Nice review. - I think for me when I first played this game as a 9 year old I was enthralled by the story. It was the first time I think I genuinely connected with characters and felt really emotional. Odeassa, Teo and Gremio's deaths were so shocking. - Also the ability to make decisions - like chop off general's heads, gave me a real sense of control. In my first ever play through Milich was not going to survive after what he did to Gremio! - This game is GOAT and music is definitely 10/10.
Great review! I just found your channel recently through your Path of Radiance videos, and saw you have a full retrospective about the Suikoden series (my favorite jRPG franchise of all time) so I had to give this a watch! Suikoden 1 was actually the last game in the series I ever played, and I first played it after a summer-long marathon of replaying 2-5, games I knew and loved for years at that point. And... I found Suikoden 1 too boring and ended up stopping my playthrough about halfway through. Fast forward another 5 years or so to 2013 and I saw Suikoden 1 on the PS3 digital storefront, I figured "why not" and went ahead to give it another go. I was absolutely blown away by the game this time around, as Suikoden 1 is a very unique RPG that tries to do a lot of things differently from other games; it's just a rough follow-up when played immediately after its' sequels, which managed to nail all those elements that Suikoden 1 introduced. Where I busy judging the often-times clunky rune system of 1 and the asinine inventory system, I initially missed how poignant and touching the storyline of it was - losing the forest for the trees, as it were. Something Suikoden 1 nails that to me no other game in the series has hit quite as well, is constantly staying on with not just themes of loss and despair, but also not succumbing to that pain and moving forward despite it. You mentioned that the game has difficulty helping Tir emote, and that's true for a lot of the game, but that scene with Gremio was an absolute killer. Sparing Milich afterwards was so painfully difficult too, but I'm really glad the game makes the player choose there. Do they let their anger take control, and get revenge for your fallen friend? Or does the player accept the tragedy in their life, but recognize that killing Milich won't right that wrong? It's incredible how Suikoden 1 never really strays from that theme throughout the entire game, and for that alone it holds a special place in my heart. It's not my favorite Suikoden, heck it's probably last among the series even, but I still hold it's writing as some of the best in the genre and certainly among the best of its' time.
First off thank you for taking the time to check out the review! I was a bit apprehensive when starting my playthrough due to holding 2-3 at such a high regard and some of the base mechanics had aged quite poorly in Suikoden I :( But like you stated the story is still extremely poignant and definitely in the running for the best of all time.
I don't know if you allow spoiler in your review but for your Suikoden 2 retrospective, it is seldom discussed about the elephant in the room which is the game has no good or evil, just 2 opposing ideals of the 2 main characters. 2 in comparison to 1 has less focus on the fantasy elements but rather on its very political plot which some says even IGN that it is the GOT of jrpgs even before there was GOT. Great review here and hope to see more! If you like to review jrpgs with good stories after Suikoden, I hope you also try Valkyria Chronicles as it also has political warfare.
I appreciate you taking time to check out the retrospective!! I'm fine with spoilers as the video is chocked full of it :). I've heard great things about Valkyria Chronicles and will definitely check it out when I get chance.
“Game of Thrones” was started written by Martin in 1991 and released in Aug. 1996. “Suikoden 1” came out in the U.S. in Dec. 1996. So “GoT” was “GoT” well before “Suikoden” 1 or 2, lol. (But I get your reference. i tell people all the time that “Suikoden’s” 2 & 5 are basically “GoT” in JRPG format!)
I have a video on my channel where I very innocently started to watch a video of Eiyuden Chronicles and then, in order to give viewers some info on where it came from, ended up spilling off into a WILD tangent over the Suikoden series. Thats just how it is, its a great series and the awesomeness and expansiveness of the series is a testament to how awesome the very first one is. Also, I ranked all the characters from Suikoden 1-3, and the kobolds all go to the very top.
Suikoden 1 is the best in the series and one of my 5 favourite games of all time (along with FFIV, Secret of Mana, Chrono Trigger and Celeste). ANd it has one of the best soundtracks ever made
Going to go through all the mainline titles 1-5. Already re-played 2 and will be doing the scripting - video soon. Gonna stream 3-4-5 on twitch and doing videos on them respectively.
How long did it take you to put this video together. There's some really good animations in this video especially that one at the beginning which I don't think I've ever seen before. You'll hit that 1000 sub mark before you know it!!
Suikoden is one of my favorite JRPG series ever. It's a shame that Konami has fallen as low as they have today, and as a result we will never see a new true Suikoden game. I did pledge some money to Murayama's new project on Kickstarter "Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes". I like that even with an uncooperative company like Konami owning the rights to the name "Suikoden", the creator himself is so passionate about resurrecting the series that he started a new studio to bring it back with a different name. Junko Kawano and others from the original development team are going to be involved in the game and I hope very much that it will be a success.
@@LC356 It looks the part so far. All we've seen is a few short scenes and teasers although the action spin-off "Eiyuden Chronicle: Rising" is already out. I haven't played it yet, but I hear good things and honest criticism too. For the "Hundred Heroes" that everybody is hyped for, I think what most fans want is the classic Suikoden 1, and 2 presentation with the visual appeal of the HD 2D style that Octopath Traveler and Triangle Strategy have made popular. If the feel of the finished product is similar to the first two Suikoden games, fans will be satisfied.
![BLACK BAG - Official Trailer [HD] - Only in Theaters March 14](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/Du0Xp8WX_7I/mqdefault.jpg)
Nice review. - I think for me when I first played this game as a 9 year old I was enthralled by the story. It was the first time I think I genuinely connected with characters and felt really emotional. Odeassa, Teo and Gremio's deaths were so shocking. - Also the ability to make decisions - like chop off general's heads, gave me a real sense of control. In my first ever play through Milich was not going to survive after what he did to Gremio! - This game is GOAT and music is definitely 10/10.
Agreed. It did a great job setting the foundation for this Universe and one of the greatest JRPG’s of all time
Solid review! And yes....Neclord is an absolute unit!!!
Thanks for checking it out. Much appreciated 🤙🏿
Great review! I just found your channel recently through your Path of Radiance videos, and saw you have a full retrospective about the Suikoden series (my favorite jRPG franchise of all time) so I had to give this a watch! Suikoden 1 was actually the last game in the series I ever played, and I first played it after a summer-long marathon of replaying 2-5, games I knew and loved for years at that point. And... I found Suikoden 1 too boring and ended up stopping my playthrough about halfway through.
Fast forward another 5 years or so to 2013 and I saw Suikoden 1 on the PS3 digital storefront, I figured "why not" and went ahead to give it another go. I was absolutely blown away by the game this time around, as Suikoden 1 is a very unique RPG that tries to do a lot of things differently from other games; it's just a rough follow-up when played immediately after its' sequels, which managed to nail all those elements that Suikoden 1 introduced. Where I busy judging the often-times clunky rune system of 1 and the asinine inventory system, I initially missed how poignant and touching the storyline of it was - losing the forest for the trees, as it were. Something Suikoden 1 nails that to me no other game in the series has hit quite as well, is constantly staying on with not just themes of loss and despair, but also not succumbing to that pain and moving forward despite it. You mentioned that the game has difficulty helping Tir emote, and that's true for a lot of the game, but that scene with Gremio was an absolute killer. Sparing Milich afterwards was so painfully difficult too, but I'm really glad the game makes the player choose there. Do they let their anger take control, and get revenge for your fallen friend? Or does the player accept the tragedy in their life, but recognize that killing Milich won't right that wrong? It's incredible how Suikoden 1 never really strays from that theme throughout the entire game, and for that alone it holds a special place in my heart. It's not my favorite Suikoden, heck it's probably last among the series even, but I still hold it's writing as some of the best in the genre and certainly among the best of its' time.
First off thank you for taking the time to check out the review! I was a bit apprehensive when starting my playthrough due to holding 2-3 at such a high regard and some of the base mechanics had aged quite poorly in Suikoden I :( But like you stated the story is still extremely poignant and definitely in the running for the best of all time.
I don't know if you allow spoiler in your review but for your Suikoden 2 retrospective, it is seldom discussed about the elephant in the room which is the game has no good or evil, just 2 opposing ideals of the 2 main characters. 2 in comparison to 1 has less focus on the fantasy elements but rather on its very political plot which some says even IGN that it is the GOT of jrpgs even before there was GOT. Great review here and hope to see more! If you like to review jrpgs with good stories after Suikoden, I hope you also try Valkyria Chronicles as it also has political warfare.
I appreciate you taking time to check out the retrospective!! I'm fine with spoilers as the video is chocked full of it :). I've heard great things about Valkyria Chronicles and will definitely check it out when I get chance.
“Game of Thrones” was started written by Martin in 1991 and released in Aug. 1996. “Suikoden 1” came out in the U.S. in Dec. 1996. So “GoT” was “GoT” well before “Suikoden” 1 or 2, lol. (But I get your reference. i tell people all the time that “Suikoden’s” 2 & 5 are basically “GoT” in JRPG format!)
Suikoden 1 is hands down, easily my favorite game of all time. (And yes I played and beat 2 & 3 right when they came out)
I have a video on my channel where I very innocently started to watch a video of Eiyuden Chronicles and then, in order to give viewers some info on where it came from, ended up spilling off into a WILD tangent over the Suikoden series. Thats just how it is, its a great series and the awesomeness and expansiveness of the series is a testament to how awesome the very first one is. Also, I ranked all the characters from Suikoden 1-3, and the kobolds all go to the very top.
Kobolds really are Top Tier in alot of ways. I'm really curious to see how Eiyuden Chronicles turns out. Likely a day one purchase for me.
Suikoden 1 is the best in the series and one of my 5 favourite games of all time (along with FFIV, Secret of Mana, Chrono Trigger and Celeste). ANd it has one of the best soundtracks ever made
That pachinko jokes got me 🤣
Btw, have you considered making s5 retropective?
Going to go through all the mainline titles 1-5. Already re-played 2 and will be doing the scripting - video soon. Gonna stream 3-4-5 on twitch and doing videos on them respectively.
How long did it take you to put this video together. There's some really good animations in this video especially that one at the beginning which I don't think I've ever seen before. You'll hit that 1000 sub mark before you know it!!
Thank you for checking out the video I appreciate it! Most of the animations we're done by hand or commissions from other artist.
@@LC356 awesome!!
Are you planning on doing Tactics? I feel it's almost needed as a companion game to 4 as it actually really enriches that experience.
Im not sure. Playing through S5 now I’ll see if I wanna revisit that world again after
Suikoden is one of my favorite JRPG series ever. It's a shame that Konami has fallen as low as they have today, and as a result we will never see a new true Suikoden game. I did pledge some money to Murayama's new project on Kickstarter "Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes". I like that even with an uncooperative company like Konami owning the rights to the name "Suikoden", the creator himself is so passionate about resurrecting the series that he started a new studio to bring it back with a different name. Junko Kawano and others from the original development team are going to be involved in the game and I hope very much that it will be a success.
Really hoping Eiyuden Chronicles will be everything I've been missing from RPG's and gives me the classic Suikoden vibe.
@@LC356 It looks the part so far. All we've seen is a few short scenes and teasers although the action spin-off "Eiyuden Chronicle: Rising" is already out. I haven't played it yet, but I hear good things and honest criticism too. For the "Hundred Heroes" that everybody is hyped for, I think what most fans want is the classic Suikoden 1, and 2 presentation with the visual appeal of the HD 2D style that Octopath Traveler and Triangle Strategy have made popular. If the feel of the finished product is similar to the first two Suikoden games, fans will be satisfied.