Suikoden is quite nice on DS

I haven't really played any DS games for a while (the last one probably was Dragon Ball Origin). More importantly I haven't played any RPG (well, Dissidia Final Fantasy is hardly a pure RPG) for a while now. So, Suikoden Tierkreis is certainly welcomed by myself very much. I guess I kinda like Konami style of RPG, or maybe in general I like those anime-quality RPG. This game certainly reminds me of Jeanne d'Arc for PSP. Anyway, this game is fantastic, considering I have spent 8 hours over the weekend staring on the small DS screen for this game (maybe that is the reason why I got the headache).



Gameplay: This is a classic turn-based RPG, with some new elements. I have mentioned about "fast-paced" in the beginning. Basically, you assign each of the character an action such as attack, using Mark of Stars ability, defend or use item. Then, just chose "Start Battle", and then the sequence of attacks are launched or actions are initiated. If you think it is too troublesome to do that everytime, you can choose "automatic battle" too, and that is really convenient if your characters levels are so much superior than the foes. Of course, similar to other RPG, you can customize your characters with weapons and armors. Good thing is that you could see the weapon change, bad thing is that you don't see any change on the armor. But, I am already satisfied with the weapon change.

Story: The plot opens as the leader of 108 heroes engages the main antagonist known as "The One King" in battle. It is currently unknown whether the defeat shown in the introduction precedes the game or if the game is actually a flashback leading to that scene. The game is set in the Kingdom of Salsaville hich is a part of one of the many universes in the Suikoden multiverse, known as the Infinity. Anyway, the story from my own point of view is quite interesting, and got me hooked continuously for almost 5 hours! I must say, and I always think, Japanese is much better at story-telling in RPGs then those in Western world.

Presentation: It is a universal fact that DS has that much graphic capability. Thus, I don't ask much on the presentation, yet it certainly has satisfied me. The battle field is in 3-D (nicely deployed!). The movement of the characters among different places on a map is done in 2-D, which is quite huge! And, the freedom of movement in the location is done in 3-D, and good thing is that it is not so huge or twisted with multiple paths that can easily get lost. Anyway, I love it. Voice acting is always a challenge. If it is not done correctly, it would become an annoyance, but if it is not enough, it would be like missing something in the game. This game does it just right. Not too much, not too shabby, not too lack.

In conclusions, with a classic RPG with fast-paced elements gameplay (8/10), a good and interesting story (8/10), and nicely done presentation (9/10), I do think this game deserves our attention (25/30)!