Suikoden V follows the story of a young prince who lives in a
country
protected by the power of the Sun Rune. Though the country is still a
monarchy, there are still powerful noblemen that need to be kept in
check at all times in the parliament. In our story, two of them become
extremely important, Godwin, and Baros. I actually liked this game
because of the political climate. For the first few hours of the game
there isn't a whole lot of action, and you don't even see a world map,
but the game still keeps you engaged while it sets up a strong plot.
One of my personal favorite games for PS2. HIGHLY recommended.
Plot: 4/5
All of the twists and turns that you encounter in this plot keep the
game so interesting that you don't want to put the controller down for
hours. Just observing the constantly changing political climate within
the game is such a mindblowing experience. This game really does bring
us back to the older Suikoden games, perhaps a bit too much in some
aspects. I could essentially predict the major story arcs before they
even happened, considering they have happened 3 times before (Suikodens
1,2, and 4). While there were some very slight differences (enough to
keep me motivated and interested) I think they went back to basics a
little TOO much. Still an extremely fun game to play through though!
Characters: 4/5
As per usual, there are over 100 playable characters in this game. Are
all of them highly developed? No. Are some of them highly developed?
Not really? Are a good 25 of them moderatly developed? Yes. It's just
the way that the whole series operates. There is no way that you can
have 150 fully developed characters in a game that takes 30 or so hours
to beat if you play it strait through and get maybe 50 characters.
Sound: 3/5
Average sound quality for the PS2. The opening theme is pretty nice,
but other then that there aren't really any songs that I would actively
seek out to get on my play list. Are the sounds crisp and clean? Of
course, it's the PS2. Are we getting Xenosaga type chanting music, or
the gothic feel of any Castlevania game? No.
Graphics: 4/5
The graphics are essentially the same as Suikoden IV. Decently high
quality, but I don't think there is a single difference in the graphics
style that they used. And Suikoden IV had the same graphics as Suikoden
III, so they really haven't made any leaps and bounds...this one is
very close to being a 3.
Overall: 4/5
The game is great, but pretty much combine the graphics of 4, with the
gameplay of 1, 2, and 4, and you have this game with all new characters
and another True Rune. Interesting? Of course. Ready for VI? Only if
they PROMISE to change up a little bit more...while still keeping it
the same...yeah.