Suikoden IV - PS2

Back in 1996 Konami brought out Genso Suikoden for the PlayStation and immediately secured a loyal following. Loosely based on the Chinese classic novel Water Margins by Shi Nai’an, the game’s simple side-scrolling graphics allowed for a large world for its compelling, emotional storyline to develop in. Now nearly a decade later, Konami is bringing the fourth instalment in the series to Europe. The action takes place 100 years before the first Suikoden game, and the environment is - for the first time - maritime, set in the Island Nations. Using the same engine as the Silent Hill series, it’s pretty good looking, and the art direction has gone for a more realistic look in contrast to the anime stylings of Suikoden III.

Producer Noritada Matsukawa has once again written the story with the help of Junko Kawano, revisiting the Water Margins myth of the 108 Stars, a group of maverick heroes who must come together to defeat the forces of evil. As always in the Suikoden series, players can build their own castle, and now instead of the old pitched battles of earlier games there are tactical engagements with ships on the high seas. An all-new combat system allows the player’s characters to battle the large variety of monsters, and their masters, which they encounter as they explore the map’s distant shores by sea. Using it, they can pool magic and weapon-based skills to defeat larger foes and perform combination attacks. As well as the group based combat (in which up to four heroes can be teamed) there are also duels, and characters can equip themselves with Runes of Power that they collect as the game progresses.

The first Suikoden game on PS2 to receive a European release, the interesting political storyline of Suikoden IV should please European console RPG fans. more