Suikoden Tierkreis (DS)

Suikoden Tierkreis
Konami

Review by Lauren

I was on the fence about Suikoden Tierkreis, trying to decide between it, Valkyrie Profile: Covenant of the Plume, or Legacy of Ys for DS. The general consensus from the reviews I read was that it's a solid RPG, but it loses some of the classic Suikoden features like duels and army battles in favour of a more simplified system. I'd only played Suikoden I and II in the past and therefore wasn't terribly attached to the formula, so I decided to go for it.

They were right about the visuals - though I don't care for the Crystal Chronicles-style sprites (everyone is a chubby kid!), the backgrounds were absolutely gorgeous, and the anime cutscenes were both pretty and surprisingly frequent. The music was very nice overall, with plenty of beautiful melodies and tense battle themes.

I'm sure everyone's heard the complaints about the voice acting, and I'll have to agree. Though it gets better as the game progresses, the main character always sounded rushed, and both he and two other main characters constantly seem to ignore punctuation. It took a lot out of the story scenes for me. An example from a rather serious scene: "What?! How dare you?!" becomes a monotone "whathowdareyou." The intended effect is simply lost.

The story was good, but nothing groundbreaking. Basic good vs. evil stuff with some unique elements. I didn't find myself caring too much about the main characters by the end, but I found some of the side characters interesting.

The battle system is fast, and it needs to be, because the random encounter rate is ridiculous. I found myself regretting even backtracking a few steps to double-check if there was a treasure chest on a different path in a dungeon, only to find there was none and I just got into three pointless encounters because of it. There is never a map for any dungeon, and the programmers threw a ton of dead ends into every one just to make you get into more encounters before finding your way out. Annoying, especially in a series where fighting additional monsters in an area results in only a single experience point after a certain level.

There is unfortunately not much variation between characters, either. The abilities start repeating pretty quickly, but I suppose that's always the case with 108 characters and many of those being playable. I was pretty disappointed when, after carefully preparing each of my battle parties, all of the big invasions only required each party to fight two or three weak guards and nothing more. There is little challenge to be found if you keep up with your levels.

On the plus side, the trade system is great for making plenty of money, and characters all catch up in experience very quickly (as is always the case with Suikoden). The quest system was also a nice addition, giving the player some freedom to gain rewards and, of course, characters. And as always, the massive headquarters does not disappoint.

On the subject of quests, they're generally straightforward. You either go somewhere to take care of the task, or you dispatch members for a certain amount of days in the same way as FF Tactics. For the non-dispatch quests, you'll sometimes be taken to an area with little warning, and after your scene or battle... you have to walk all the way back out. This is especially obnoxious with a few long dungeons in particular, and it happens entirely too often for a Suikoden that's devoid of Escape Talismans. As for the dispatch quests, they're also generally easy, but some require specific members to be sent (or members with certain stats), or else the mission won't be successful. You can try again, but sometimes you'll be guessing repeatedly until you happen to pick the right person or group with the right stats.

There isn't much replay value with this title once you collect all of the characters, since there is no New Game + or bonus dungeon. There is an "alternate ending" of sorts, but it's very short and obtainable right before the end of the game. There are apparently some interesting online features, but I haven't tried them out. It's also worth noting that there is no Quicksave option in this game. Yes, somehow in this era of portable RPGs, this feature was not included. Coupled with the high encounter rate, this proves to be quite frustrating at times. Thank goodness for Sleep Mode.

I know that every RPG seems to be required by law to include one of those "impossible to win" plot battles. Tierkreis, however, went overboard. I lost track of how many times I'd get into an important battle that wouldn't be particularly difficult in terms of damage, only to have it end exactly three rounds later. Every time, three rounds. It became so painfully predictable that any story-related effect in these scenes was also lost on me.

My last complaint is how much they pushed the main character's apparently charming catchphrase - "We never know until we try!" After the twentieth time, it got a bit old. It seems to serve as a symbol for the theme of repetition in this game.

Bottom line: Despite my nitpicking, it truly was a solid RPG. There's plenty of depth to be found in the gameplay, and the visuals are impressive for the DS. Just be prepared for lot of random encounters and the urge to turn your volume down during some story scenes.