Suikoden IV
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The critically acclaimed series continuesThe Suikoden series is now into its fourth iteration. The first three titles in the series all generated critical acclaim, so the question is: does Suikoden IV? This review should be prefaced with letting everyone know I never played the first three games in the series, so the review will make little mention of the previous games, or changes that may have occurred. What you’ll read ahead is pretty much a stand alone review on Suikoden IV.Suikoden IV takes place a hundred years before the events of the very first game. The story will follow a young soldier who upon encountering a dying pirate becomes the unfortunate carrier of the magical Rune of Punishment. The Rune slowly drains the life of its host until they are dead, only to take hold of the nearest unfortunate soul -- which then allows the whole life draining process to start all over again.The visuals and audio in Suikoden IV are very much of the blah variety. The characters look and animate with middle of the road detail, and the environments while not plain, look plain because of the washed out choice of colors. The sound is slightly better then the visuals though. The audio blends in with the game pretty well, even though there’s little to remember about the score that’s used. Voice acting also plays a prominent role in the game, and in the audio, so it’s worth mentioning that the talent all deliver a solid performance.Suikoden IV takes at least 30 hours to complete, and that’s if you decide to plow your way through the game without doing any of the side questing so synonymous with Role Playing Games (RPG’s).There are a few reasons (namely 2) why the game may also take so long to complete, and both aren’t exactly of the good variety. The first should come as no surprise to anyone who’s played a Japanese RPG in the last 10 years – random encounters are employed to excess in Suikoden IV. You won’t even have time to catch your breath after battle before being thrown into another one almost straight away. That’s not an exaggeration either – random battles can occur every few seconds, and with very few steps between them. Even the most hardened veteran of Japanese RPG’s may get a little annoyed with the unseen, unheard, and unavoidable number of battles they’ll have to get in to.The other reason why it may take you forever to complete Suikoden IV is the water based travel you’ll be doing in the game. Traveling across bodies of water takes an excruciating amount of time, and that’s why this part of the title is the single biggest pet-peeve most gamers will have with their experience. Let’s just say this: it’d be a good idea if you had a real life snack handy for those long ocean trips, because you’ll need it to keep from going crazy waiting to arrive at your destination.The rest of the game is standard for RPG’s (in a good way). You’ll have control of 4 party members during battle, all of which have their own unique attacks, and can even combine powers to create new more powerful attacks. Gamers will be able to perform hand to hand strikes, or use the power of equipped runes to unleash magic spells. The battles will be turn based with your party having a go at the enemy, and then the enemies getting a chance to attack your party. You gain experience from every battle -- which makes you stronger – lather, rinse, repeat, add a story, and there’s your gameplay.Even though that last sentence makes it seems like Suikoden IV has little new to offer, don’t be mislead by my joking. It’s still a decent enough RPG experience that I’d recommend fans of this genre check it out. Suikoden IV won’t be garnering as much critical acclaim as its predecessors, but it’s certainly a worthwhile rental that could keep you busy all weekend long. Make sure you do your research on the game before buying, because it won’t appeal to all, but I have no problem recommending it as a weekend rental.Tomado de Aqui!
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