Manages to miraculously develop and involve a good portion of its 108 characters.. but at a price.
There is one thing that I find supremely admirable about this game and that is the story and its characters. The player is thrust immediately into the conflict between three nations.. or rather two nations who have despised each other over the years and fight bitterly, and one nation that has yet to take sides. There are three main characters each one hailing from the three very different worlds. Eventually they will all have to overcome their differences in order to have a chance at defeating a great enemy that threatens them all. It sounds predictable so far, but the amount of attention given to growing each of the individual characters, giving them interesting backgrounds and altering motives, and some surprising plot twists that occur here and there and everywhere make for an engaging story. It's incredible to see these three very diverse "groups" coming together. The ending wraps up everything well, whilst bringing about many revelations that reveal the deepest layers of the story, and how minor tinkerings and
misundertandings can create an unforunate domino effect.
But the story is just so long.. the piles of text I read through seem far more memorable than the actual game. This is definately not a game for everyone. The battle system seemed mercilessly sluggish at first but I quickly (and painlessly ^^) grew a penchant for it by making use of the
"Let Go" feature when I've become too powerful for the bulk of encounters, and by choosing runes carefully to make battles go by quick. The battle system is like that in Suikoden, you have the usual traditional battles, intersperced with one-on-one skirmishes and team "wars". The team battles are easily one of the most fun parts of the game, and I'd like to see this variety increased and volumized in future games. Like in Suikoden, you'll eventually acquire a castle in which the total 108 characters you can collect will reside in. Some of these characters offer something to deter you
from the main quest for awhile. The castle is great, and I wouldn't mind seeing this feature "borrowed" by other games. The main quest is linear, you go from one battle map to the next as well as visiting towns to do the usual- heal and purchase items as well as search for new members to join your crew. The longevity is incredible, what with the pleantiful side endeavors (many of your 108 characters offer some kind of additional activity/side quest/mini-game at the castle) and trying to get everything
out of the game. I ended up spending 80 hours on the game.
It would look amazing on the Dreamcast, but as a PS2 game it doesn't push the power of the console much. The backdrops and character models are rendered in full 3D. The graphics are clean and shiny, making use of earthy tones. The character designs are beautiful, and the art like that of past Suikoden games. The graphics for me were quite adaquate, but nothing breathtaking. The music is made up of several celtic instrumentals-
varying from peaceful to sad to spirited. I liked it quite a bit, but there wasn't as much variety as I remember there being in Suikoden.
The difficulty is just barely easy- I didn't have too many problems with the game, but I think it's of a higher difficulty than most of the games I rate as easy. ^^ Newbies may find it to be of medium difficulty.
As much as I was satisfied by this game, there were many spots along the journey in which I would think to myself- if I was a less patient person (I have uber-patience ^^) I wouldn't be able to tolerate the slower parts. And if I didn't like the storyline so much, the game would be a chore to play. It takes awhile to pick up as well, so a rent and play-through for five hours isn't going to give you a great feel of the game. You really get your money's worth- this is a game that's meant to be spread out over a long period of time, I'd think. Anyway my opinion is obvious- I think this is a very well done
game and I liked it a great deal. But as I mentioned before- it isn't for everyone.