Suikoden (PlayStation, 1996)

An amazing tale of corruption, triumph, and strength in numbers, Suikoden is one RPG that will remain as a true classic in the PlayStation library. The story behind this masterpiece is enthralling and emotional as your search for the 108 Stars of Destiny and 27 True Runes take you on a journey unlike any other RPG has offered in the past. This game is easily addictive and very involving.

Where Do I Sign? Recruit characters you find on your travels throughout the many beautiful lands who'll follow you into battle in the name of honor, justice, and truth. But is each character who stand by your side faithful to your cause, or are there some with secrets? 108 unique and inviting characters in total, each offering their own personality, story, and spirit to further push the game's hold on the player. (Known as the 108 Stars of Destiny)

Customize your castle HQ! By recruiting characters throughout the game and collecting various items, you can use the skills of your companions to build new additions, add beautiful art, enjoy fine meals, and even relax in the comfort of your own hot tub! One character even gives you the power to instantly teleport to other locations in the blink of an eye instead of having to walk everywhere on foot! Your HQ becomes a very popular hangout as the growth of your power spreads.

Rune Power! Find and utilize the potential power of the 27 True Runes! Each rune is governed by a symbol representing it’s elemental power, weakness and strength that aid in your quest against the enemy. Some rune spells are very powerful and hand out a quick beating to your enemy while others can be weaker, yet still serve their purpose in a skillful manner. Collect the whole set!

Battle! Cast an array of rune powered spells and specialized character combo attacks in traditional turn based action combat against unique and unusual creatures. Some battles are fought one on one while others encourage you to immerse yourself in waging a war against your enemy utilizing magic power and physical might of a full army at your command! This you have to see!

Graphics! The visual appeal within the world of Suikoden is crisp and detailed using amazing color schemes applied to the various characters and creatures offering a tasteful sight to behold. The casting of spells look wonderful and compliment the power of the PlayStation. Granted the graphics are a little dated, they still hold their own considering this game was released in the US in 1996.

Sound and Music! Some sound effects used for this game are of a familiar variety known to those who've watched Saturday morning cartoons in the 70's and 80's. This is especially neat when spells are cast. The soundtrack is a poetic symphony of strength adding to the emotional backbone of the story and it's many characters. Uplifting and packing a punch at times, don't be surprised if you find yourself humming along as the music kicks your senses into overload. The musical scores in the game create an inviting atmosphere that make it shine true. Just beautiful.

Years after it's initial release and having completed this game on numerous occasions, I still find this to be a fascinating and truly enjoyable RPG experience. Suikoden is definitely a worthy purchase and shouldn't be passed up.

Enjoy!, Super Sega Man.

This one was of my first PS1 games. At first, being a foolish "graphics kiddie" (as I call those who judge games based mostly on graphics) I didn't like it too much. Eventually, I got into it and it was fun!

The game features a very well made and complex story line, leading you to clever suprises and wanting to learn more.

The battle system is nice. You can have up to 6 characters in your party (3 in the front row, 3 in the back row). Each character has their own, permanent weapon which you can upgrade and customize. They need to be placed appropriately so they can be effective in battle. There are 3 types of weapon ranges, L (long), M (medium), S (short). Long ranges can be placed in the front or back. Medium can also be place in the front or back, but can only attack the front enemy row if they're in the back. Short must be in the front. You need to strategise your party to make it efficient. Some combinations of characters have their own special attack, which is really neat! Try different character combinations for amazing results (like the hero and Kai or Pahn and Gremio). There are over 100 playable characters!

The leveling system is a bit strange. The stronger enemies you fight will pretty much level your characters to the level you should be quickly, so it doesn't matter much in the game. One thing I really like about when I encounter weak enemies is that the option "Bribe" changes to "Let go." It's like letting the weak enemies live, ha!

The graphics are all in 2D, pretty much and aren't that bad, except sometimes when your character gets hit in battle, you can see them flip around (they look like a cut-out spinning around, haha), that does look kind of bad.

The music in this game is awesome! I love it. It sounds as though these were real recordings from an orchestra!

The controls you have make the game easy to play. I never had problems with them.

A few annoying things...
- Inventory space. You constantly run out of room, until later in mid-game, you find a guy who builds a safe for you.
- Having items in a characters inventory who leaves. If they leave and you have something precious in it, say bye-bye to the items!
- Difficulty getting around. Later in the game the problem is resolved. You find a lady who gives you a mirror (to teleport back home) and another girl who teleports you to places (though, it's a bit difficult to remember the names of places...).

I think that's about all I have to say besides this:

If you're an RPG fan, this game is a MUST HAVE.

I hope my review was informative to you.

This is a great addition to anyone's collection.

You'll play as Tir McDohl and watch as his army advances and grow into a powerful force. You'll also get to recruit a number of different and unique allies, starting out with Tir's prime possy that consists of Cleo, Pahn, and Gremo.

The music is also great. If you buy this title, you'll be happy to own it and interested in looking into the follow up, suikoden 2.

Suikoden is unrivaled in almost every way. (Note: if graphics are important to you, you will not like this game). This game is a Japanese version of the classic Chinese story (shuihu Zhuan). 108 revolutionaries assemble an army fight against all odds to defeat a tyrant and his vast army. The story evolves quickly in a very effective way, it is very dramatic and interesting from beginning to end and the characters are memorable and dynamic. Suikoden has great character interaction and outstanding plot resolution. The music is also very interesting and memorable compared to most games. The battle graphics, especially magic, were quite good for the period this was made and the character portraits are very stylized and congruent with the overall artistic themes of the game. Probably the most original and unique game on the playstation and my personal favorite game, however, I wouldnt recommend playing this if you dislike reading novels or have little patience for long stories and simple graphics.

Wow! Simply amazing.I am a huge RPG fan and I was stuned when I first played Suikoden. It's one of the best RPG's I have played to date. The creatures, the countryside, the battles, the story line, and the music all grab a hold of and hook the player in. Once you start you won't want to stop!

Perhaps one of the best games ever created by Konami.

Sure, Suikoden may not have Playstation 2 quality graphics, but its 108-collect-em-all character quest and nice story gives the Playstation 2 a run for its money.

What I love about the game is the battles. Six per battle, magic, upgradable weapons, armor -- so much more!

Truly a collector's dream.

I do not know who I bought Suikoden I from or when. What I do remember is that the price was completly fair, delivery was speedy and game disk is in perfect condition. There were no problems regarding transaction. Excellent shopping experience.

product was delievered quickly and was in the condition that was stated in the advertisement. i have had many hours of fun from the product.

i bought this product and was satisfied with delvery time and quality if i decide to buy more games i wont hesitate to use same seller thank you dave

Umm the product was great. It was in tip top condition and the gameplay is excellent. Will definitely buy again

Game is based on the long running Suikoden series which is now up to Suikoden V, game is on the original playstation. Will play on PS2, game is an RPG, a good one at that. Lots of hours of fight and leveling, an orignal like chrono trigger. Great for all fans kids through adults!

This is a really good rpg and it is nothing like have ever seen before because it lets you have 6 people out in a battle but still this game is not as good as final fantasy though

This game is absolutely great. Lots of characters and 3 different battles systems. Definitely an awesome game for true fans of turn based rpgs. A must have for collectors of fine software.

Great story line and great game play. I really like starting an army and getting more members to join and watch my castle grow. I would recommend it for anyone who enjoys playing RPGs.

Probably one of the best RPGs ever made. Very epic, and one of the best stories and game play available.

Highly recommended.

i like that the seller gave me exactly what I was looking for. and when I had to figure some stuff out, he helped me 100% of the way.

She bought it to complete my suikoden set. I like it a lot because I have been wanting to complete my set and play from the beginning again. It's a great game and runs well. However, what I dislike is purchasing items on Ebay because you never know how the quality will turn out exactly. The item descriptions are not usually completely accurate. This game case was not in good condition but I was able to revamp it.

The game's pretty good, but it's overshadowed by much better and more simple RPGs. Worth the money, but don't expect Final Fantasy VII.

i believer this the ORIGINAL first game that made for Chinese old story -- SUIKODEN.
A beautiful game with one of finest story in Chinese culture story. the graphic and game play is smooth and fun. you bid that you will love it. give it a try!

i have been wanting to buy this game for years but i did not have a playstation to play it on. i like the fact that you pick up different characters in your party--up to 100 i believe. i also like the "turn based format" when fighting villains. the magic and ruin magic are cool also. one could play for hours and hours and not finsh the game!

"Suikoden" was the game that started the franchise, with 5 releases over two systems. Is the first the best? Not by a long shot - "Suikoden II" holds that honor easily, and "Suikoden V" gives this one a run for its money. But it is ridiculously fun, even though the experience is rather short. The story and the characters are both very good.

I bought it as a birthday gift for my daughter, to complete her collection. She was happy, so I'm happy.

Suikoden was in great Condition, classic game, quick shipping. Glad I could find this game at such a cheap price. The game book was included and the CD had no scratches on it.