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For those of you who didn't know, Suikoden V came out thisi past Wednesday. I started playing the game yesterday and so far, I have to say I am intrigued. The intro, though very nice graphically, didn't do anything to really excite me into the game like III did. The music was also a little too mellow for an intro I thought. But aside from that, so far I am enjoying the game.

The story is pretty intriuging thus far, though it does not bear any huge relation to the other stories very much so far except for the ever present importance of runes in each of the games. I have witnessed 4 returning characters 2 we've pretty much seen in every Suikoden game

Possible spoilers: highlight to view

Vicki and Jeanne though they haven't show in up in story, I just saw them in an art book for the game.

and the other two were in at least one of the previous games though they weren't like main main characters.

You will all be happy to know that even though there are ships and waterways, so far, you are not required to navigate them. A vast improvement over IV.

We are also back to 6 man parties which is nice. There is one downside that I have noticed. A piece of battling that they took out. In the previous Suikoden games when you gained a level, your HP healed to that new level. That does not happen anymore. When you gain a level your HP stays at wherever it was at when you entered the battle and you have to heal yourself to get to full health again. Not a huge thing but I did notice it.

I am excited to play more and to see how the rest of the story will unfold.

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Elena Indurain

Currently Playing: Suikoden II

I'm planning on waiting until the price drops before buying this game. After the incredible disappointment that was Suikoden IV (I gave up caring before I even beat it), the mediocrity of Suikoden Tactics, and the general irritation of Suikoden III that made me stop trusting the series, there's no way I'm shelling out $50 for something that I can't return if it's crap. I sincerely hope this one shapes up to be better, but from the reviews I've read, it doesn't sound like it.

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Veni, vidi, dormivi.

The price when I purchased it on the day it came out at Gamestop was $39.99. I believe that's how much I paid for IV and I felt that was worth it for IV. I mean, it had quite a few downfalls, but I still liked it. I am thinking Tactics would have been more worth it for $20. I'm not enjoying the game. I wish there was a manga novelization of it so I could read it instead of play it. But with story and intrigue being important the questions brought up in Tactics means I need to finish it, as painful as that may be.

Also, I am now 11 hours in and things have really picked up. Plenty of intrigue which his what I love about the series. I re-listened to and watched the intro again and I liked it better this time.

I should have mentioned this in the first post but one-on-one duels are also part of the game though there is a little bit of a difference. At least I think this is different. You have a time limit when you decide what your will counter with. If you won't pick your counter before the time limit is up ,you may get hit. That made the first duel a little scary because I wasn't ready. Still won but it was not fun.

Time period I"m guessing this game takes place is a little bit after II because of one of the main characters in this one was a minor character in II.

Also, in battling there is the same front row, back row formation though you gain other formations (haven't tried them out. I like the original formation.) You can have short weapon users in the back but they tend to miss more often than if you have them in the front.

Army battles weren't that great. I think they had better setups in past games. I actually liked ship battles in IV. I don't know. It seems a little scattered and less guaranteed in this one.

Anything else I can say would be spoilers and I"m spoiler paranoid.



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Elena Indurain

Currently Playing: Suikoden II

According to every source I can find, Suikoden 5 takes place about 6 years before Suikoden I. The order of the series is:

Rhapsodia/IV, V, I, II, III

Everything I've heard about this game really praises the story and characters and criticizes the graphics (both for being ugly at times and for using horrendous camera angles that make playing difficult) and the gameplay (too-frequent random encounters and terrible campaign battles). What do you think about those aspects?

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Veni, vidi, dormivi.

I'm not really sure where the timeline is then because the game never really specifies that I've seen and neither does the box or manual verbiage. In regards to game order, a very small portion of Rhapsodia/Suikoden Tactics takes place before IV but most of the game takes place after IV.

The story is pretty great. As far as the graphics go, the FMV is really good. Real time game play there is a bit to be desired. The camera angles make you feel kind of far away from what's happening on the screen and you can zoom in but then you don't see what's surrounding you. However, I haven't found it to make gameplay difficult in any respect. I would agree a bit with the random battles but what I think is the most annoying is that the progression to the battle screen is a little slow and irritating. I didn't really like the first campaign battle though it was fairly simple enough. I didn't feel like they did well with unit movement. When you pick a target or a direction to go you don't get there in a few steps or immediately, your "unit" kind of gradually moves in that direction. With these things said, I still find enjoy playing the game. I devoted 11 hours to it in 2 days which is a lot for me since I've gotten away from playing games. Again, though, you have to remember that despite IV's downfalls, I still made my way through to get all 108 stars and beat the game. That could mean that I am willing to put up with a lot.

Personally, I think Suikoden V is great. Looking back, I still would have purchased it on the very first day and if it was $50. But that's just me. I love the series that much. Tactics, I could have maybe even possibly done without. And I adored III. So, maybe knowing my bias might help.

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Elena Indurain

Currently Playing: Suikoden II

Wow, I really haven't been keeping up on game releases. I had no idea that Suikoden V was coming out. Hmph, I may have to stop mindlessly upgrading my FFT save and pick this up for a change of pace.

Well, months after it's release, I finally got Suikoden V, and I'm about 12 hours into it.

They could end the game right here, without resolving the plot or anything, and it would be a better game than Suikoden IV.

It looks like the developers finally decided to listen to fans of the series and give them what they wanted, from the rock-paper-scissors battle aspect and six member parties to the fact that the town and overland themes both sound a lot like the respective themes in the first Suikoden game.

The graphics/camera/battle issues I read about months ago aren't nearly as bad as they were made out to be. Sure, fixed camera angles are a step back from free camera, and the campaign battles aren't great, but, overall, the game is still a lot of fun.

Even a lame we-were-all-kids-together-but-we-forgot plot twist wouldn't be enough to ruin this game.

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Veni, vidi, dormivi.

Glad to see I'm not the only one that has played it now. I really enjoyed it. Be on the lookout though. There are a lot of missable characters and they can be pretty easy to miss. If you miss Oboro, you will miss at least 4 characters.

I'm glad you like it so far. I was a bit unsure because although I can admit that IV is the worst of the series, I still enjoyed playing it for the most part. Will I play it a second time through? That is not as likely as the other games.

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Elena Indurain

Currently Playing: Suikoden II