Niahak's Place

It’s no secret that I’m a big fan of the Suikoden games. When Eiyuden Chronicles: Hundred Heroes went on Kickstarter, I enthusiastically dove in. It was disappointing in some ways, but I still really enjoyed the game’s actual release. ECHH is a supplement, though, not a replacement for the original series (in particular the first three entries, although V is an excellent entry as well).

While the Suikoden 1&2 remaster doesn’t completely overhaul these games, it does add re-done portrait art for 1 (by the original artist) and fixes some major bugs and an exploit in 2. It also adds a fast-forward feature for 1 as well as the ability to run. Having the game simply available on modern platforms alone, for me, is worth the price of entry.

There’s been some fuss made about the localization, and I think it’s fine. It fixes some errors in the original, and while it introduces a couple minor typos it is by and large an improvement. Suikoden 1 in particular feels more rich for it – while the original text isn’t exactly dry, some characters like Viktor and Mathiu feel like they have a bit more personality in this remaster. Suikoden 2 doesn’t benefit quite as much, but 2 also had a higher base-line and its main problems were resolved (I actually found the war battle music to be annoying in several places).

If you haven’t played these games, they’re well worth the price of entry. Suikoden 1 does have some major item-management annoyances – worse than some NES and Game Boy games – but I think its generally brisk pace makes up for it. There’s nothing wrong with starting with 2, although playing 1 adds a bit more flavor to 2.