Suikoden 1 and 2 HD remaster releases tommorow. Getting it? 6/10 GS 81OC/87%CR

Some of the finest jRPGs of all time. I prefered these to the Square Soft offerings on the PSX, aside from FFT.

Also, the HD-2D art here looks absolutely phenomenal.

Square Enix already did a pretty good job with the 2D-HD art with their Dragon Quest remakes and Triangle Strategies. But this right here? Is on a whole 'nother level. This goes to show just how much a strong art direction can carry the visuals. As we also see with Xenoblade and Dark Souls.

This remaster took 5 years to make because the devs wanted to reboot the series in a way that does the series legacy justice. And for most of the part, it seems like they have succeeded.

https://automaton-media.com/en/news/suikoden-i-ii-hd-remaster-took-5-years-to-make-because-the-devs-want-to-reboot-the-ip-with-a-faithful-remaster-that-honors-the-originals/

An OpenCritic score of 81 is nothing to scoff at either, and shows it help up quite well for a 30 year old game. One thing I really appreciated about the Suikoden games is that they did not outlast their welcome. With Both Suikoden 1 and 2, lasting about 20-30 hours. And while the timing is a bit unfortunate, due to coming out on the same day as Split Fiction. Everything I have seen about this game suggests it might just be a worthy title regardless.

I will probably pick it up later down the line. Split Fiction takes priority, but between this, Xenoblade and Split Fiction, I have plenty of new games this month :)

Just picked up FF16 as apparently Denuvo has been removed, so maybe after that. Never actually played a Suikoden, but my brother loved 4 on PS2 as a kid.

Looks pretty cool. However I've already beaten 1 and am 1/4 through Suikiden 2. Probably won't get unless it's got a sweet deal going for it.

I think I will but maybe not right away because I'm busy with an RPG already.

No thanks.

Really enjoyed these originally on the PlayStation and wouldn’t mind picking these up.

Liked these games when I was getting into gaming, they have a nice twist from the typical Turnbase RPG formula: gambling mini games/ large battle skirmishes/ and finally finding all the 108 Stars of Destiny.

Backed the KickStarter for Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes as well which was easily the worst KS I've ever backed. Which was sad.

But yeah I'll buy the collection. More for nostalgic reasoning.

6/10 GS, will wait for a discount

@RSM-HQ: Yeah, was pretty disappointed with Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes as well. Was pretty hyped for it when it was announced.

@Maroxad: Geez not you too 🤦‍♂️

@last_lap I just like good games. Not calling this game the best thing since sliced bread or anything. As I said in the OP, I am more interested in Split Fiction but this game is still something I wouldnt want to miss.

GS sure loves underscoring stuff.

@Archangel3371: Likewise, backed it on the hour.

& here I am still without a copy. The KickStarter did everyone dirty.

Nay. There are extremely few remasters I want to support.

I've never played Suikoden, but if I feel like doing that sometime I'd rather play the OGs.

The reasons don't even make sense. The review calls it an "excellent" game, but criticizes the pixelated sprites and lack of QoL features. How is that enough to push an "excellent" game down to 6?

I stopped trying to make sense of GameSpot's reviews around 12 years ago.

I mean, they fired Jeff for making an honest review because they were afraid to lose ad money from publishers. That means that you can trust 0% of what GameSpot writes. What they write is solely for ad money, not for honest impressions about games for others to trust.

Thats not what I am referring to. May I ask are you over or under 40?

Hard pass

@last_lap: Why does it matter how old he is?

Because the old firm call them rpg's we don't put a J in front of it. That's a 2000's thing created by younger gamers, just like other stupid stuff like saying Immersion is a genre. Either that or he is old and is trying to be hip. It's sad that people use it.

And most Japanese devs feel like the term is derogatory against their games.

JRPG labeling is still getting some folks riled up. 😂

It's an industry term used by major Japanese companies like Sony and Nintendo. I don't think it's as controversial as you're making it out to be.

It's usage varies (like many videogame genres and subgenres - see Adventure games for an example of this), but I'd say igenerally refers to Japanese RPGs or Japanese-inpsired RPGs that follow the groundwork laid out by Dragon Quest and Final Fantasy.

They're a distinct sungenre from the Ultima and Dungeons & Dragons style RPGs you typically find as major influences for American and European developers. For starters, JRPGs rarely have any actual roleplaying.

At least twice a month I get the I urge to play a JRPG. This'll do nicely.

Sony and Nintendo don't make rpg's though. Anyone who's old enough knows that back in the 90's they were called rpg's and so they'll continue to be for me at least.

I’m going to be 54 soon and have been gaming for like 48 of those years. Don’t know when I started calling RPG’s from Japan JRPG’s but it’s just something that has stuck with me and I continue to do so. It’s just something that I find to be a distinct and distinguishing label.

You are wrong. ⏲️ to move on.

@lundy86_4: Care to name some?

I forgot Maroxad's age, but I remember him being at least a couple years younger than me. And I'm under 40 myself. So it's safe to say he's almost certainly under 40.

You're right that the term "JRPG" never really existed before the early 2000s. However, the equivalent term "console RPG" did exist in the '90s. The term "Japanese-style RPG" also existed, but it was very rarely used compared to the much more common "console RPG" label. However, even the "console RPG" label was unfamiliar to most console gamers, but was mainly used by PC gamers.

Since console RPGs were a lot more mainstream than computer RPGs in the late '90s (thanks to FFVII and Pokemon), "RPG" was synonymous with Japanese console RPGs during that era. And then with the arrival of computer RPG ports to the Xbox in the early 2000s, console gamers became more familiar with American-style RPGs and that's when the terms "JRPG" and "WRPG" came about.

@lundy86_4 said:

@last_lap said:

Nintendo don't make rpg's though.

Lol, seriously, that one was a freaking head-scratcher

Care to follow burden of proof, or at least explain how you got to that conclusion?

Yeah, don't expect this one to go anywhere fast.

It's a common industry term in the West, but not a common industry term in Japan. The term "JRPG" was never really used in Japan until the 2010s. While Sony and Nintendo have since adopted the term (because most of their audience are from outside Japan), I don't see it being used by the likes of Square Enix, Sega, or Atlus, for example. A while back, some Japanese devs (like FFXIV director Yoshi-P) were even quite critical of the term.

However, connotations towards the term "JRPG" have changed significantly over the last decade. A decade ago, "JRPG" had mostly negative connotations and was indeed quite derogatory. But nowadays, "JRPG" has mostly positive connotations and is almost a term of endearment. It doesn't hold the same negative connotations anymore, so fans of the genre are more comfortable with the "JRPG" label nowadays.

Technically, even Super Mario games have "role-playing"... After all, you're "playing" the "role" of a plumber saving the princess. That's still a form of role-playing. The term "role-playing" is so vague to the point of being meaningless. But that's not the reason why the "RPG" genre label exists. The "RPG" genre label was originally coined to describe D&D clones. Basically, games that borrow gameplay mechanics from D&D. That's what really defines the RPG genre. JRPGs and WRPGs both pick-and-choose which D&D mechanics to use, but ultimately they're both using D&D mechanics, hence why they're called RPGs. In turn, D&D itself coined the term "role-playing game" to differentiate itself from the strategy wargames it was derived from. That's how D&D-influenced games came to be known as RPGs.

@Jag85: I'm aware, it doesn't make it any less dumb though.

@lundy86_4: You replied to me first, so if you believe that have then provide the names of these games.

Yeah, I never really liked the term for a bunch of reasons. But it is also teh term often used in communication.

The water is really muddy.

Early Dragon Quests were heavily inspired by Ultima. Hell, I wouldnt be surprised if the Dragon Quest Hero vocation is heavily inspired by Ultima's Avatar. Although more defined and developed, in Zaps, Kazaps and Omnislashes.

Dragon Quest 11 resembles Ultima a LOT more than Dragon Age Veilguard for instance.

I agree the conoctations have changed. I think they had a bad rap due to the prominence of BioWare and Bethesda. But with those devs falling into the wayside (I would argue BioWare has been mediocre after Hordes of the Underdark, and Bethesda mediocre after Morrowind). And we are seeing this elsewhere too.

Sonic is an example of this. Sonic Unleashed was released to pretty middling reception. But now, I see the opinions being mostly positive. DK64 is another example which went from a well recieved launch, to being derided, to being more well regarded now. I think context matters a lot for a game's or even genre's reception and reputation.