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Suikoden IV, Prepare to Spend a Lot of Time Sailing

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: April 07, 2008
Author: Amazon User

I guess it's understood that when in an area surrounded by water you will be sailing, a lot, but this is a video game so it would have been reasonable to perhaps make the islands closer just so you don't have to spend hours trying to get from one point to the next. It's not like you'll have time to really enjoy sailing too because every 15 seconds you have another fight on the ocean.

The story is relatively predictable and while it starts off well enough (which I won't spoil) I think that it's no where near on the level of the other Suikoden games.

The game does have beautiful music though and I loved the opening song. If only the gameplay had been a bit more fun then I definitely would have seen this game as more of a treasure.

I'd say rent it. If you particularly find yourself taken by the game then you can always buy it later.

Sail by the stars and you may just sink.

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 1 / 1
Date: August 08, 2007
Author: Amazon User

To me, a disappointment in the Suikoden series. It seemed so promising, and though much of the game can be very entertaining, it is definitely a game that will need patience to beat. Here's my break down:

Gameplay: 6/10
The gameplay is probably what you would expect for most RPG's.... except for one small little detail. You spend most of your time traveling on a large ship out on the ocean. The problem with this... when you're moving, it gives you no "sense" of actually getting anywhere. That, along with the fact that the islands you're visiting are somewhat far apart, keeps this game at a snails pace. But its not all bad. If you add in the numerous playable characters, the classic RPG battle system, and the customization, you might be able to overlook the boredom of the sea.

Story 9/10
This is where Suikoden IV excels. The story is quite frankly captivating. You find yourself connected to the nameless hero. If you let yourself, you'll feel his pain, his joy, his excitement and the finality that is his story.

Graphics 8/10
Lets face it, this isn't the newest game on the block, and if you keep that in mind, you'll do just fine. When it was released, it was about the standard for this type of game. Nothing spectacular or horrendous about it.

So, if you can just keep in mind that patience is a virtue, this may very well be a game that you would appreciate.

-Brandon S. Johnson

the fourth one just plain sucked....

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 1 / 1
Date: August 01, 2007
Author: Amazon User

Sorry Suikoden fans, but Konami really killed this series with the first 3 releases on the PS2, 3, 4 and Tactics. All 3 games are terrible, and it is hard to believe that the same company that released Suikoden 1 and 2 made these games. They pretty much destroyed a new fan base they could have created with these terrible games. Well, the fifth was a masterpiece, but for the average gamer, it was too little too late. What I didn't like about this game. Suikoden 1 and 2 had great soundtracks, Suikoden 3 was OK, a few memorable tunes but otherwise it failed. In the 4th, I recall one tune that I liked, the world map halfway through the game. All other music was terrible and I thanked god for the mute button. The characters.... Well, in Suikoden 1 we can remember characters like Sonya, Teo, Windy, Kraze, Milch, etc... In 2, we can remember characters like Flick, Victor, Luca Blight, Sasarai, Leon Silverberg etc... These are memorable characters. Suikoden 3 did have some memorable characters as well, but it wasn't enough to save the game. In the fourth one, the characters are totally forgetable. I played this game a couple of times a year ago. I do not remember any of the characters in a good light, in fact, most of them I have totally forgotten about. I played 1 a long long time ago yet I still remember all the characters. Any way, the story is pretty much non existant, the war seemed like a small border dispute, and the two main enemies are just pathetic. Why does this enemy nation even invade the islands, well, it is explained in ONE LINE in the game, an unknown governor explains that they want to give the Rune of Punishment to the King of Harmonia for help in conquering the island nations. If you have played Tactics, its hard to believe that the Kooluk empire could be so ambitious, considering it is ruled by a bunch of idiots who are incompetent and don't even know who their friends or enemies are. Well, as far as a legitimate reason to justify this war, there is none. Well, i have typed enough, the game sucked, it was a let down, no replay value, you get the point...

Hated it

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 1 / 1
Date: June 16, 2007
Author: Amazon User

The story was predicable and stupid. You also have the "forced to answer one answer when there's two available option" haunts this game.
One question is "Do you want to use the rune?"
You can choose yes or no.
If you choose no, the game pauses for a couple of seconds, then the question returns - with the exact same answers!
So you HAVE TO choose Yes.
Why even bother making you be able to choose if No has no effect?!

The battle system was awful.
A slooooow watery effect show up before every battle, it's between 10-20 seconds long. Disaster!
Also the characters misses the enemy A LOT.
In a fight, out of 50 blows they could hit 13.
A big reason not to play this game.

The english dubbing is the worst I have ever heard. It's a nightmare, only 2-3 could act, they rest couldn't act AT ALL!

Not fantastic, but not bad either.

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 3 / 3
Date: April 21, 2006
Author: Amazon User

Well, this is definitely a Suikoden game. Mechanically, it's got everything it's supposed to have, 108 stars, recruitment binges, battles, random fights, everything you've grown to expect from the franchise.

Problem is, it doesn't offer much we haven't already seen. Yes, you can make your own accessories, and having three battle groups at one time on your base is pretty darned nifty, but that's about it. There's just not much new going on here.

I won't go into too much more detail about the game's shortcomings, as they really aren't all that glaring. There's just not much going on in this game to set it apart from the others.

On the other hand, this is probably the most visually pleasing game in the series, and has something of a surprise ending, if you're paying attention.

I'd recommend it over S3, which I never finished playing.

Warts and all, it's a pretty decent little game. Emphasis on little.

Not nearly as bad as you've heard

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 2 / 2
Date: April 08, 2006
Author: Amazon User

Well, after having preordered it waAAaAAaaayy back in December '04, I finally got around to playing the fourth installment of the Suikoden series. Worry not, for this review is spoiler-free.

One of the reasons I hadn't played it until just recently (September '05?)was because of the overall negativity of the reviews I'd read allll over the internet. I must say, reading some of 'em you'd swear you'd be inserting a steaming pile of $%*$# into your PS2. Happily, I've found the game isn't THAT bad. In fact, I actually enjoyed it. The graphics are quite nice, the voice acting is actually pretty good (nor as stilted as it does tend to sound in, say, Final Fantasy X) and the dialouge has some of the same... the same "pluckiness," for lack of a better word, of that of the rest of the series. I enjoyed very much, as usual, the fantasy world that the game designers had created for me to escape to. Character designs were generally pretty good. The armor creation system was an entertaining new addition. Some of the little mini-extras were amusing too, such as the Mushroom battle, fishing, training room and my personal favorite, the confession booth. And plus, who could complain about the fact that JEANE is back and now a fighting character?! Oh, yes yes yes- quite a treat, I must say. ;)

That being said, the game did not wow me in any areas.. The music overall is pretty bland, a huge dissapointment for me, considering the well-above average scores of the previous three titles. I got soooo tired of the ship-inside theme.. yawn!! The storytelling and characterization left much to be desired, as well. I never really found myself partcularly attached to any of the characters, which fans know is also a defining strength in Suikodens prior. The plot kinda has this whole "okay, this is what's s'posed to happen in a Suikoden game- let's see what we can think up to stay within the framework here!" thing going for it. So yeah.. It's tended to feel a bit forced at times. Yes... forced, and predictable. And not nearly as epic, emotional, or meaningful as I had come to expect.. I simply didn't find myself caring a great deal about the characters or what happened to them. The relationship between the main character and his ex-friend/rival is sorely under-developed (Snowe is lame... LAME, I say!!!), as is Grahm Cray, the game's main villain... And oohh, I am a fan of a good villain- they can make or break a story. Mr. Cray had potential, but again... It just sort of felt like he was stuck in there to fulfill the role. What else? Ahh, yes.. The Ship. Trying to get from point a to point b (the ship sailing the open ocean serves as the overworld) is pretty aggravating when just about every three seconds you find yourself drawn into battle. Combined with the fact that the ship controls're frustrating as Hell to manipulate, it makes for a rather annoying experience at times. Sailing the ocean also gets visually monotonous- just blue sea and blue sky for what seems an eternity, until your ship happens upon some land mass.. Too bad such large portions of the game require the player to be doing just this. I found spell animations to be pretty lacking, too. Lastly, the game was hardly what one would consider a challenge. I accidently forgot to update the equipment of some of my characters when I fought the final boss, and yet I STILL managed to win on my very first try. It was pretty much the same throughout the game- only a few of the major battles gave me any sense of the impending doom that makes eventual victory all-the-sweeter.

Above all, depsite my criticisms, I'm just glad I've given the poor game a chance. It's no Suikoden II (the BEST in my opinion) by any stretch, or even III, but definately not as abysmal as I'd been led to believe. If you're a fan of the series, I'd definately recommend that you pick this one up, if for no other reason than to expand upon your understanding of the world of Suikoden. As for newcomers, I'd say to look elsewhere if you're seeking an amazing RPG experience. Suikoden II or III, perhaps? Let's just hope the team learns from their mistakes for Suikoden V.

WOW?!?! what happened?

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 3 / 5
Date: January 14, 2006
Author: Amazon User

My favorite game of all time is Suikoden 2!!! I have never seen an RPG that not only put so much time into an actual fun and active+ creative story but involved original elements like your own castle/base which gets upgraded the more stars(characters) you meet, and recruit.

Suikoden 1 is good as well, hey everything starts somewhere. 3 was fun and had good graphics the story was really the only thing that kept it going. But you already saw the direction the series was taking when they down played one of the kewlest parts, the BASE!

Suikoden 4 just felt gimped. It promised and didnt deliver. I liked the initial direction of the game but when you compare it to what came before it, you cant help but look back and go, wait what just happened here? What made the whole series kewl was just sapped! Hell its on sale now for 12 something.... the game just came out like a year ago.... that says it all ppl!

If it aint broke dont fix it lol, do a search for suikoden 2 and if you like old school (although its not that old school) 2-d graphics I suggest you check it out. Last time I saw it was on sale for like 180+ dollars.... now thats quality!

Better than expected Rpg, but play with a walkthrough

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 1 / 1
Date: November 21, 2005
Author: Amazon User

I finally got around to playing this game several months after its release. The game look great and is available in 480p progressive scan, it sounds great, the combat system is fluid, and the leveling system intelligently discourages "the grind" and assures that your characters will preety much be at the right level for optimal play. There's also a whole bunch of addicting mingames. The story is also pretty good too.

The game has one major, dealbreaking, flaw: it takes a long time to travel between areas by ship because the encounter rate is high. Fortunately, there is a character that allows you to teleport in between areas, and if you get this character at the earliest moment possible, in the early mid-game, then you will experience all of the great things winthin the game, without having to deal with the major flaw.

So, if you play this game with a walkthrough and get the ability to skip ship travel at the first moment its available, you'll experience a satisfying and great looking RPG.

Just AMAZING!!!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 1 / 7
Date: September 16, 2005
Author: Amazon User

if you love this types of games, this one is a MUST HAVE!

Worth your time if you've got nothing else to play

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 2 / 3
Date: August 03, 2005
Author: Amazon User

And I mean that. Suikoden IV is a reasonably fun game, but compared to other RPGs - especially those in this most admirable of series - it's just not up to par. Think of it as your time killer while you wait for something better, like Xenosaga Episode III or Final Fantasy XII.

There are several things to like about this game. Collecting the 108 Stars of Destiny - for those uninitiated, they're the 107 quasi-important people you can recruit to fight with you and to perform various helpful tasks - is plenty of fun, especially if you're the obsessive-compulsive type of RPG gamer. Even more fun is the fact that you go about this task on a ship. Yes, a ship. In past Suikoden games you built a castle in which to house your hundred or so new friends, but here you take to the seas in a pleasantly mobile stronghold. People complain about the sailing system, but once you figure it out (which I'll admit did take me awhile) it's easy, "quick", and pretty un-glitchy.

My most favorite aspect of the game, surprisingly enough, involves one facet of the otherwise uninspiring plot - pirates. You meet them, you ally with them, and to some effect you can consider yourself one of them. The game didn't offer much in the way of pirate hijinks, but it was kind of exciting just to know that somewhere along the line swashbuckling and grog were involved.

The fun pretty much stops there. The battle system, though (in my opinion) improved from that of Suikoden III, gradually became tedious, and said tedium was all too easily remedied by the Retreat command, leaving you with basically nothing to do. Even less interesting was the half-baked plot. The idea of a Rune of Punishment that kills its holders is a good start, but I waited for all the game to be intrigued by its history or the will of the people who wished to wield it and was disappointed. The story is merely a foundation: something interesting upon which absolutely nothing is built. After about hour five, nothing even comes close to the captivating storytelling of III's Trinity Sight System.

After the brilliance that was Suikoden III I had high hopes for this prequel, but in the end it just failed to deliver. Not even pirates could save this sinking ship of a game. If you're desperate for an RPG fix... well, I'd say play through your old favorites again, and maybe again, before giving this one a look.

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