Suikoden V might have a leisurely pace, but it's in that slow burn where the game's depth and richness truly shine. The deliberate storytelling and character development create an immersive experience that rewards patience with a deeply satisfying RPG journey. It's a reminder that sometimes, taking your time is the best way to appreciate a masterpiece. 🐢🎮
Suikoden IV is seen as the black sheep of the series, but many still love it and there are plenty who say that while not as strong a Suikoden game, it is still better than many other games out there. While there are plenty who say it is terrible and to skip it, there are plenty of others who disagree. I recommend giving it a playthrough without any expectations. You may come out liking it disliking it or whatever, but with a game as mixed in the like and dislike department as IV it is worth giving it a go to make up your own mind on it.
Man, this video was top notch. As a fan of the series myself, I always enjoy hearing other people’s takes on the Suikoden games. While I don’t agree with all of your opinions, you make many good points about the world and game as a whole. The intro is 100% brutal and can feel incredibly tedious as you slog your way through it. The world building and lore found in the fifth installment is fantastic, but a number of actual gameplay aspects can feel missing or even mindless at times. The difficulty is very a much joke. The ability to increase the difficulty would have gone a long way. One more thing; I didn’t expect to laugh as a much as I did. It really caught me off guard the way your presented yourself and the contents of your video. Keep up the good work and do some more Suikoden videos in the future.
Thank you so much for the kind words. They keep me going for the next video! I do have that copy of Suikoden IV just sitting around so who knows, might make a video out of that one day.
The slow open you talk about in this game reminds me why I never could get into Xenosaga. Just a bloated and overly front heavy way of story telling with almost nothing asked of the "player". Great video!
Great video as usual! As much as I like Suikoden 5 it is nice hearing a nuanced take on it - I really wish it had a bigger budget to spruce up the designs of locations & animations in combat + difficulty settings would have went a long way to making the game more challenging for those who wished for that Surprisingly I really enjoyed the intro although I fully understand why it wouldn't be popular with such a dialogue-heavy format for most players... I do enjoy getting invested into the world and characters and approached the gameplay with a more casual mindset, but you are right as whenever I think about my time with Suikoden V, the gameplay isn't something I remember much or would speak highly of.
Thank you! And yeah I think the intro would have been excusable if either one of two things: 1. It was shorter (like 4 hours max) or 2. The gameplay was fun and deep enough.
In regards to Suikoden V's intro, I will say that I don't feel like it killed the experience for me. I do think that 10 hours is too much considering that for many JRPGs; so much has happened in that time, but the EDIT -story still has great parts to it-. My main gripes with V is how it tries to be Suikoden II and take elements from it that weren't the most important and tried to ramp it up. The battle system has a welcome improvement and it brought back the skill system which was a great feature of III, but it brought with it long load times and high encounter rates in dungeons with the latter being a complaint that I 100% agree with about IV and V. The battle animations take a big hit in IV and V as well and it is upsetting seeing as I-III had fantastic animations. For some reason, the visuals in III were more about backdrops, in IV it was balanced between characters and backdrops and V was mainly about the character visuals. The music in III, IV and V all receive their praises, but I do think that the music by Miki Higashino was missed not because the 3D entries didn't do a great job, but because her music is so iconic that future entries were always going to have a difficult time living up to those standards. All three numbered 3D entries are a great time in my opinion, but to me they all lack what II brought to the table. The original is great, but being the first entry in a new series right near the start of the PS1's life was always going to bring challenges for it and it build up the second game brilliantly in my opinion. There are things about the original that I prefer over II such as Tir Mcdohl, Ted and the Soul Eater storyline, but II to me overall has more polish.
i played all suikoden , all of them have great stories and most of them have great intro to involve u to plot , unlike other games that u already in the plot
If I could power through the entire 50 hours of The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky (which felt like the entire game was essentially the prologue with very few exciting things happening) then I think I can handle 10 or so hours of a really good story set up in Suikoden V. Everything I’ve read online seems to indicate the gameplay begins picking up big time right around that point anyways - I get your takes, but you’ve already put the work in and powered through that long prologue, so why not go back and play the good stuff? Especially if you loved I & II so much (with V being harkened as a return to form by many)? You do you. But just saying. 🤷🏼♂️
I do feel like they keep the training wheels on a bit too long and its lame that its the one with the most missable characters in the franchise. Having long setup was the style at the time, and JRPGs still struggle with it. Hopefully if they bring the ps2 games to modern systems they'll be ways to speed up the long intros, add a sprint to S3, and make S4 have 6 party members. Funny you showed KH2 and its the game that DESTROYED S5's sales. Seriously who in Konami thought it was a good idea to release a JRPG within 2 weeks of KH2?
its... sad that Suikoden 5 screws up this beginning so bad. and actually i would not even say, it gets that much better after. the game is to focused around its story, and puts gameplay behind. and this does not just end after the intro. it stays slow. but the real problem is not that it is an intro that is so long (a intro can be good), but that the game does not feel like a Suikoden game for these first 10 hours. in Suikoden 2 and even 4 you get this "recruiting" feeling in 20 minutes. (even thou you are not official recruiting at this point yet, the feeling of it is already there, since you meet and group up with these random characters) in Suikoden 5 you start recruiting after these 10 hours of intro. but it does not feel like recruiting. especially the first recruit is so of to get. and another "worst part" about Suikoden 5 is, it tries so hard to be Suikoden 2, but can't do it. since 3 was "bad" (and not even originally released in eu) and 4 being so bad received, they wanted to be Suikoden 2 again.
Wow, never usually hear somebody say it doesn’t get much better after 10 hours, but that’s always what I expected. I mean, unless the battling gets more engaging and the story less hand holdy, I don’t know how it would suddenly become amazing.
It’s funny you mention this, I was toying around with the idea of making a Persona 3 video. I think it’s very exciting to make P3 feel and look like P5, but out of 3,4 and 5 it’s my least favorite because of the story and characters. I’ll still buy day one though.
To be honest I’ve only played 2, 4, and 5 until now and all of them were perfect tactics was also good the one that i didnt like so much was the psp game which I forgotten how its name is but all the other games i think they will be good too And about the slow pacing yeah ok its an rpg you should spend time playing slowly to enjoy it at its fullest This is my personal opinion and ofc i dont expect everyone to agree with me but the thing i want to say is enjoy the game
Honestly, you should give S4 a playthrough. Its a decent, shorter JRPG even if you can tell that there were development problems. Its not terrible like so many drama queens make it out to be. I'd describe it as aggressively average.
Suikoden 4 is 100% worth a playthrough it is a fairly decent RPG, in fact it is pretty damn good in comparison to many RPGs of the time, however when compared to other titles in the Suikoden main-line series it falls very short. Still 100% worth a playthrough just don't go into comparing it to other Suikoden games.
God is real, above this stationary, enclosed plane. Christ is above us, not in some other dimension, but literally above the firmament. The world is not the cartoon memes they show kids in textbooks. Evil forces rule the world, but the Lord God rules over eternity. Also Suikoden 2 was good but imo even it was kind of slow… 5 I couldn’t do.
Suikoden V might have a leisurely pace, but it's in that slow burn where the game's depth and richness truly shine. The deliberate storytelling and character development create an immersive experience that rewards patience with a deeply satisfying RPG journey. It's a reminder that sometimes, taking your time is the best way to appreciate a masterpiece. 🐢🎮
Suikoden IV is seen as the black sheep of the series, but many still love it and there are plenty who say that while not as strong a Suikoden game, it is still better than many other games out there. While there are plenty who say it is terrible and to skip it, there are plenty of others who disagree. I recommend giving it a playthrough without any expectations. You may come out liking it disliking it or whatever, but with a game as mixed in the like and dislike department as IV it is worth giving it a go to make up your own mind on it.
Man, this video was top notch. As a fan of the series myself, I always enjoy hearing other people’s takes on the Suikoden games. While I don’t agree with all of your opinions, you make many good points about the world and game as a whole.
The intro is 100% brutal and can feel incredibly tedious as you slog your way through it. The world building and lore found in the fifth installment is fantastic, but a number of actual gameplay aspects can feel missing or even mindless at times. The difficulty is very a much joke. The ability to increase the difficulty would have gone a long way.
One more thing; I didn’t expect to laugh as a much as I did. It really caught me off guard the way your presented yourself and the contents of your video. Keep up the good work and do some more Suikoden videos in the future.
Thank you so much for the kind words. They keep me going for the next video! I do have that copy of Suikoden IV just sitting around so who knows, might make a video out of that one day.
The slow open you talk about in this game reminds me why I never could get into Xenosaga. Just a bloated and overly front heavy way of story telling with almost nothing asked of the "player". Great video!
When I played through Xenosaga, my copium was saying “I’m watching an interactive movie”
Great video as usual! As much as I like Suikoden 5 it is nice hearing a nuanced take on it - I really wish it had a bigger budget to spruce up the designs of locations & animations in combat + difficulty settings would have went a long way to making the game more challenging for those who wished for that
Surprisingly I really enjoyed the intro although I fully understand why it wouldn't be popular with such a dialogue-heavy format for most players... I do enjoy getting invested into the world and characters and approached the gameplay with a more casual mindset, but you are right as whenever I think about my time with Suikoden V, the gameplay isn't something I remember much or would speak highly of.
Thank you! And yeah I think the intro would have been excusable if either one of two things: 1. It was shorter (like 4 hours max) or 2. The gameplay was fun and deep enough.
In regards to Suikoden V's intro, I will say that I don't feel like it killed the experience for me. I do think that 10 hours is too much considering that for many JRPGs; so much has happened in that time, but the EDIT -story still has great parts to it-. My main gripes with V is how it tries to be Suikoden II and take elements from it that weren't the most important and tried to ramp it up. The battle system has a welcome improvement and it brought back the skill system which was a great feature of III, but it brought with it long load times and high encounter rates in dungeons with the latter being a complaint that I 100% agree with about IV and V. The battle animations take a big hit in IV and V as well and it is upsetting seeing as I-III had fantastic animations.
For some reason, the visuals in III were more about backdrops, in IV it was balanced between characters and backdrops and V was mainly about the character visuals. The music in III, IV and V all receive their praises, but I do think that the music by Miki Higashino was missed not because the 3D entries didn't do a great job, but because her music is so iconic that future entries were always going to have a difficult time living up to those standards.
All three numbered 3D entries are a great time in my opinion, but to me they all lack what II brought to the table. The original is great, but being the first entry in a new series right near the start of the PS1's life was always going to bring challenges for it and it build up the second game brilliantly in my opinion. There are things about the original that I prefer over II such as Tir Mcdohl, Ted and the Soul Eater storyline, but II to me overall has more polish.
i played all suikoden , all of them have great stories and most of them have great intro to involve u to plot , unlike other games that u already in the plot
Never played this game but you’ve convinced me to add it on to my must-try list. Keep making this quality content!!!!
I'm a big fan of Suikoden but I must agree with DillyD when he said it's very slow. I personally put Suikoden 4 above Suikoden 5 for the same reason.
If I could power through the entire 50 hours of The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky (which felt like the entire game was essentially the prologue with very few exciting things happening) then I think I can handle 10 or so hours of a really good story set up in Suikoden V.
Everything I’ve read online seems to indicate the gameplay begins picking up big time right around that point anyways - I get your takes, but you’ve already put the work in and powered through that long prologue, so why not go back and play the good stuff? Especially if you loved I & II so much (with V being harkened as a return to form by many)?
You do you. But just saying. 🤷🏼♂️
What's the music that starts playing at 1:23 from ? Sounds so familiar yet I can't seem to place it.
Overworld theme from Wild Arms 2.
@@WITAWITAVG Oh I was way off then. Thanks for the video btw it was really informative.
@@enzo991_ thanks for watching!
I do feel like they keep the training wheels on a bit too long and its lame that its the one with the most missable characters in the franchise. Having long setup was the style at the time, and JRPGs still struggle with it. Hopefully if they bring the ps2 games to modern systems they'll be ways to speed up the long intros, add a sprint to S3, and make S4 have 6 party members.
Funny you showed KH2 and its the game that DESTROYED S5's sales. Seriously who in Konami thought it was a good idea to release a JRPG within 2 weeks of KH2?
its... sad that Suikoden 5 screws up this beginning so bad. and actually i would not even say, it gets that much better after.
the game is to focused around its story, and puts gameplay behind. and this does not just end after the intro. it stays slow.
but the real problem is not that it is an intro that is so long (a intro can be good), but that the game does not feel like a Suikoden game for these first 10 hours.
in Suikoden 2 and even 4 you get this "recruiting" feeling in 20 minutes. (even thou you are not official recruiting at this point yet, the feeling of it is already there, since you meet and group up with these random characters)
in Suikoden 5 you start recruiting after these 10 hours of intro. but it does not feel like recruiting. especially the first recruit is so of to get.
and another "worst part" about Suikoden 5 is, it tries so hard to be Suikoden 2, but can't do it. since 3 was "bad" (and not even originally released in eu) and 4 being so bad received, they wanted to be Suikoden 2 again.
Wow, never usually hear somebody say it doesn’t get much better after 10 hours, but that’s always what I expected. I mean, unless the battling gets more engaging and the story less hand holdy, I don’t know how it would suddenly become amazing.
How do you feel about the Potential Persona 3 Remake?
It’s funny you mention this, I was toying around with the idea of making a Persona 3 video. I think it’s very exciting to make P3 feel and look like P5, but out of 3,4 and 5 it’s my least favorite because of the story and characters. I’ll still buy day one though.
To be honest I’ve only played 2, 4, and 5 until now and all of them were perfect tactics was also good the one that i didnt like so much was the psp game which I forgotten how its name is but all the other games i think they will be good too
And about the slow pacing yeah ok its an rpg you should spend time playing slowly to enjoy it at its fullest
This is my personal opinion and ofc i dont expect everyone to agree with me but the thing i want to say is enjoy the game
Appreciate your transparency
Honestly, you should give S4 a playthrough. Its a decent, shorter JRPG even if you can tell that there were development problems. Its not terrible like so many drama queens make it out to be. I'd describe it as aggressively average.
Suikoden 4 is 100% worth a playthrough it is a fairly decent RPG, in fact it is pretty damn good in comparison to many RPGs of the time, however when compared to other titles in the Suikoden main-line series it falls very short. Still 100% worth a playthrough just don't go into comparing it to other Suikoden games.
11:40 not exactly a scripted loss. Though difficult, you CAN win the fight (much easier in NG+)
How do I get Lyon to leave me the hell alone?
I love this game.
God is real, above this stationary, enclosed plane. Christ is above us, not in some other dimension, but literally above the firmament. The world is not the cartoon memes they show kids in textbooks. Evil forces rule the world, but the Lord God rules over eternity. Also Suikoden 2 was good but imo even it was kind of slow… 5 I couldn’t do.