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Suikoden
 Playstation Game
[7-08-2001 06:50 PM]

I found the game to be innovative for its time. It offered three styles of gameplay plus a large cast of 108 characters. As you recruit members into your army they offer special services in your castle and your army. For example blacksmiths will upgrade weapons. I unfortunately wasn't able to find and recruit all 108 characters. I ended up beating the game with about 102.

The main fighting style is similar to that of the Final Fantasy series, with another feature. The other feature is, if you drastically outlevel the enemy, you have the option to let them go instead of having to fight them. This is the mode of combat used when you wander around trying to recruit new members into your army.

The second style is the Army vs Army style, in which you take turns with the enemy doing charges. This happens several times in the game to simulate large scale battles. It's basically a glorified version of paper/rock/scissors, but offers additional strategy. An example of strategy is to send a ninja or thief to the opponents camp before attacking to have a chance of learning their attack.

The third style is the duel style. At certain parts in the story you have to duel another military leader. It is again a glorified version of paper/rock/scissors. The hint is that what the person says before attacking gives you a clue to what attack is going to be used.

Recruiting certain characters requires certain situations. Timing can be crucial. For example, to recruit the final and most powerful blacksmith you have to have the other five blacksmiths in your traveling group. I happend to wait too long in the game. At a certain point, the game forces certain people into your traveling group making it impossible to put the five blacksmiths in your group at the same time, thus making it impossible to get the final blacksmith after that point in the game.