Two of the most iconic titles in the last decade are making a comeback, Konami is continuing its gradual return to core gaming by re-releasing their greatest hits on modern systems, for example the Silent Hill 2 remake. Suikoden 1 and 2 are also one of their most iconic titles to date, the dormant series is finally making a return with a release date of March 6th on PC, Xbox, Playstation and the Switch.
What The Suikoden Series Is About
The Suikoden series first released in 1995 on the playstation and follows the political events taking place in the Scarlet Moon Empire. We play as Tir, son of the Empire General as we play through we uncover a deep corruption brewing at the heart of the empire after which we are forced to flee.
To take back the land from corrupt hands we are tasked with seeking out 108 warriors and seeking the help from the liberation army. The story of Suikoden 1 is full of plot twists and engaging moments from the very beginning.
The story of Suikoden 2 takes place in a different part of the world of Suikoden, where we play as Rio. Conflict had broken out between the Kingdom of Highland and the City State of Jowston before, but the war between these two states is drawing to a close.
The game starts with us being in a camp belonging to the Kingdom of Highland where we wait with a friend Joey, for the peace treaty to be signed thus ending the war. However an attack breaks out in the middle of the night that is thought to be from the City of Jowston.
All is not how it seems and Suikoden 2 manages to up the ante from the previous entry with an even more compelling story with many players labelling the experience one of the best among the two games.
What To Expect From The Remasters
As these two are remasters, one of the first things to be improved is the overall visuals, both games will have redone backgrounds, lighting improvements and better animations but at the same time will still have the designs of the original 16 bit pixel art style of the original.
The remaster will also feature new character portraits of both the games which have been drawn by veteran designer Junko Kawano, who worked on the designs from the original title. Additionally there are also improvements in the audio side of things as well, players will be happy to hear the music is being brought over exactly as the original had.
Along with that there are better sound ques and footsteps being along with a polish on all audio effects for the goal of giving a better more immersive experience. The remaster is also bringing an overhauled UI for matching modern systems.
There are also new features being added into the UI such as a quicker way to change weapons, the point being to improve the gameplay experience. A plethora of quality of life improvements are also included, some of which are conversation logs, buttons to fast forward battles, autosave functionality etc.
Conclusion
Players of the series had been asking for a remaster for the longest time, Konami has finally listened and thus we will get to experience two games that were held in high regard during their time and get to re-experience their stories in modern systems.
Hopefully the success of these remasters compels Konami to bring a brand new entry into the franchise with modern graphics, combat and as breath taking a story as the first two games did. Konami may also decide to release more remasters of the series in the future such of Suikoden 3 and 4 or even the spinoffs.
The Suikoden series is a must have for any player wanting to experience a rich story along with a brilliant turn-based combat system that was considered ahead of its time by many. It is a title that should be experienced by everyone, newcomers and veterans alike.
