Not dead, not got a life either.
I finally got around to playing the DS Suikoden game after borrowing my brother's DS and after playing and replaying it I have come to the following conclusions which probably contain spoilers so let's see if I can remember the correct syntax for a cut.
Firstly and I'm sure this has been established to all but the die-hard doubters but it is a Suikoden game even if it is not set in the same dimension as the others: the reason being is the storyline fits the base set-up from the original novel and the recurring elements such as the betrayal and taking over following the passing of a previous leader are definitely present.
Because runes are a facet of the numbered series setting then their absence is not a major factor and the fact the game uses magic points works with the chronicles system better than fixed points would have done. However, the weapon swapping over blacksmith system didn't seem like a good idea, especially since several characters go on and on about training and people are unlikely to switch weaponry types that readily.
There did not seem to be a need to restrict the party to four people unless the developers really wanted to display their flavour backgrounds on the second screen at all points, six in two rows would have fitted there easily. This was made worse by the game having the largest playable roster of any Suikoden title; when you have over ninety options and three (or less) free slots to put them in you really end up ignoring many of your new recruits.
The game was a retrograde step with recruitment as far too many charcters relied on you encountering them with or without certain characters in the party, often with no prior indication they are there. The only part that seemed to take anything from V's harder to recruit systems were those people that said no, but they tended to cause a quest to appear to get them which at points lead to annoying travelling back and forth across the map.
The plotline wasn't bad, if somewhat predictable; however, the timing of the backstory is completely unfathomable: almost the entire map is areas that are not native to the world. Even the gun place Rittersomething has a chronicle so was an addition even if it never physically appears in game; however, they are recorded as losing that chronicle to Janam decades before so both areas have been around for quite some time. The order have held the Porpos-kin's beads for years and it has been years since the Auster-kin's spirit has talked so neither are recent additions to the world. Liu has been at Citro for some time and with the order established there following the scribes' departure then Cynas is unlikely to have appeared recently. The remains of the wanderer's world are supposedly under one of the others but it is unclear which, leaving Pharamond as the most likely 7th conjunction. However, if that was the case then surely some of the older members from neighbouring areas at least should know when their memories return that this was the case but none of them mention it.
If the secession of worlds takes place naturally over years and Valfred was speeding things up by using the chronicles to pull in the next world broken it does not follow why the 9th world appeared when it did as he was pushing to get the 8th chronicle (the starting one) to do that and based on the report that five of the previous conjuctions were natural and the order having only three chronicles it makes no sense how that happened. I suppose it could have been natural and expected but if they were able to wait why did they push the 8th through so soon beforehand if the natural spread is years apart?
Overall such questions are irrelevant unless they try and make a sequel set in the same setting, which unfortunately they were hinting at with references to the distant warlike lands in some of the endings. I say unfortunately because the setting is not as well crafted as the numbered series, the chronicles system would not transfer to another location on the same world and what could they do that would not seem anticlimactic compared to saving multiple realities?
For a sidestory it was ok, but if they do not want to return to the old setting they would be better with completely new variants on the base plotline than continuing any setting.
Firstly and I'm sure this has been established to all but the die-hard doubters but it is a Suikoden game even if it is not set in the same dimension as the others: the reason being is the storyline fits the base set-up from the original novel and the recurring elements such as the betrayal and taking over following the passing of a previous leader are definitely present.
Because runes are a facet of the numbered series setting then their absence is not a major factor and the fact the game uses magic points works with the chronicles system better than fixed points would have done. However, the weapon swapping over blacksmith system didn't seem like a good idea, especially since several characters go on and on about training and people are unlikely to switch weaponry types that readily.
There did not seem to be a need to restrict the party to four people unless the developers really wanted to display their flavour backgrounds on the second screen at all points, six in two rows would have fitted there easily. This was made worse by the game having the largest playable roster of any Suikoden title; when you have over ninety options and three (or less) free slots to put them in you really end up ignoring many of your new recruits.
The game was a retrograde step with recruitment as far too many charcters relied on you encountering them with or without certain characters in the party, often with no prior indication they are there. The only part that seemed to take anything from V's harder to recruit systems were those people that said no, but they tended to cause a quest to appear to get them which at points lead to annoying travelling back and forth across the map.
The plotline wasn't bad, if somewhat predictable; however, the timing of the backstory is completely unfathomable: almost the entire map is areas that are not native to the world. Even the gun place Rittersomething has a chronicle so was an addition even if it never physically appears in game; however, they are recorded as losing that chronicle to Janam decades before so both areas have been around for quite some time. The order have held the Porpos-kin's beads for years and it has been years since the Auster-kin's spirit has talked so neither are recent additions to the world. Liu has been at Citro for some time and with the order established there following the scribes' departure then Cynas is unlikely to have appeared recently. The remains of the wanderer's world are supposedly under one of the others but it is unclear which, leaving Pharamond as the most likely 7th conjunction. However, if that was the case then surely some of the older members from neighbouring areas at least should know when their memories return that this was the case but none of them mention it.
If the secession of worlds takes place naturally over years and Valfred was speeding things up by using the chronicles to pull in the next world broken it does not follow why the 9th world appeared when it did as he was pushing to get the 8th chronicle (the starting one) to do that and based on the report that five of the previous conjuctions were natural and the order having only three chronicles it makes no sense how that happened. I suppose it could have been natural and expected but if they were able to wait why did they push the 8th through so soon beforehand if the natural spread is years apart?
Overall such questions are irrelevant unless they try and make a sequel set in the same setting, which unfortunately they were hinting at with references to the distant warlike lands in some of the endings. I say unfortunately because the setting is not as well crafted as the numbered series, the chronicles system would not transfer to another location on the same world and what could they do that would not seem anticlimactic compared to saving multiple realities?
For a sidestory it was ok, but if they do not want to return to the old setting they would be better with completely new variants on the base plotline than continuing any setting.