GameHoof.com

by w2n

Konami has released the fifth of their best RPG franchise, Genso Suikoden. This is after Genso Suikoden IV, which was good, and Genso Suikoden Tactic which earned praises from several websites although lacks in traditional RPG challenges.

The story of Genso Suikoden V is set 10 years before Genso Suikoden I and 1000 years after Genso Suikoden IV. It takes place in a land called Falena, which is located near Island Nation, which was the setting of Genso Suikoden IV.

Lyon, Konami’s official wallpaper

Story

Like previous Genso Suikoden series, the story evolved around artefacts possessing special power, the Runes. It begins with a failed rebellion in the queendom of Falena. It was Lordlake’s, previously known as the Queen’s loyal subject. The rebellion cost the queendom the Rune of Dawn and the Rune of Dusk, two of the True Runes, the very symbol of Falena. The only Rune left in the palace is the Sun Rune.

Every in-game event is beautifully rendered in real time

The rebellion forced the Queen Arshtat to wear the Sun Rune for fear it will be taken by the wrong hands. This decision put the Queen in risk of being controlled by the Sun Rune. The Queen then punished the city of Lordlake with prolonged draught. Her decision stirs many oppositions from the palace and the people of Falena.

Queen Arshtat, your typical unnaturally-beautiful-and-sexy mother of a 17 year old teenager

Power Struggle

After crushing the rebellion, the Queendom of Falena held a fighting championship to decide the future husband for the princess Lymsia, the future Queen. The contestant can choose to fight by their own, or be represented by a hired champion or slave.

By this time, there are two prominent families in the Queendom of Falena, the Godwins and the Barrows, both of them has been quarrelling for a long time in the parliament and the palace. Both families see the championship as an opportunity to expand their influence inside the queendom.

Each character with a profile face is recruitable

In the end, the champonship was won by Gizel, the sole son of the Lord of Godwin. 15 days after the end of the championship, the Godwin family was invited to the palace to proceed with the engagement. Alas, at the night before the engagement the palace was infiltrated by the Godwin’s assassins. These assassins succeeded in killing the queen and his husband. In the end, the Godwins grabbed the power and took princess Lymsia as a hostage, to be later enthroned as a stooge Queen.

Character status

This is the beginning of your adventure, as princess Lymsia’s older brother, to save her and to take back the queendom of Falena from the hand of the Godwin. The game protagonist is the deceased queen’s oldest son. You can name the main character, just like other Suikoden series.

Graphic and Music

The game displays 3D graphics with minimalist background and yet beautiful coloring. Still, the graphics could be better, when we consider the capabilities of a PS2 console. Somehow this results in many slow loading time, which is really annoying.

Beautilful colors

The music retains the tradition of Genso Suikoden. Veteran of the series can recognize the music immediately without looking at the screen.

No complaints here. Wonderful.

Control

The control in Genso Suikoden V forces the player to adjust their view, rather the opposite. Genso Suikoden V employs a birdview camera, which only allow you to zoom in and out. No, you can’t roll the camera using the analog control, so you need to carefully watch for hidden chests or roads. The inability to roll the camera also results in sometimes losing the sight of your character, blocked by a house wall or an alley.

Sometimes the camera view can get annoying …

… sometimes the camera adjusts automatically

The Battle System

Genso Suikoden V lets you see and enjoy the the kind of fight featured in previous Suikoden series. One of the series’ main atraction, the combination attack, is still available. In this game, you can bring along 10 characters on your journey. Only 6 characters are available during the battle, with their formation can be changed. The remaining 4 can enter the battle as substitutes. Every formation has their own strength and weakness to every characters involved.

The battle formation

Combination attack, a Suikoden tradition

The combination attack creates many possibilities during the battle. And you need to be careful in changing the formation, since it has different effects for each characters. This is made possible by the range system, which determines the effect on magic attacks and defense. Character with close range attack won’t be effective if put behind, while character with long range attack or magic should not be put in the front, since they have low HP and low defense.

Duel

Duel mode is still available. This game uses the duel system introduced in Genso Suikoden III. Character status in duel mode can be raised with skill points acquired from the fights. The skill points then can be used to learn special skills like combat, attack, instruction, sword, magic, etc.

The duel system hasn’t changed much compared with Genso Suikoden IV.

Extras

The Genso Suikoden series, which was inspired by the classic Chinese novel Shui Hu Zuan (Outlaws of the Marsh) written by Shi Nai’an, also provides many minigames, from fishing to dragon horse race.

Another tradition of the series is the the public bath scene, in which we have a scene of mixed bath (it’s mild, OK?).

Anyway, there is no doubt that this is a good RPG. Both newcomers and veterans of the series will find this game worthy of their time.

Platform: PS2
Genre: RPG
Developer: Konami