Imagine being the son of a great general, part of a prestigious empire. Finally you get your chance to get enlisted. You’re send on missions to aid the empire, however, during those missions you uncover that this prestigious empire isn’t so great as you are made to believe. You quickly uncover that this empire is corrupt and as destiny guides you to join the opposing forces, you are placed before tough decisions and along your journey you will witness the loss of close friends and family.

If this sounds like your cup of tea, then Suikoden is the game for you!

You start as young Tir McDohl, though you’re given the option to enter your own name. Together with your dad, Teo, you’re meeting the emperor, Barbarossa. Teo is sent North to protect the border, whilst you’re enlisted yourself. The missions you’re entrusted with range from recovering the ‘Astral Conclusions’ from the seer; Leknaat, sister to the court mistress Windy and travelling to a small town to collect taxes.

Soon into the game it is revealed how corrupt the empire is, however. Your best friend holds a dangerous secret, which he entrusts to you. He holds a powerful Rune that the court mistress, Windy, is after, who has an agenda of her own. You’re forced to flee with the Rune and because of that, you’re branded a traitor. With nowhere else to go, you’re recruited into the Liberation Army. A small group of people who are opposing this former glorious empire. You’ll quickly encounter more danger and things go terribly wrong very quickly and soon you’ll find yourself to be the leader of the Liberation Army, due to the events that have transpired.

Suikoden boasts an impressive cast of 108 recruitable characters, known as ‘Stars of Destiny’. These Stars join your army and help you fight the empire. Most will be able to help you in battle, but not everybody has the skills to wield a weapon. However, do not worry, these Stars will aid you in different ways, such as opening shops, or doing the laundry. In the end, you’ll meet all kinds of people, which is quite interesting. You’ll meet elves, kobolds, bandits, pirates, knights and so on.

The mechanics of Suikoden are quite unique. For example, you do not buy weapons for your Stars, instead, you sharpen their weapons and you can imbue magical powers to them as well. Magic is cast through Runes and you do not have the traditional form of MP. There are three forms of battle, including the traditional turn based battles. Then there are duels where you’ll fight one-on-one against an opponent and war battles where your army engages the empire in a full-scale battle between armies. The standard battles can contain up to 6 people and some characters are able to perform ‘Unite Attacks’, where they will combine their strength and attack together. Some magical spells can also be combined, however, with no indication from the game and the fact that there’s very limited possibilities, you might not see these at all. As you recruit more ‘Stars’, your castle also grows. More shops open, more people will start living in your castle and you’ll start noticing subtle changes where people will change floors and locations each time your castle expands.

To recruit characters, you sometimes have to traverse previously visited areas and dungeons. Some will not join you until you reach a certain level and others will not join you unless you have recruited a certain amount of characters, or if your castle is at a certain level. For others, you simply have to pay them a fee, or deliver an item to them. However, a lot of characters will join you through the story. Be aware that characters can be missed out on, meaning you will not be able to recruit them any longer. This means that you will not be able to get the perfect ending which requires you to have collected all 108 characters before you start the final dungeon of the game.

Suikoden also has excellent music that really fits the game. The songs are fairly slow and ambient, but they really match the game. Where you’re mostly visiting small fishing towns and small villages, you wouldn’t expect a full-blown orchestrated fanfare. There are a few songs that do stand out, though; ‘An Old Irish Song’, ‘Passacaria’, ‘Theme of the Advancing Army’ and ‘Rock Rockland’ to name but a few.

Suikoden is not flawless, though. The game is very short. It will take about 20 hours to complete the game, which includes the gathering of all the ‘Stars’. Suikoden doesn’t boast any side quests either, other than recruiting all the characters. There are no bonus bosses, or a ‘New Game +’ option, though given the year of this review and the year the game was released, the latter can be accepted. Aside from that, the menus are quite clunky. It was Konami’s first attempt at this game, so it can be accepted. It is not like the menus in Final Fantasy I were all that great either.

If you’re from the US, you have the luck of being able to purchase Suikoden off the PSN. If you’re from PAL territories, you’re out of luck though. Suikoden is not available, unless you want to buy the original off eBay, which will cost you a fortune. Japan had the luck of having Suikoden I&II released on the PSP, but that game never made it into English. Hopefully, with Konami announcing a new Suikoden game, Suikoden will be released on the European PSN.

Suikoden is a game that needs to be experienced. It is a rare jewel that is often overlooked. It was very original at the time and by today’s standards, it is still one of the best role-playing games one can play.