I like the family from Raftfleet Logg, Lun and Kisara. I’ve already written about how much I like Sialeeds, but there are plenty of other favorites.
I really like the cast of this game and was left wanting to see more from many of them, mostly in a good way. They feel like there is much more to learn about them, but they play a very small role here. Shula and his two aides/bodyguards are interesting characters that join very late in the proceedings. The game almost seemed to be setting up a sequel following characters like Shula to Armes. One place the game unfortunately shines is in its cast and how ripe for further adventures they seem. It strikes me as an odd touch to deliberately portray the villains as fascists then also show them smiling in heaven at the end, as though the game believes the villain’s assertions that there is little difference between them and the Prince, since they both want what is best for Falena, even though the Prince has prevented at least two genocides during the game. There is something off when the Prince sees visions of the people he lost along the way, his parents and his aunt most prominently, but also includes some of the villains. The end then comes as something of an anti-climax, with the villain finally discovering a way to use the Sun Rune without attaching it to anyone and the Prince having to stop him before he can do so. Of course, the game doesn’t really show that, it leaves it to interpreting one or two scenes and some incidental dialogue. The fast resolution that the Prince was bringing things to would not have done solve the root problem. The inevitability is part of what sent Sialeeds to the other side, as she switched sides mostly out of a desire to use the civil war as a way to do away with as many of the backstabbing nobles as possible. Otherwise, there are just so many unforced errors by the Godwins, choices that do nothing to advance their avowed cause but do help turn people against them, that the Princes victory seems inevitable. Mostly because it turns the powerful dragon cavalry against his enemies.
There is a final desperate gambit by the Godwins (I refuse to believe that name is a coincidence) that never seems close to working even as the Prince is forced to abandon his castle. The Prince and his forces have very few setbacks once he starts actually fighting. The ending of the story is kind of abrupt. It just feels like an idea that could have been carried through the entire game instead of a one time expansion. Here, the game just kind of springs it on you. That multiple party set up happens repeatedly throughout Final Fantasy VI before culminating in the massive final dungeon. The game doesn’t prepare the player for anything like it.
#SUIKODEN VI FULL#
That dungeon is right out of Final Fantasy VI, requiring the player to fill out three full six person parties to each tackle a different branch of the twisting maze of a dungeon. The final dungeon finally does something interesting with the mass of characters that the player has recruited. The war system is a good evolution of what has been an afterthought in most of the series. The addition of formations instead of just having two lines, making it easier to use the party members you want to use. I like large parts of what it does mechanically, pulling back from the mess that was Suikoden III’s battle system, but keeping a few if its twists to add to the classic formula. It’s plot and it general vibe I find incredibly enjoyable. That doesn’t change my belief that Suikoden V is a very worthy game. Not when I could play Suikoden 2 or any number of SNES or PS1 games. If in the future I have time to replay a game, I don’t think I am going to choose this one. No matter how much I like it overall, I can’t deny the technical deficiencies that make the game something of chore to play at times. My time for video games is limited and I likely will not have another 50 hours to put into what is honestly a fairly mediocre game. Mostly because I am fairly certain that this is the last time I will have the time to play through this game. I slowed down with playing the game, somewhat sad to end it. As I approached the end of Suikoden V I began to feel increasingly wistful.
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