SUIKODEN
II
So as you all
know, I was a huge fan of the first game of this series, from the moment I
beat the Empire with the Liberation army in the first game, I started
saving all my earnings for the second game, even if it was to cost me
1000$. Fortunately, the game was sold at the regular price, and I did not
hesitate a second before liberating some space on the shelves of the video
game store. In the end, I ended up surprised and also slightly
disappointed. The game features better sprite-based graphics than its
predecessor does and the music is still as good as in the first one (I
also ended up taping it for personal use). The story in itself was a bit
more complex than in the original, but was solid overall. The battle
system included a few improvements such as equipping items and the
possibility of combining runes but remained as quick and efficient as in
the first game. As for the difficulty level of the battles, not much is to
say. The end game boss is much more challenging than in the original, but
overall the game is fairly easy to complete. The game still features three
different battle systems; group battles and duels being quite similar to
the original. However, the mass battle system has greatly improved.
Instead of simply having to choose between you archer, magic-users and
infantry, you actually have to build up your units which are moved around
a strategic battlefield. Not every character is used in these maps but
those who are have their unique abilities, such as Fire Spears or
Lightning. If these improvements make the mass battles more fun to play,
they don't make them any harder.
Like the original, the cast
of characters is overwhelming. However some characters are simply goofy
(like the flying squirrel) and don't add much depth to the game. However,
acquiring several characters requires that the player accomplished a
couple of side quests, which were non-existent in the original. There are
a lot more hidden items and mini-games than in the first Suikoden, which
contributes in enhancing the replay value. However the games is not of
picture perfect quality. Although it was considerably delayed in North
America, a lot of bugs were not corrected. For instance, there are many
typos in the text that can annoy the gamer. Also, in certain areas of the
game, not only is the translation poor, but non-existent! Last but not
least, certain areas have no music at all. Maybe the designers wanted
certain areas to be silent you ask? It is not the case, as in one
occasion, you ask a girl to sing for you and then you spend 2 minutes
watching her open and shut her mouth without any song coming. However, the
glitches should not keep you RPG fans away from this winner. It's a worthy
sequel to the original Suikoden, and it is slightly longer too!
Overall
score: 9.2/10