DS Review - Suikoden Tierkreis

Overview: Suikoden Tierkreis is a console style RPG by Konami, part of a series of games that date back to 1995 for the Playstation 1. The recurring feature in each game is the large cast of playable characters to recruit into your party. There are typically around over a hundred, with their own personalities, appearances and backstory. This particular title was released specifically for the DS, and is one of the deepest and well written RPGs for the system.


Story: Suikoden Teirkreis starts out not unlike most RPGs. There's a quaint, rustic village where your hero and his childhood friends reside. Your simple life is inevitably interrupted when it's discovered that your world is but one of a countless number of alternate realities. Eventually, one thing leads to another and your hero is caught up in a series of cataclysmic events. For a handheld console game, the plot is impressively deep and multifaceted, but perhaps more so than needed.

It would be a difficult and lengthy process to discuss the plot in any great detail, so I'll leave that for you to discover on your own. Suffice it to say, there are plenty of interacting elements that make it a deep, interesting, if sometimes confusing tale. There's a cult like organization dedicated to imposing their fatalistic worldview over the world, magical books that are connected to the alternate realities, and strange environmental phenomena that shape and shift the land and its people. There's plenty to get to learn and follow as you progress through the 30+ hour adventure, there's even a glossary and a character bio section.


Gameplay: Suikoden's strength primarily lies in it's colorful world, interesting characters, well done dialogue and cutscenes. However, the gameplay is certainly enough to stand up on it's own. At various intervals in the game, you'll be tasked with assembling a party of up to six characters (plus a seventh, who does not take part directly in the battle, but supports you with their abilities.)

The biggest problem with this is that you can't reform your party at will. If you make a bad decision, you can't change it, until such a time that you're able to switch out your characters. This is a baffling design decision that can be fatal if you're not careful. Try to put in a weak character and grind him, and you may doom yourself, when the party is faced with a too powerful boss.

Other than that, it's fairly standard, turn based combat. You've got your typical melee focused characters, ranged fighters, and magic casters. All characters get access to special abilities that you can assign to whomever you wish, which is an especially nice feature. Most your time in Suikoden will be spent slowly uncovering the various things that happens throughout the adventure. As the self appointed leader of a mercenary company, you'll recruit a multitude of inidividuals, to help stop the Order, an organization bent on manipulating the course of events, claiming that the future is predetermined.


Graphics: The graphical quality is stunning, perhaps the best I've seen for a DS game. Every character is uniquely designed, and there are literally hundreds of them dispersed throughout the environment. The locales are varied and excellently detailed. There are lush forests, snowy mountains, vast deserts and small mountain towns. The race designs are vivid and creative. Everything suggests a very unique, multicultural setting. One of the best things in this category would be the full motion animated cutscenes. They're amazingly well done and incredible to watch on the DS.

Music & Sound: The music in Suikoden is wonderful to say the least. Its orchestral, atmospheric and deep. Every region has it's own distinct music that matches its setting. I especially love the background music that plays when you get to select your party. It features a hauntingly beautiful violin that reminds of the kind you hear in Asian films. In addition to the decidedly average sound effects, the game features some great voice acting, that really lends to the characters.

Conclusion: Everything about this game speaks of a high production value, attention to detail and the sense that Konami truly cared about making a memorable, fun and engaging title. This is one of the games I'll remember for a long time and can honestly say I was glad to play. Everything from the epic story, to the small touches (such as naming your group and your base) made this completely worth the money. If you're a console strategy fan, I can't recommend Suikoden Tierkreis highly enough.

Status: *Approved by the Ministry of Entertainment.

Pros: Awesome production value all around, great cast and original world, exciting gameplay.
Cons: Story can sometimes seem convoluted, many characters are unexplained as how to recruit, party management is limited to scripted intervals.

* - Here's an explanation of how I rate games. Instead of using a tired system of stars, number scores, or grades, I will approve, or disapprove of the games I review. I employ a large beaucracy of game critics that pour over every little element of the games I play, and work with me to reach my conclusions. Instead of breaking games down to their component parts and grading each one, I'll cut out all the BS you'll probably forget anyway and boil it down to whether you should, or shouldn't play it.