Post by Bytor on May 3, 2011 7:05:37 GMT -5
Suikoden V (幻想水滸伝V Gensō Suikoden Faibu) the fifth installment in the series was released by Konami for the PlayStation 2 in Japan on February 23, 2006, in North America on March 21, 2006 and then in Europe on September 22, 2006. The game was directed by Takahiro Sakiyama. The major artwork was done by Kaori Fujita, Kizaki Sub-zero, Mikisato and Riya Hozumi and the music was composed by Norikazu Miura. Gamers and critics generally gave the game relatively high marks saying the game had a plot develop similar to the more popular earlier releases (I and III) although the game started out somewhat slower and the load times were criticized by all, however game sales were actually slower even than the fourth release.
The story takes place eight years before the events of Suikoden (and 142 years after the events of Suikoden IV) and is set in the Queendom of Falena, a rich commercial trading nation. The matriarchal society is ruled by Queen Arshtat and her husband Ferid and they have two children. One of the children is the character (the Prince) you control and the other is your sister Lymsleia. The story is basically the struggles and machinations of the various factions attempting to woe your sister and eventually gain control of the Runes and the nation.
The game play harkens back to I and II with the party having six controllable members and the skill system is taken pretty much directly from IIIi. The battles themselves borrow from all of the game will strategic planning involved in order to maximize your advantage while the battles themselves take place in real time. As per the previous versions Runes are the source of magic and skill with these is a determining factor in their usage. Minigames and side quests are as typical to the genre as are the need for exploring and NPC interactions.
While the game did not do as well as expected it did signify a return to the story telling and game play of previous incarnations and was certainly a welcome one to older fans. However, the series is somewhat stagnant, as V is basically a conglomeration of the previous installments with a new story. Future versions will need to address this (especially considering sales have declined since the release of III) and insure the games success on next-gen consoles while still retaining what makes Suikoden unique in the first place.
