Suikoden and Suikoden 2 (PS1)

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Rev
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Suikoden and Suikoden 2 (PS1)

Postby Rev » January 5th, 2017, 10:48 pm

Over the last couple of weeks I've been playing the Suikoden series for the first time. I decided to start with the first game since I heard it wasn't that long of an RPG and it provides bonuses for those who transfer the save over the Suikoden II. I beat the first game at around 25 hours and really enjoyed myself. The game was pretty basic but set up the series quite nicely. One of the main features of the series is recruiting 108 characters which you can use to add to your party or add additional content to your castle/game. I really got into the game and beat it in a couple weeks (played an hour or two a night). For having 108 recruits, it really doesn't take too long to track them all down and the game moves at a brisk pace (used a recruitment guide so I didn't miss anyone since it apparently affects some things in the sequel. I'm now playing Suikoden II and it is crazy how much more expansive this game is than the original. This game is definitely going to take me longer to beat but I'm really enjoying it thus far. The story is much deeper now (the original was quite basic) and the main villain, Luca Blight, is definitely someone I feel like I'm going to grow to hate with a passion.

Anyway, anyone else play this series? Which game in the series is your favorite?

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scotland
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Re: Suikoden and Suikoden 2 (PSX)

Postby scotland » January 6th, 2017, 9:51 am

I have not played this, but it sounds fun. I'm amazed that you can recruit 108 characters one by one in just 25 hours. You must have a 'Hollywood Map of the Stars Homes' for possible recruits.

PSX can be kinda confusing. There actually is something called a PSX based on the PS2 (I've never seen one though), but PSX is also a term for the PS1 based on Playstation Experimental. Does no one say "PS1" anymore, or is that confused with the "PSOne"? Maybe "Original Playstation"? Or is PSX the preferred descriptor now?

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Rev
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Re: Suikoden and Suikoden 2 (PSX)

Postby Rev » January 6th, 2017, 12:37 pm

That's a good point... I have no clue lol... I've seen the ps1 referred to as the psx, ps1, psone, and the PlayStation... I think I'll fix the title...

As for recruiting, the first game actually makes it super simple. You can tell who you can recruit because those characters have profile pictures when you run across them so you can get a lot of them just by remembering when and where you saw someone. Also the battle system makes the game go by quickly because you never need to grind and characters that are behind on levels will level up very quickly. It is actually pretty genius because you can get a character caught up with their stats in a few battles. The sequel is a much bigger game though so I'm probably looking at sixty plus hours...

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Retro STrife
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Re: Suikoden and Suikoden 2 (PS1)

Postby Retro STrife » January 6th, 2017, 4:35 pm

I like JRPGs, especially from the 32-bit era (when I had a lot more time to play them), but Suikoden was never a series I got around to trying. So I've always known Suikoden 2 more from a collector perspective, which has a weird history. For a long time, it was the most expensive of the desirable PS1 titles. About 10 to 15 years ago, retro gamers were paying well over $100 for it on ebay. No other PS1 game was close to it in price back then. For collectors, it was the Panzer Dragoon Saga of the Playstation. And you gotta remember.. nowadays, it's not odd for several games on a retro system to sell over $100--but back then it was in a rare class at that price, especially for a standard release on a mainstream system. Yet, it's trajectory since then is even odder. While game prices have risen almost across the board since then, Suikoden II has barely moved. And as a result, it's still sought after, but doesn't have the same collector aura that it used to. Just check out the chart of it on Price Charting:

https://www.pricecharting.com/game/play ... uikoden-ii

Any explanation for that?

I like the side discussion too, about PS1 vs. PSX. Back when the Playstation was a current system, Sony's official abbreviation was PSX. That's what I called it back then, and for a long time after. During the PS2's life, I believe they changed it to PSOne. Which just looks dumb (plus, it causes confusion with the white mini Playstation console, which was also officially called the PSOne). Now that we're on the PS4, everyone seems to refer to it as the PS1, so I use that too. Plus, PSX might confuse younger gamers who were too young or not yet born during that era.

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Rev
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Re: Suikoden and Suikoden 2 (PS1)

Postby Rev » January 6th, 2017, 5:45 pm

Retro STrife wrote:I like JRPGs, especially from the 32-bit era (when I had a lot more time to play them), but Suikoden was never a series I got around to trying. So I've always known Suikoden 2 more from a collector perspective, which has a weird history. For a long time, it was the most expensive of the desirable PS1 titles. About 10 to 15 years ago, retro gamers were paying well over $100 for it on ebay. No other PS1 game was close to it in price back then. For collectors, it was the Panzer Dragoon Saga of the Playstation. And you gotta remember.. nowadays, it's not odd for several games on a retro system to sell over $100--but back then it was in a rare class at that price, especially for a standard release on a mainstream system. Yet, it's trajectory since then is even odder. While game prices have risen almost across the board since then, Suikoden II has barely moved. And as a result, it's still sought after, but doesn't have the same collector aura that it used to. Just check out the chart of it on Price Charting:


Yeah, I've noticed that as well. I bought my copy for about $90 several years ago after months of sniping auctions (I'm one of those people). Surprisingly, there are quite a few PS1 releases that have risen past Suikoden II in price. The game now goes for about $130-150 which isn't that big of an increase compared to other games on the console. Quite a few games are more expensive than that now... Weird... Maybe it is because Suikoden was released on the virtual console compared to other Ps1 games? Sometimes that makes a difference and sometimes that does not. Not sure if games like Team Buddies, The Misadventures of Tron Bon, and Adventures of Lomax have been released or not, since they all cost more now.

Oddly enough I called the original Playstation the PS1 for years so I'm not sure when I started using the PSX lingo. I tend to go back and forth nowadays...

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Retro STrife
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Re: Suikoden and Suikoden 2 (PS1)

Postby Retro STrife » January 6th, 2017, 6:27 pm

Even more surprising has been the trend for Final Fantasy VII.

https://www.pricecharting.com/game/play ... antasy-vii

I remember selling copies for $70+ like 10 years back. But unlike Suikoden II, at least you can point to obvious reasons for FF7... it sold millions of copies so the price was probably overinflated at $70, the fandom for that game has died down a bit over the years rather than building or holding strong, its gameplay is known for not holding up as well as other games of the era, it got released on PSN for under $10, etc etc. Still, considering that it's one of the must-own games on the system, I'm surprised it's value has dropped that much.

And maybe Suikoden II is a combination of the downloadable release and the fact that Playstation games in general haven't had a huge jump in value as much as other systems.

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Atarifever
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Re: Suikoden and Suikoden 2 (PS1)

Postby Atarifever » January 8th, 2017, 7:07 am

I like the idea of a 25 hour JRPG. I wish there were more of them so I'd have some chance at completing some. Right now I'm playing Secret of Mana on Wii, and reviews have led me to believe it's not extremely long.

I've been interested in downloading Suikoden for awhile now, and given that it's only $5.99 on PSN, once I finish out SOM, I might jump in. I also have Chrono Trigger and Paper Mario waiting on the Wii though, and FF8 waiting on my PSTV, so it might have to wait on the "to play" list first.

As for the discussion over price, all I know is download stores are a real blessing for people in North America who like JRPGs. I remember when this stuff was hard to get, and here I am with all these games (plus Mother 1 and Earthbound) waiting around to be played on my systems.

And for the side discussion: PSX is also the abbreviation for the yearly Playstation fan event Sony puts off (Playstation Experience). I say PSOne when I discuss the little white system I used to own, and PS1 when I discuss the system more generally. Occasionally, and I don't know why either, I will put down PSX to mean PS1. I have no idea where I picked that habit up.

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Retro STrife
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Re: Suikoden and Suikoden 2 (PS1)

Postby Retro STrife » January 8th, 2017, 4:14 pm

Atarifever wrote:I like the idea of a 25 hour JRPG. I wish there were more of them so I'd have some chance at completing some. Right now I'm playing Secret of Mana on Wii, and reviews have led me to believe it's not extremely long.


I feel that same way. For guidance, I highly recommend www.howlongtobeat.com. Search a game there and it gives you a general idea of how long it takes to beat--both for the main storyline and for completionists. Most mainstream games are covered and it is pretty accurate.


Atarifever wrote:As for the discussion over price, all I know is download stores are a real blessing for people in North America who like JRPGs. I remember when this stuff was hard to get, and here I am with all these games (plus Mother 1 and Earthbound) waiting around to be played on my systems.


I used to do the same thing. But I find that every time I download a game, I don't play it. During college, my copy of Super Mario RPG and my SNES were sitting in storage, so I figured I'd buy it on Wii and finally play it. Nope, bought it but never played. I also bough Medievil for PS1 recently, thinking I was saving $20 by buying it on PSN. Played it for like 15 minutes and haven't touched it since. I find that I'm more likely to play physical media. Plus, now that I don't use my Wii and PS3, it feels wasted that I bought them on those systems. With Earthbound, I just compromised and bought a repro for $20. Though, in fairness, I haven't played that either haha!

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Atarifever
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Re: Suikoden and Suikoden 2 (PS1)

Postby Atarifever » January 8th, 2017, 4:31 pm

Retro STrife wrote:
Atarifever wrote:I like the idea of a 25 hour JRPG. I wish there were more of them so I'd have some chance at completing some. Right now I'm playing Secret of Mana on Wii, and reviews have led me to believe it's not extremely long.


I feel that same way. For guidance, I highly recommend http://www.howlongtobeat.com. Search a game there and it gives you a general idea of how long it takes to beat--both for the main storyline and for completionists. Most mainstream games are covered and it is pretty accurate.





Thanks for this! This is exactly what I need (times are a bit shorter than mine on games I did finish, but close enough to be a good guide). Scary to think it ranks Xenoblade Chronicles at 67.5 hours just for the main campaign. No wonder I didn't finish it.

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Rev
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Re: Suikoden and Suikoden 2 (PS1)

Postby Rev » February 3rd, 2017, 12:37 am

I finally beat Suikoden 2 yesterday. I was playing 2-3 hours a day towards the end and after a 10 hour day at work that's a big investment for me... I really loved the game and found it a ton of fun. The story was very original and didn't go the way I had envisioned it. It really told its own kind of story and was very unique... I think I'm done with RPGs for now, took me about 50 hours to beat the game, skipping the squirrel side quest and not opting to max out my character stats... I might replay it sometime, it was probably my favorite all-around traditional RPG ever, if not a close 2nd to Chrono Trigger. It really blew me away. Loved the game. A+


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