For a certain subset of gamers, today is big. Really big. Like, the biggest day in years. That’s all thanks to Saturday’s surprise reveal that Konami and Sony are teaming up to do something fans have been begging them to do for almost a decade now: today, Suikoden II is out on PSN.
I honestly never thought I’d write those words. “Suikoden II is out on PSN.” But here we are, and finally, today’s gamers can play one of the world’s finest role-playing games without pulling out the old PS1 and wasting a small fortune on eBay. You can now buy a copy of Suikoden II that can run on both PS3 and Vita for the damn reasonable price of $US10. And you really, really should.
Need more convincing? OK, Hypothetical Kotaku Reader. Let’s talk it through. Let me answer all of your questions.
Is this game really called ‘Suikoden II‘? I mean, what’s up with that?
Yeah, it’s a Japanese phonetic spelling of a legendary Chinese novel upon which this series is loosely based. It’s not a great name in English, obviously, which is a shame — I’ve long believed that with a catchier title and some better marketing, the Suikoden games could have been huge hits outside of Japan.
How do you pronounce ‘Suikoden‘?
“Swee-koh-den.”
And this is… the second one?
Yep. There have been five main entries and a bunch of spinoffs, most of which we probably shouldn’t talk about. Suikoden and Suikoden II were on the first PlayStation; Suikodens III, IV, and V were on PS2.
So why is everyone so obsessed with the second one?
It’s special. But I’ll get to that in a minute. First I have to give you some background.
But I don’t like background.
I’ll make it quick. In 1995, not long after the launch of the PlayStation, Konami released a 2D role-playing game with a killer soundtrack called Suikoden. Its creators — led by a programmer named Yoshitaka Murayama — opted to prioritise storytelling and atmosphere over the fancy 3D graphics that were just starting to take off, and perhaps because of that, people really dug it. For a while, Suikoden was widely considered the best RPG on PlayStation — sorry, Beyond the Beyond! — and it resonated with fans thanks to a great premise, fast-paced combat, and a poignant story.
The game performed well enough to justify a sequel, and that became Suikoden II, Murayama’s magnum opus.
And that one blew everyone away?
Not exactly. Suikoden II didn’t make much of a commercial splash, thanks to A) that clunky title; B) Konami’s insistence upon sticking to 2D graphics instead of moving to 3D; and C) the fact that it launched in North America just a couple of weeks after Final Fantasy VIII.
But Suikoden II blew everyone who actually played it away.
Just what’s so good about it?
So many things. SO MANY THINGS. It’s a journey that is simultaneously grandiose and intimate, somehow juggling both sweeping political machinations and close personal friendships without missing a beat. There’s a villain, Luca Blight, who ranks among the most terrifying creatures to ever appear in a video game. The characters are lovely. The story can be heartbreaking. It looks great. It sounds great. The combat is really satisfying. There’s a cooking mini-game. There are flying squirrels. There’s friendship and betrayal and love and death.
Also, you get to run your own castle.
Really?
Yep. You start out as a low-level soldier and find yourself entangled in a giant war that eventually places you in charge of your very own castle and army. Suikoden II — like its predecessor and every other main instalment in the series — lets you recruit and collect a cast of 108+ characters, each of whom has his or her own function and personality. And as you collect those characters, your garrison expands, as does your home base. It’s really cool.
That’s a lot of characters.
It’s part of the charm. Some of the characters are boring or one-note — inevitable with such a large cast — but many of them are as interesting and fleshed-out as the cast of any good RPG. Best of all, you’ll find a good number of returning characters from the first Suikoden, including two bros that have become the starts of erotic fanfiction worldwide.
So I should play the first one?
Yeah, you really should. One of the things people really love about the main Suikoden games is the continuity. Unlike other RPGs, the Suikoden games are all set in the same universe, with recurring storylines, characters, and settings, making this franchise more akin to one big TV series than it is to, say, a movie. It’s sort of like Game of Thrones, if season 1 was only about the Starks and then season 2 starred the Lannisters in King’s Landing but was full of Stark appearances and references.
Also, you can bring your Suikoden save file over to Suikoden II for some bonus scenes and a Very Special Sidequest that I won’t spoil.
What if I can only play one of them?
If you absolutely can’t play the first Suikoden, you can rest assured that #2 stands on its own. But really, play the first one. It’s a great game — short and sweet — and it will make you appreciate Suikoden II that much more. (Plus it’s only $US5 on PS3/Vita.)
Is Suikoden really like Game of Thrones?
It really, really is. “Game of Thrones meets Pokémon” might be the best way to put it. Like Game of Thrones, this is a story about human beings fighting for peace and power under unimaginable circumstances. And like Pokémon, you can spend hours trying to collect ’em all.
I dunno. I’m really not sold yet.
Hmm. Well, you can be an Iron Chef.
I don’t really like most JRPGs, though. All that grinding, you know?
I do know! Fortunately, there’s no grinding in Suikoden II, and although some of the dungeons and bosses can be tough, regular combat is a breeze thanks to a quick “auto-attack” option and a levelling system that makes it really easy to get low-level characters up to speed. It’s also fun to play around with all of the different party members — about 50 or 60 of those 108 can be used in combat — as a lot of them have special runes and combo attacks to experiment with.
Is there anything I should know before I start?
Well, keep in mind this is a 16-year-old game, and although it feels smooth and all, there are some minor bugs and other issues. If you do choose to play Suikoden before Suikoden II, don’t forget to carry your final save over. Don’t bother trying to collect all 108 characters on your first playthrough; some of them are really hard to figure out! Don’t use a walkthrough. That will ruin it.
Also: take your time, explore, and soak everything in. The beginning’s a little slow, but stick with it. The build-up is well worth it.
What else?
Dude, it’s my favourite video game of all time. I don’t want to spoil anything about the story, so you’ll have to trust me on this one. It’s really, really good.
If it’s so good, why wasn’t it on PSN before today?
Great question. I’ve been trying to answer that for five years. Although Konami has never quite given me a straight response either on or off the record, fans have come up with lots of theories: minor bugs, licensing issues, whatever. Really, the simplest answer might be the correct one: Konami didn’t think it would sell. Somehow, fans convinced them it would. (Special shoutout to the Suikoden Revival Movement for their work over the past few years.)
Do you think it will?
I sure hope so, just so Konami realises how good this game is and maybe decides to revive the series. But, more importantly, one of the greatest RPGs ever made is now for sale again, and everyone gets to check it out. You won’t regret it.
Comments
22 responses to “Why You Should Play Suikoden II, One Of The Best RPGs Ever Made”
I remember Super Mario RPG, Secret Of Mana, Lufia 2, Legend Of Zelda, and Chrono Trigger.
I completely forget Suikoden 2’s storyline.
I remember that there’s over a hundred characters to join your castle, and that your character is kinda dressed like the monkey king, but that’s about it.
The only problem I have with the Suikoden games is the combat. I think I cheated on Suikoden II to make combat quicker and I gave up on Suikoden III because the animations were so long.
Everything else, though, bloody amazing
How do you pronounce ‘Suikoden‘?
“Swee-koh-den.”
If you have save file while playing Metal Gear Solid on PS1, Psycho Mantis will comment on you playing the game and pronounce it as “Su-Ee-Koh-Den”. I believe in Mantis!
Also, he’s something that only Kojima would program into the game.
Since the article is trying to keep this hidden I will too. If you transfer your file from Suikoden 1 over you’ll be given the chance to recruit the main character from Suikoden 1 in Suikoden 2 (although you have to take a boat every friggen time he leaves your party). Also, the character he interacts with can be Gremio if you managed to revive him in Suikoden 1 (recruit all possible members before the final battle to do so).But there’s something special they did with this meetup. If the name of the main characters in Suikoden 1 and 2 ar exactly the same, Gremio will actually make a comment on the coincidence.
Mantis is correct. It is made up of the Japanese syllables “Su-i-ko-de-n”. It will *sound* like “Sweekohden” mainly because people tend to run “Su” and “i” together, producing a “Swee” sound.
There’s no bar over the ‘ko’ syllable though, and there aren’t two d’s, wouldn’t this indicate a standard ‘ko’ rather than the elongated ‘koh’? Rather than ‘soo-ee-koh-den’ it should probably be ‘soo-ee-ko-den’ with a shorter ko.
The big question though is whether the EU territories get it on PSN tonight or do we get shafted again on good games. Not that it will affect me too much since I have the original PSX version, but I’d like to play it on the Vita as well. Besides, more people need to play the game.
Not until next year for EU is what I’ve heard.
Great series, pity they appear to have canned it.
I am part of this certain subset – Suikoden was one of my first RPG’s as a kid, and probably the one that formed want I looked for in games for the future, it was unexpectedly deep and mature, yet approachable and lovely for a anyone. Suikoden II is Suikoden I that’s improved in almost every way, and much much longer to boot – and yet never outstays its welcome. Anyone who’s played number II remembers that huge battle with the big antagonist and thinking, “wow, it’s already the end of the game?” and then finding out it’s so, so not.
Once you’ve played these games, you’ll be with the rest of us, speculating about True Runes into perpetuity.
my level of excitement for this game being released is hard to express. I had a copy once but traded it in to buy the wife a Gameboy advanced I think… then she flushed it and I was sad. This game is well worth picking up for any RPG fan.
Please Konami release Vandal Hearts (1 and 2) over PSN. My favourite RPGS ever and have aged really well due to being strategy turn based RPGs.
Is this coming to the Australian PSN Store?
I think we can already take a guess.
Yes. Both Suikoden games are coming next month.
Word from a suikoden revival group is that Australia, New Zealand are also included in the European Release in January, I’ve played it many times before and can confirm it is sensational!
http://uk-blog.konami-europe.com/2014/12/08/suikoden-i-ii-heads-to-psn-european-release-next-month/
i would love it if we could actually get the first one or the second one in Australia on the psn store…
http://uk-blog.konami-europe.com/2014/12/08/suikoden-i-ii-heads-to-psn-european-release-next-month/
Downloading to my vita now. Love love love that game.
Or like I did last year, play it on your samsung galaxy 4 on a ps1 emulator with a ps3 controller.
Yay! I picked up Suikoden 1 for cheap off PSN about a month ago, i am enjoying it but even as a veteran JRPG fan there is a LOT to do! I’ll probably pick this one up after the first is thoroughly finished =)
I only played 3 and 4….but wow 3 was amazing, cant wait to play 2 now 😉
Would love to play this on iOS!
Suikoden I & II are available on PS3? Can I buy these games for PS3 in Australia?