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Suikoden Tierkreis Review: A Story of Possibilities

Written by Podunk: Member profile "> rrquinta

Suikoden Tierkreis (ST) is a turn-based RPG. True to the series roots, you have a large distribution characters to recruit your army, and you set up the base in an abandoned castle. The story is unique, creative, and captivating one, you will wait to see what happens next in much the same way that a detective story of good will.

Platform: Nintendo DS
Genre: RPG
ESRB Rating: 10 +
Release Date: March 17, 2009
Publisher / Developer: Konami

Overall rating: 7 / 10

General Recommendation: amazing story with a tedious gameplay and production values make this a great must-play for those who enjoy a good history, but the patience to cope battles boring.

Story: 9 / 10

I must say that history is certainly the highlight of the game. It was probably the first game I played I could not honestly look at a page-turner "book the sense that I kept playing because I was so absorbed and I really wanted to know what happened next.

Although history has its share of clichés RPG, and most of the 108 characters are not fully fleshed out, the basic story is something really unique and creative. In Actually, saying non-gaming friends and family about the history, I had a lot of them say they want was a book so that they can read it and experience themselves. Given that history (even in many RPGs, unfortunately) often takes place to graphics or other elements, it's a compliment, at least in my opinion.

I do not want to give too much, that obviously a Much of the joy in the game Suikoden Tierkreis is familiar with its history as it unfolds, but I'll do my best to give you the basics, so you can understand what makes him so endearing in the first place.

Basically, you learn early on that many worlds exist other than your own, and these worlds are collectively referred to as "infinity." Some people can use gateways (portals) Travel to a hallway from which you can enter the gateway that leads you to different worlds. Shortly after the start of the game you and your companions encounter a mysterious book called Chronicle that most of the gifts you with special powers called marks the Stars. Finally, you start to use these powers to fight against a cult group called The Order of the One True Way, who believes the future is predestined and seeks to bring everyone under their control, whether by choice or by force. Not long ago before discovering that the leader of this group, Valfred, plans even more sinister and dangerous to the mind, not only those who threaten the security of your own world, but the infinite set. You must gather the largest number of 108 Stars of Destiny (the people chosen to receive the marks of the stars) to fight against the dangerous Valfred and that it serves, the true King.

I know it sounds crazy, because I do my best to be somewhat vague in order not to lose anything. But it is a story very interesting fate, destiny and human will. My only real complaint (and the reason I could not give it a 10/10), is the end. It is quite unsatisfactory, In my opinion, even if you are the "good" end, and really does not do justice epic. Despite this, the rest of the story is really worth the experience, and certainly what made me enjoy ST as I did.

Gameplay: 5 / 10

I only wish I could speak with as much love on the gameplay that I made history. Unfortunately, the gameplay was definitely the weakest part of the ST at I think. Overall, the challenge is low, and strategy are rare. Even if you have a long list of characters (108), you are often limited in which you can use, and you often find reuse of the key figures and ignoring many others. Battles are not as addictive as other games of this type (for example, Dragon Quest), and often you are using the "auto" button just to get through them. In addition, the frequency of fighting random is everywhere. Some places you can go apparently without ever meeting a battle, while others you can find one every two steps. Because the battles are very redundant (often fighting against the group exactly the same enemies back-to-back-to-back), it can become frustrating and old very quickly.

Another thing I found particularly painful is there no escape fast "dungeons (ie a draw). Since you are not always automatically transferred out of the dungeon after beating the boss, that means you must find your way back in again, something which is not always easy, due to the lack of a map object. I know there was one dungeon in particular who was very complicated and also had a shockingly high encounter rate, while I almost stopped playing entirely. In my opinion, once you've finished the dungeon, you should not have to fight your way back again, unless you choose. Res that was particularly strange about this is that the game would sometimes leave you in the dungeon, and sometimes it would not, in the dungeon he was. The fact that you were sometimes relieved of having to back track somehow makes the times when you do find your way again all the more frustrating because you knew how it was useless.

In this regard, I also found the global navigation / travel system a bit weird. In some ways, developers simplified travel using a map and navigation overworld Luminous Arc-type (click on a city to go, so when you're there, click on one of the sites available to access this part of town), but other times you're forced to wander over long distances (especially in your database, for example). Also, for a game whose story is based so heavily on the concept of gateways, they are unfortunately underutilized to travel fast (you can not use more than yourself, only if it is done automatically by the story). In fact, curiously, Although you will eventually be able to use at least one gateway to travel faster later in the game, you can not use it to return to your seat.

See pictures section here

Another disappointing aspect of the game is on its linearity. You'll often find that you are dragged from one event to another without any possibility to do something else in between. The fact that some quests (and some characters) can not be completed or recruited at times makes it all more frustrating because it can sometimes be difficult to tell when an event is linked to another, and another without giving you free rein, and when you get a chance to side quests and more.

Another flaw in the game design is that as Marks of the Stars are not automatically assigned to new characters and brands (for characters recruits) are not either. It took me a while to realize that. Trust marks can be tedious, especially since you do not receive an indication when a character has gained new, and the fact that you have so many characters to work with. In fact, it would been nice if you could have sorted your characters because it not only makes the allocation of marks of a pain, but also to put your party together. You have to scroll up to 108 names to find out who you want. It would have been nice to be able to sort alphabetically or level or something. Expect to spend lots of time scrolling.

I also found the quest system disappointing. To most quests, you just set up a party and send them, then after the period of time, they will report either successful or not, and you'll get your reward (If they were successful). Some quests require your main character, so that you will actively participate in them, but otherwise they are mostly to win money. Personally, I find this kind of hollow, since even some quests recruitment occurring in the background. A strange design choices some may like, but I personally have not. I want to go out and do the quests myself, thank you. Another problem with the quest system is that choosing who to send in the party for a certain quest is usually pure guesswork (ie, need for characters with some stats to succeed but you have a way of knowing what it is). I found myself using a walkthrough for most of the quests for that reason.

Another element that was not a deal-breaker by any means, but was disappointing in its untapped potential is the trading system. In Basically, when you fight, your opponents will drop objects, often of commercial property. You can then sell the various cities to make a good profit. Some cities will pay more for certain items. Potentially, you can also buy commercial properties for sale then they are in high demand and command a high price. Overall, the system is an interesting concept, but because the money is relatively easy to get, you will probably found by using it simply to sell the material collected by the battles.

In addition to these innate design flaws, the game suffers Also some bugs and typos. While not game breaking by any means, they can be annoying. The bug I found consistent throughout the game is that the menu item disappears temporarily during the battle. It did not really affect the game, but it was visible. The game also had a few typos in the speech ("I got it.") And, esp late in the game, it can be confusing when the printed text and discourse expressed do not coincide. However, the biggest "bug" that I thought were the camera angles during fighting. I'm not sure this is intentional or not, but during the battle, the camera often swoosh around film. This effect is really cool and allows create a console experience on a small screen, but perhaps because the small screen, this process usually cuts off your opponent if you can not say how much damage you have done. This happened a lot and I found it very boring.

Another flaw that bothered me, but would likely not be considered a bug, is that you have to recruit some of the characters at some point or they can not be recruited at all. The worst thing is that without one of these characters, there is a chain of several other characters who become so also unrecruitable, This means that you have to play the game again to get all 108 stars. As big as the story is, the gameplay is too low in my opinion, and "good" ending is too weak to deserve this. I do not know why the developers decided to do a little character, rather than being ensure that all characters have a limited time-frame for recruitment. Overall, it seems that the message of the gameplay was a consistent inconsistency.

However, I guess I should mention that all things were bad the gameplay, the score 5 / 10 suggests a failure and mediocrity not catastrophic. Akin to Chrono Trigger, characters can perform certain attacks group, which can be very powerful. These can be really useful to defeat enemies quickly and make the battles go faster. Unfortunately, learning combinations of characters that can perform these attacks is left to trial and error, and the fact that the game often limited to who you can assign to a party means you will not have much access to these as you like.

Another item some people may like about the game (and some not) is you really do not grind. Not only you do not need, for most, but you really can not do this even if you wish. Other than taking some underused characters to increase their level a bit, you really can not level grind at all, as the pampered experience is very conservative, especially when your characters reach higher levels. I do not know about you, but I do not even think he can get a character with a level above 64 or something like that, except if you played for tens of (extra) hours.

Graphics & Sound: 9 / 10

I think I can confidently say that this game has the best graphics I've seen so far on the DS. Environments and landscapes are beautiful, and the locations are varied, with their own unique style. I was also surprised that most of the scenes are particle effects and other animation elements, such as leaf drop, which makes the scenery even more captivating. I was also surprised by the change in incredible places, each city and place are truly in their unique world, without the usual recycling generally regarded, especially in an RPG pocket. My only complaint is the sprites seemed low in comparison with other charts. Although designers have attempted to make each sprite unique look, I can not say often many to one other. However, this is a minor ailment, as in all, ST is a great game to research.

One thing that really impressed, and more places, having the character designs and monsters. The larger creatures like your boss fight were particularly creative and very impressive. The 108 characters have their own style and clothing, something that really comes through in the sequences of anime-like dialogue.

Overall, the sound of this game was great. The sound effects are amazing, especially for a DS game. Whether it's the clash of swords and grunts of monsters you will be completely absorbed. I was very impressed how you will hear echo effects of the voice in the great outdoors, and the fact that the game actually turns off the music when people are talking so you can hear them. In general, voice acting is incredibly well done, and about 50-75% of the dialogue is fully voiced, something amazing for a DS game.

Challenge: 5 / 10

challenge ST is very low, especially for an experienced player RPG. Most likely this was intentional to allow newcomers to enjoy the experience (There are an "E" rating). Although I do not mind a harder game, in which case it does not bother me much because the story was so exciting and it is easier to get to the next meeting of the saga. However, mystifyingly, the final boss (which you are fighting in three separate phases) suddenly outrageously hard the rest of the game. In fact, it was the first time I saw a game on the screen in the 60 + hours Previous to her. It was not even until the final stage of the final boss once that the difficulty ramp, as it can suddenly kill any your group in one fell swoop. In this context, it was very, very frustrating, especially since you have to trek through part of the dungeon again to get him every time (and you can fast forward through the cutscenes, not ignore them, and not all at once, which makes the experience even more distressing).

After nearly abandoning the game, I changed my party reluctantly, and was able to defeat it quite easily. However, it is very disappointing that I could not fight with the party I wanted (all members of both sets of parties have been at comparable levels). So if you're looking for a challenge, this is not the game for you.

Overall rating: 7 / 10

For a game about possibilities, Suikoden Tierkreis is really a game of "could haves" in many ways. With its stunning production values and excellent story, it could easily have earned the highest marks and become a "must play" for almost all players. Unfortunately, major gameplay flaws and a disappointing end / resolution of such an epic force me to lower the overall score a few points.

I already ranted on all faults in the gameplay, but my main criticism is that it is boring. Yes, you have 60 + hours of this, but if it were not for history, I know most people (including myself) would probably not be bothered after the first few hours, and it's a real shame. Maybe if more battles posed a challenge, offered more variety, or simply included more strategy, it would mean more players stay away from the (thankfully) included "auto" button, which is essentially a way to get through the tedious battles as quickly as possible to get the story more interesting twist to come after.

The story itself is strong enough for most, as I leaned to a higher score despite the flaws in gameplay, except that the ending was rather abrupt and unsatisfying. At first I thought it was because I received the "bad" end (the one you get if you complete the game without using all 108 characters). However, some Research led me to discover that the "good" ending just adds a cinematic that leave you more satisfied than if you had interrupted. In fact, it is only the beginning of "bad" ending, you can get if you make a wrong choice dialogue earlier in the game actually more interesting and instructive in many ways that the endings are true.

For a game that has such a strong story, I was a bit disappointed by the end, especially with the difficulty of the third part of the last boss was. I almost felt I would not missed anything if I had just given up without the fight, and it's a great tragedy, and the main reason I quit the overall score a notch, and decreased the score and history.

Another disappointment is not playing ST +, and if you decide replay, it will be like playing for the first time since the game is concerned. This really leaves the game with few (if any) replayability, you will not receive any new story archs or anything new, besides, other than the satisfaction of knowing you recruited everyone and ensured what extra (meaningless) kinematics.

Final Recommendation

If you are a person who plays games in history then ST is definitely worth picking up, as I found it very exciting, and despite the disappointing ending, I do not regret the experience.

You will have at least 60 hours of gameplay, although the amount that can be tedious, then you can decide that renting or buying opportunity may be the best option, especially since replay value is low.

One thing I did not mention in my opinion is the online option, you can complete quests by going online, but I did not really use this feature, so I did not include it in my note or comment. However, you could potentially great value and extend your play time using this feature.

Overall ST, could be an amazing game, and perhaps we will see future versions of the series that has done well in this game and improve weaknesses. If so, we could have one of the best handheld RPG ever made.

About the Author

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