they tried to diminish English use but spoken English was used by the common people--it's very fascinating)

And so we got Old English names ("cow," "sheep," and "pig") for the living animals since that's how the commoners would have known them, while we got French names ("beef," "mutton," and "pork") for the prepared meat since that's how the upper class knew them. One of my favorite quirks of the English language :)
 
Good to know :D Worst case, french seems easier to learn than japanese, to me :D

Definitely. I have lived in Japan for a year and a half and have been studying and using the language actively all that time, but even though I've forgotten most of my year of French from college, I can read French much more easily than Japanese. It helps that I speak Spanish, but learning Kanji alone makes reading Japanese a huge pain in the ass.

Regardless, I have the PSP collection, and I would be thrilled to play it in English or any romance language. I still have a long way to go before I can really appreciate it in Japanese.
 
Well, now you're being silly. But...I do have some of the original SNES Ogre Battle source files on floppy disc. We were going to translate it for Hudson at one time. :)

Doesn't that go against your no cartridge policy? I don't remember you translating any cartridge games.

Not sure if this was ever answered, but are we ever going to get the good version of Lunar Silver Star on PSN instead of that Xseed one?
 

vireland

Member
Doesn't that go against your no cartridge policy? I don't remember you translating any cartridge games.

Not sure if this was ever answered, but are we ever going to get the good version of Lunar Silver Star on PSN instead of that Xseed one?

We weren't doing it for us. Hudson wanted us to do some games for them to publish. We did the voices for Dungeon Explorer II for them (which was released) and were pretty far along in the talks to do Elfaria (very fun beginner RPG with GREAT catchy music) and Ogre Battle when they decided not to publish either of them here.

Still trying to get the LUNARs on PSN. It's a long and winding road, and not much fun, but we're persistent. Keep the faith.
 

Alias Greed

Neo Member
We weren't doing it for us. Hudson wanted us to do some games for them to publish. We did the voices for Dungeon Explorer II for them (which was released) and were pretty far along in the talks to do Elfaria (very fun beginner RPG with GREAT catchy music) and Ogre Battle when they decided not to publish either of them here.

Still trying to get the LUNARs on PSN. It's a long and winding road, and not much fun, but we're persistent. Keep the faith.

I own basically all the lunar versions released in English and Suikoden 2 but I would still buy them from psn just to show support.
 

Vamphuntr

Member
there is a hacking translation effort in progress by a french team for Suikoden I&II PSP http://romhack.org/viewtopic.php?f=23&t=3585#p95093

VSY6k.png


and an english version based on their work seems to be being handled by DarknessSavior http://www.romhacking.net/forum/index.php/topic,10159.60.html

Nice, it's fairly rare that a French fan translation comes out before an English one. Only other example I know is Bahamut Lagoon by Terminus Traduction and their work was fairly good. Hopefully their Suikoden II translation will be better than the official Engish one we got.

C'est tellement rare un projet comme ça. La plupart du temps on a droit a une traduction de la traduction et disons que ça fait souvent pitié. Alors disons que ça se prend bien :)
 

vireland

Member
i can't imagine an ogre game with pop culture references.

Wouldn't have had them. Not right for the game, at all.

And before you say, "yeah, right," Look at Dungeon Explorer II. The voice acting and writing we did for the animations is medieval and very straightforward, no pop culture that I recall for that one. It WAS possible to have that from WD even back then, it's just that I was just drawn to the less-serious games that enabled that, overall.
 

scurker

Member
I just happened to be replaying Suikoden for the 10th (12th? 14th? I've lost count...) time and happened to stumble upon this thread.

As it turns out, apparently my PS3 doesn't play the retail version of Suikoden II correctly. Once I got to the part where Jowy and the hero are supposed to invade the highland army camp, but I get a black screen whenever trying to enter that area. I had to go through the whole nasty process of transferring the save file just so I could play it. My disc isn't scratched, and I'm able to make it past that part on my PSX, so it's gotta be the way the PS3 emulates it.

But I would buy a PSN version of Suikoden 2 in a heartbeat, so I certainly hope Vic isn't playing around. I would hope some of the various glitches and translations would be fixed as well.

I always considered Suikoden 1 the prolouge to Suikoden 2. A really long prolouge.

I would really love a 1080p version of Suikoden 1 and 2. Still 2D but everything redone in higher res and widescreen. Same battle system and ability to run in both. No new added content needed but better translation and bug fixes.

I don't remember where I read it, but apparently Suikoden II's story was written first and then Suikoden I was written as a "prequel". If that was the case, then it certainly makes sense.
 

B.K.

Member
I need to play Suikoden II again sometime. I've only played it once and that's been almost ten years ago.
 
You know what would be awesome? Suikoden I+II translated and released on PSN. VITA GOODNESS! :D

Also, I just got to the part where
Jowy kills Anabelle.
Holy crap, I wasn't expecting that!! :O
 

Tiu Neo

Member
You know what would be awesome? Suikoden I+II translated and released on PSN. VITA GOODNESS! :D

Also, I just got to the part where
Jowy kills Anabelle.
Holy crap, I wasn't expecting that!! :O

Would love that. Even if it's just the translated PSP port, and not a vita upmake, it would be awesome.
 
Suikoden II question for you guys.

How the heck do you recruit Shilo? I just got Stallion in Radat and went to Lakewest to recruit Shilo and he just says "Hi there, come on in and stay the night!" which is the same thing he said when I messed up Clive's story and got there too late. Any idea what I'm doing wrong?


Whoops.. I was talking to the wrong guy.
 

truly101

I got grudge sucked!
Konami seems to have run the gamut of PS2 games to HDafy except for the 3 Suikoden PS2 games. I'd love to have HD versions of those. III and V are two of my favorite PS2 RPGs ever. IV is a Suikoden game so..................
 

kswiston

Member
Konami seems to have run the gamut of PS2 games to HDafy except for the 3 Suikoden PS2 games. I'd love to have HD versions of those. III and V are two of my favorite PS2 RPGs ever. IV is a Suikoden game so..................

We'll probably get a Yu Gi Oh HD collection before they bother with a Suikoden collection...
 

MCD

Junior Member
Konami seems to have run the gamut of PS2 games to HDafy except for the 3 Suikoden PS2 games. I'd love to have HD versions of those. III and V are two of my favorite PS2 RPGs ever. IV is a Suikoden game so..................

Suikoden is dead. They won't bother with it anytime soon.

It died when Murayama left back in 2002 IMO.
 

Dark Schala

Eloquent Princess
Konami seems to have run the gamut of PS2 games to HDafy except for the 3 Suikoden PS2 games. I'd love to have HD versions of those. III and V are two of my favorite PS2 RPGs ever. IV is a Suikoden game so..................
You're talking about Konami, here...

They're the least likely company to grant a Christmas miracle...
 

Tiu Neo

Member
Konami seems to have run the gamut of PS2 games to HDafy except for the 3 Suikoden PS2 games. I'd love to have HD versions of those. III and V are two of my favorite PS2 RPGs ever. IV is a Suikoden game so..................

There's still Castlevania, Yu Gi Oh, all of the Hudson series... I want to believe, but... Yeah, I think Konami will ressurrect even the Hudson series before Suikoden.

Suikoden is dead. They won't bother with it anytime soon.

It died when Murayama left back in 2002 IMO.

Suikoden V was pretty good.

Of course, I would scream like a little girl if they get him back for VI. :p

You're talking about Konami, here...

They're the least likely company to grant a Christmas miracle...

Wasn't the first one released on the PSN on a christmas update? II and the PS2 ones probably need a bigger miracle, that's why it's taking so long.
 

Fady K

Member
Guys I wanted to ask if any of you played the PSP Suikoden game that came out last year? Would it make sense for Vic and his team to localize this game for the PSN affer releasing Class of Heroes 2?
 

Mieu

Member
I miss the great soundtracks of 1 and 2. It was Miki who did it. The interview with her gave readers a perspective on how they handled the OST for each town.
 

Xelinis

Junior Member
I need to be honest with you guys: the older I get, the less fondly I look back on Suikoden V. Don't get me wrong, I still think it's a good game, but a lot of it's flaws are beginning to stand out to me.

Skill System - Limiting, inflexible, terribly unbalanced, and not fun to tinker with.

Towns - Sterile and uninspired with generally poor layouts. In particular, what really ground my gears was how the inside of most buildings were only a little more than concrete boxes.

Menu System - Suikoden III's menu system was sublime, with a clean design aesthetic, great information layout and sub-contexts sliding in and out smoothly. Suikoden V's system, on the other hand, was primitive, slow to load, and unresponsive.

Series Fan Service - More than any other game in the series, Suikoden V just bangs you over the head with references to past titles. In a lot of ways, I think that Suikoden V lacks its own identity because of this, with a lot of its plot structure and highlights being pulled directly from other games (II in particular).

Signs of Things to Come - A lot of the character archetypes and how they all interact with each other feel a lot more juvenile than in any of the games before it. Looking at the game six years later, I think that I'm beginning to see the underpinnings of the more otaku-geared Suikoden Tierkreis. This doesn't surprise me seeing as both games shared a lot of staff such as Takahiro Sakiyama (director of V, lead planner of Tierkreis) and Kazuyoshi Tsugawa (writer on both).
 

ULTROS!

People seem to like me because I am polite and I am rarely late. I like to eat ice cream and I really enjoy a nice pair of slacks.
So I'm trying to recruit the squirrels in Suikoden II. I have the Muku, Miku and Maku. I have been running back and forth between Greenhill and the Matilda border w/ Stallion for 20 minutes and haven't got Meku. I'm about to smash something! AHH! ;) Are there any tricks to this?
 

Dark Schala

Eloquent Princess
Depending on which method you're using, for one method, it is better to keep your party completely empty as the game checks every single slot to put the squirrel into. You don't even have to enter battle or move (don't be in a menu). If you're playing on a system, you'll hear it load something when a squirrel joins. I have heard standing near individual trees works

For the other method, it's better to enter and leave a town between getting squirrels (because it resets their code flags and refreshes). If you run down a path right after leaving one of the two areas that surround the path of where the squirrel should be, you should get them fast. This is probably preferred.

Xelinis said:
Signs of Things to Come - A lot of the character archetypes and how they all interact with each other feel a lot more juvenile than in any of the games before it. Looking at the game six years later, I think that I'm beginning to see the underpinnings of the more otaku-geared Suikoden Tierkreis. This doesn't surprise me seeing as both games shared a lot of staff such as Takahiro Sakiyama (director of V, lead planner of Tierkreis) and Kazuyoshi Tsugawa (writer on both).
So that's why you said Sakiyama ain't so great in another thread. I'll have to give V a replay when I'm not busy with other games because in hindsight it did feel more like that outside of the emotional parts. Regardless, though, I still feel like it was a return to form even if it borrowed a lot of elements from GS2.

And then they decided to go into another direction with the series.

ULTROS! said:
Suikoden came out as a surprise on PSN during Christmas week (Dec. 23, 2008).
Current Konami wouldn't care!

Fady K said:
Would it make sense for Vic and his team to localize this game for the PSN affer releasing Class of Heroes 2?
No; it's incredibly average despite adding some nice stuff. In fact, I know that people might feel dissatisfied with it.
 
Depending on which method you're using, for one method, it is better to keep your party completely empty as the game checks every single slot to put the squirrel into. You don't even have to enter battle or move (don't be in a menu). If you're playing on a system, you'll hear it load something when a squirrel joins. I have heard standing near individual trees works

For the other method, it's better to enter and leave a town between getting squirrels (because it resets their code flags and refreshes). If you run down a path right after leaving one of the two areas that surround the path of where the squirrel should be, you should get them fast. This is probably preferred.
I gave up. I'm going to go to bed and will try again tomorrow. You really don't have to move at all for that first method? Interesting... I had been doing the second method for 20-25 minutes straight and didn't get Mekumeku. :\ Am I getting them out of order?
 

Tabris

Member
I need to be honest with you guys: the older I get, the less fondly I look back on Suikoden V. Don't get me wrong, I still think it's a good game, but a lot of it's flaws are beginning to stand out to me.

Skill System - Limiting, inflexible, terribly unbalanced, and not fun to tinker with.

Towns - Sterile and uninspired with generally poor layouts. In particular, what really ground my gears was how the inside of most buildings were only a little more than concrete boxes.

Menu System - Suikoden III's menu system was sublime, with a clean design aesthetic, great information layout and sub-contexts sliding in and out smoothly. Suikoden V's system, on the other hand, was primitive, slow to load, and unresponsive.

Series Fan Service - More than any other game in the series, Suikoden V just bangs you over the head with references to past titles. In a lot of ways, I think that Suikoden V lacks its own identity because of this, with a lot of its plot structure and highlights being pulled directly from other games (II in particular).

Signs of Things to Come - A lot of the character archetypes and how they all interact with each other feel a lot more juvenile than in any of the games before it. Looking at the game six years later, I think that I'm beginning to see the underpinnings of the more otaku-geared Suikoden Tierkreis. This doesn't surprise me seeing as both games shared a lot of staff such as Takahiro Sakiyama (director of V, lead planner of Tierkreis) and Kazuyoshi Tsugawa (writer on both).

Could not agree more. Especially on that last point. Suikoden as we knew it died with #5.

I would also like to add the bloody camera angle.
 

Dark Schala

Eloquent Princess
I gave up. I'm going to go to bed and will try again tomorrow. You really don't have to move at all for that first method? Interesting... I had been doing the second method for 20-25 minutes straight and didn't get Mekumeku. :\ Am I getting them out of order?
The first method takes long, though. And you have been getting them in order (Muku, Maku, Miku, Meku, Moku). Sometimes it takes just a few minutes and others it takes hours.

I should elaborate. They don't join in battle. They join shortly before the battle. You'll know when they join when your PS makes a loading noise.
 

Kenai

Member
One of my favorite RPG series, I have played and 100%'d all non-spinoffs. Been meaning to play Tactics but i remember it being very difficult for me when I tried to get through it many years ago. I still have it somewhere, I'll dig it out sooner or later.

My preferences are 2 > 5 >>> 3/1 >>>>>>> 4. 5 is a fantastic game, and 2 is so exceptional in so many ways it seems almost unfair to compare to compare, but it is what it is. I like them all, even 4.
 

DaBCGang

Neo Member
Up until a few years ago i used to play all the Suikodens in order every year. After responsibilities came I set it back to just Suikoden 1 and 2 since I have them so memorized I can beat them both in under about 20 combined hours.
 
The first method takes long, though. And you have been getting them in order (Muku, Maku, Miku, Meku, Moku). Sometimes it takes just a few minutes and others it takes hours.

I should elaborate. They don't join in battle. They join shortly before the battle. You'll know when they join when your PS makes a loading noise.
This just reminds me how much I love all the little touches this series has. The amount of optional content the games possess is incredible, and I love the fact that all this makes it feel like you are in a fully realized world, not just a series of random locations linked by a story.
 

Takao

Banned
We'll probably get a Yu Gi Oh HD collection before they bother with a Suikoden collection...

Yu-Gi-Oh! video games are as much advertisements for the new cards as they are a game. There's like 0 reason for an HD Collection, especially as the PS2 games were jank lol.
 

Dark Schala

Eloquent Princess
This just reminds me how much I love all the little touches this series has. The amount of optional content the games possess is incredible, and I love the fact that all this makes it feel like you are in a fully realized world, not just a series of random locations linked by a story.
After starting Sora no Kiseki: The 3rd, I feel like the Kiseki games have taken up that mantle.

I hope they release the PC or PS3 versions here. I kind of "get it" now.
 

Tiu Neo

Member
Up until a few years ago i used to play all the Suikodens in order every year. After responsibilities came I set it back to just Suikoden 1 and 2 since I have them so memorized I can beat them both in under about 20 combined hours.

Yeah, I played every game every year too, but didn't do that those last too years... =/

After starting Sora no Kiseki: The 3rd, I feel like the Kiseki games have taken up that mantle.

If only they all where released in english :( but I think that's as much possible as Konami releasing a real Suikoden VI, so...
 

Shouta

Member
After starting Sora no Kiseki: The 3rd, I feel like the Kiseki games have taken up that mantle.

I hope they release the PC or PS3 versions here. I kind of "get it" now.

It took you until 3rd to figure it out? D= SC had lots of crazy stuff.

Also, you're making Aeana, Squeeee
 

thcsquad

Member
I need to be honest with you guys: the older I get, the less fondly I look back on Suikoden V. Don't get me wrong, I still think it's a good game, but a lot of it's flaws are beginning to stand out to me.

Skill System - Limiting, inflexible, terribly unbalanced, and not fun to tinker with.

Towns - Sterile and uninspired with generally poor layouts. In particular, what really ground my gears was how the inside of most buildings were only a little more than concrete boxes.

Menu System - Suikoden III's menu system was sublime, with a clean design aesthetic, great information layout and sub-contexts sliding in and out smoothly. Suikoden V's system, on the other hand, was primitive, slow to load, and unresponsive.

Series Fan Service - More than any other game in the series, Suikoden V just bangs you over the head with references to past titles. In a lot of ways, I think that Suikoden V lacks its own identity because of this, with a lot of its plot structure and highlights being pulled directly from other games (II in particular).

Signs of Things to Come - A lot of the character archetypes and how they all interact with each other feel a lot more juvenile than in any of the games before it. Looking at the game six years later, I think that I'm beginning to see the underpinnings of the more otaku-geared Suikoden Tierkreis. This doesn't surprise me seeing as both games shared a lot of staff such as Takahiro Sakiyama (director of V, lead planner of Tierkreis) and Kazuyoshi Tsugawa (writer on both).

I agree with most of these points, though I remember enjoying the skills system and I thought some of the towns were actually pretty good (minus the music, great town themes died with III). My main gripe was that the plot arc almost seemed identical to Suikoden II. I maintain that Suikoden III was the last truly great and memorable Suikoden game.

Still, Suikoden V is worlds better than everything that came after it, not to mention IV and Rhapsodia. So its praise is not completely undeserved.
 

Tabris

Member
Still, Suikoden V is worlds better than everything that came after it, not to mention IV and Rhapsodia. So its praise is not completely undeserved.

No real Suikoden game has come after it.
 

ULTROS!

People seem to like me because I am polite and I am rarely late. I like to eat ice cream and I really enjoy a nice pair of slacks.
No real Suikoden game has come after it.

Growlanser IV: Wayfarer of Time is probably the only recent game that feels like Suikoden.
 
Two Suikoden I and II questions:
1) Are there missables? How many? How important?
2) How awful is are their translations? Like, if I have to choose between playing and not playing them, is it better to not play them and wait for someone to do a better translation job one day? I have no shortage of games to play. Is the translation "bad" in the sense of SNES Chrono Trigger (i.e. not bad, just nitpickers), or Final Fantasy Tactics (actually problematic).
 
Trails games for the first time. Must be nice. :p

Two Suikoden I and II questions:
1) Are there missables? How many? How important?
2) How awful is are their translations? Like, if I have to choose between playing and not playing them, is it better to not play them and wait for someone to do a better translation job one day? I have no shortage of games to play.

Suikoden games are built around growing the number of recruits you have, not guarenteeing you'll get the number that exists. A few I can recall off the top of my head in each. There are true endings in the series that require this. Keep in mind, that going in with this mentality will result in kvetching over not getting this (which is very likely) or reading a faq, which kills the impact.

Translations are basic and understandable in 1 to erratic and even untranslated in 2 (Casey Loe aka Takuhi on here has info on the tribulations they went thru doing it).
 
Suikoden games are built around growing the number of recruits you have, not guarenteeing you'll get the number that exists. A few I can recall off the top of my head in each. There are true endings in the series that require this. Keep in mind, that going in with this mentality will result in kvetching over not getting this (which is very likely) or reading a faq, which kills the impact.

Translations are basic and understandable in 1 to erratic and even untranslated in 2 (Casey Loe aka Takuhi on here has info on the tribulations they went thru doing it).
I'm cool with lots of side stuff, just not missables. To me, it only becomes missable when I can pass a point where an item or character is no longer obtainable after an arbitrary point in the game. That sort of thing really pisses me off unless it should have been obvious to me. I played through Suikoden III, and I may be wrong, but I don't recall any missables. It has been a while, though.
 
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