EEVILMURRAY Posted April 18 Posted April 18 34 minutes ago, Dcubed said: The Suikoden series did indeed give you 108 playable characters to collect and battle with in each game; so this game is actually a downgrade by comparison I've never played a Suikoden game 🥺
Glen-i Posted April 18 Posted April 18 (edited) 1 hour ago, EEVILMURRAY said: I've never played a Suikoden game 🥺 That's the unique selling point of the series, a ridonkulous amount of playable characters. And seeing as this is a spiritual sequel... 2 hours ago, Dcubed said: The Suikoden series did indeed give you 108 playable characters to collect and battle with in each game; so this game is actually a downgrade by comparison Actually, the box says "100+", so it may not be a downgrade... I wouldn't be surprised if it ended up being 108. Anyway, had a quick peek at that box art, and noticed Hogan was there at the top left. He shows up in Rising, and I'm glad he's playable here. Mainly because he looks like he stepped out of Dillon's Rolling Western! Must be Gallo's long lost cousin, or something... Edited April 18 by Glen-i Man, getting images on mobiles is a nightmare! 1
Julius Posted April 18 Posted April 18 (edited) 15 hours ago, EEVILMURRAY said: With all that character art on the box, does it really give you access to 100 heroes, or is it just a flashy title. The fact that they highlight 100+ playable characters certainly makes me think it'll be the case they're all useable, but honestly I've kept the Kickstarter campaign at arm's length to avoid being spoiled, so I'm not sure if that's going to be a weird wording thing when all is done and dusted. But the way they word it certainly makes it sound like yes, there will be 100+ characters capable of joining your party (though not all at once, because I guess that'd be more of a rave) 1 hour ago, Dcubed said: The Suikoden series did indeed give you 108 playable characters to collect and battle with in each game; so this game is actually a downgrade by comparison Begin corrections music pleaseeeeee The Suikoden series did not, in fact, gives you access to 108 "playable" characters to collect and battle with – while those games task you with assembling the 108 Stars of Destiny, not all of these Stars were playable (i.e. able to join your party and go out into the field): some would stay back at your base/castle to serve a purpose as an NPC, whether it be small talk, or as a shop or mini-game facilitator; others would only join the party temporarily; and some were entirely optional recruits that while technically Stars of Destiny, wouldn't be required recruits to meet the quota of 108 Stars for the game's true ending. There are also one or two branching recruits from what I remember meaning choosing to recruit one Star might mean not getting another, and so on. Looking it up, both Suikoden and Suikoden II have ~80 playable characters, and this number tailed off in later games as the series went on. If I'm remembering right there were technically over 120 potentially recruitable Stars in Suikoden II. Alright you can stop the corrections music if it's still playing now 1 hour ago, EEVILMURRAY said: I've never played a Suikoden game 🥺 Hopefully you and others here leap at the chance to play the first two when that remastered collection releases though their silence on the re-release is a bit deafening OR FACE THE WRATH OF BEING ADDED TO MY IGNORE LIST (I'm kidding) (maybe) 1 hour ago, Glen-i said: Actually, the box says "100+", so it may not be a downgrade... I wouldn't be surprised if it ended up being 108. Murayama never would've done it because of his good relations with Konami after leaving, but the thought of it saying "108+" instead of just "100+" gives me a good chuckle Edited April 18 by Julius 1
Glen-i Posted April 19 Posted April 19 4 minutes ago, EEVILMURRAY said: How do you choose your party with so much choice?! Helps that I can discount all the characters who are human. Narrows it down a bit, but still leaves me with options. But I imagine this is the kind of game where you can just go with a party of the most interesting characters and stick with that if you want. At least, I hope it is. It could also be like Chrono Cross, where only 6 of the characters are any good. I doubt it'll be that bad, though.
Julius Posted April 19 Posted April 19 58 minutes ago, EEVILMURRAY said: How do you choose your party with so much choice?! Just to add some context from Suikoden to what @Glen-i said, there were a number of times in those games where temporary members would join your party for certain story beats; I think there were times that as many as 4 slots (including the main character) were essentially determined for you, other times you might need a certain trio in your party when talking to a recruitable character to recruit them, and so on. I'm not deep enough into Eiyuden to comment on how smoothly it's done it yet, but I'll be shocked if it doesn't use a heavy EXP multiplier like the early Suikoden games did, which made it a breeze to bring a new recruit joining you at, say, Lv 5, up to Lv 50 in just a few battles. This allowed for constant reconfiguring of your party and testing out new characters, which worked even better if you threw the new recruit in one of the back corners of your setup. This is also super important considering that mastering the game's battle mechanics is going to depend on having a setup which produces the most potential Hero Combos. For Suikoden and Suikoden II, outside of story beat-assigned characters, I would generally stick to a main trio based on how the story evolved (typically MC and childhood/family friends), fill the party in a little with Hero Combos in mind, and then in the last slot or two throw in some of the cooler looking or heavier hitting characters. I'm planning to do the same here Also just seen the full trophy list @Hero-of-Time, looks like it'll definitely take a bit of a grind (max out weapons for all characters). I'll be going for recruiting everyone but I think I'll pass on grinding that out especially with how long some of the other mini-game related trophies will probably take! 1
drahkon Posted April 19 Posted April 19 6 minutes ago, Julius said: Just to add some context from Suikoden to what @Glen-i said, there were a number of times in those games where temporary members would join your party for certain story beats; I think there were times that as many as 4 slots (including the main character) were essentially determined for you, other times you might need a certain trio in your party when talking to a recruitable character to recruit them, and so on. Urgh, doesn't fill me with confidence that I will enjoy the games when/if I play them...
bob Posted April 19 Posted April 19 I suppose Pokémon is an RPG with more than 100 playable characters (150 even!), and that still works, so just choose the characters that look cool. You can always change your mind later and release them back into the wild. 3
Julius Posted April 19 Posted April 19 24 minutes ago, drahkon said: Urgh, doesn't fill me with confidence that I will enjoy the games when/if I play them... 3
Glen-i Posted April 19 Posted April 19 2 hours ago, Julius said: Also just seen the full trophy list @Hero-of-Time, looks like it'll definitely take a bit of a grind (max out weapons for all characters). I'll be going for recruiting everyone but I think I'll pass on grinding that out especially with how long some of the other mini-game related trophies will probably take! Joke's on you, I'll be getting the Switch version! Unless the achievements are also in-game, like Rising... Oh God! What if they're in-game, like Rising!? 2
Julius Posted April 19 Posted April 19 Totally missed this: a Reddit AMA held earlier this week in r/JRPG by Rabbit & Bear Studios revealed that Murayama had started planning the game's sequel and that R&B will be moving ahead with a sequel. Quote u/universalbunny | What's next for Rabbit & Bear? With the unfortunate passing of Murayama-san, are plans for a potential sequel to EC up in the air (provided that the sales are well above or within expectations)? u/EiyudenChronicleRB | Absolutely! We are moving forward with a sequel. It is very sad that Murayama is not with us anymore, but we have discussed many things with him. I hope we will be able to carry on Murayama's legacy, and I always want to treasure his last work. I hope many people will support this game. Direct link to question. Very happy to hear this. The original Suikoden was positioned more as a setting up of Suikoden II mechanically, technically (in terms of development), and as a story; with Eiyuden being a Kickstarter project, it's hard to imagine Murayama would've approached this much differently. A real shame that he won't be able to spearhead whatever comes next, especially after being away from this particular type of JRPG for so long, but I'm happy R&B are planning to carry his legacy forward, and from what I've read about Murayama when researching Suikoden in the past, he seemed to me like the type who would be flattered by them doing so and be happy that the team he helped put together would get a chance to continue making games together.
Dcubed Posted April 19 Author Posted April 19 (edited) Looks like one of the characters you can recruit is currently bugged and it’s possible to lock yourself out of the ability to recruit them… Fortunately someone seems to have found a workaround here. Also, the PS5 version is locked into running at 1080p only and the Switch version seems to run really badly currently… Let’s hope those patches come in thick and fast. Edited April 19 by Dcubed 1
Julius Posted April 19 Posted April 19 2 minutes ago, Dcubed said: Looks like one of the characters you can recruit is currently bugged and it’s possible to lock yourself out of the ability to recruit them… Fortunately someone seems to have found a workaround here. Aye, saw this going around the other day. Based on my time with Suikoden I can't stress enough, if you're trying to get everyone, even if you track down a guide to do so: there are 20 save slots besides your auto-save slot; use them! 3 minutes ago, Dcubed said: Also, the PS5 version is locked into running at 1080p only and the Switch version seems to run really badly currently… Let’s hope those patches come in thick and fast. Yeah, it looks mighty rough on Switch at the moment, and that feels like a massive understatement; definitely makes some sense why they originally had it labelled as gunning for the Switch successor until it decided to not turn up to the party. A few updates have dropped throughout the week as I've been chipping away at it, don't mind the locked 1080p at all on PS5. Important to remember that some people who have their hands on the game might have got them a bit earlier than the devs expected, but in the case of the Switch, physical copies obviously are being saved until next month, so what we're seeing on the Switch is people who likely got the game in the last day of so via their digital Kickstarter code. Very unlikely anyone (besides maybe press?) got that code early. Fingers crossed they've been plugging away and some of the early updates at it's official launch put the game in better shape, but man, this blows HARD for people who backed the game on Kickstarter and decided to pick up a Switch version of it in particular. 1
Glen-i Posted April 19 Posted April 19 45 minutes ago, Dcubed said: Switch version seems to run really badly currently… Literally me starting to watch that. "Oh, that's not too bad, I've definitely play... OH GOD!" If that doesn't get improved, I may have to just convince you to get the PC one and mooch off of that.
EEVILMURRAY Posted April 20 Posted April 20 On 15/04/2024 at 9:03 PM, Hero-of-Time said: That's pretty much the whole game. I enjoyed it but its certainly not for everyone. I did get more drawn in so I did invest financially. I was thinking more of buying hundred heroes for PS5, so is it confirmed what will pass on from rising? I'm guessing it'll be something along the lines of how built new heaven-spelt-backwards gets? What battle system does it use, turn based? On 18/04/2024 at 12:35 PM, Julius said: Hopefully you and others here leap at the chance to play the first two when that remastered collection releases though their silence on the re-release is a bit deafening OR FACE THE WRATH OF BEING ADDED TO MY IGNORE LIST (I'm kidding) (maybe) Murayama never would've done it because of his good relations with Konami after leaving, but the thought of it saying "108+" instead of just "100+" gives me a good chuckle Possibru, I may not mind another RPG to plow through.
Hero-of-Time Posted April 20 Posted April 20 10 minutes ago, EEVILMURRAY said: I did get more drawn in so I did invest financially. I was thinking more of buying hundred heroes for PS5, so is it confirmed what will pass on from rising? I'm guessing it'll be something along the lines of how built new heaven-spelt-backwards gets? What battle system does it use, turn based? No idea. @Julius is the man to ask.
Julius Posted April 20 Posted April 20 (edited) Few more scattered impressions after a bit more time with the game: The lack of an easily accessible quick/manual save and only being able to save at inns/dungeon save points feels a bit on the archaic side. The bosses so far being these 3D models vs your party's 2D sprites is great for providing a sense of scale. I mentioned before that it was pretty snappy, but the game's presentation in battles really turns it up a notch with just how well your party's attacks flow into your opponent's and back again. I'm not really a fan of the party info placement during battles, especially when attacks start to shoot off and you can only see the chain of events. I think a nice workaround would've been some sort of colour coding of or depleting glass-looking health pool laid over the character circles in the chain – just feels a bit unnatural to look to the right when so much of the battle info is on the left/centred. Heck, could've just stuck some green bars under those there sprites and it would be fine. I'm sure I'll adjust but it's odd in a JRPG to not be fully aware of how your party's doing during attacks Y'all are going to probably love Francesca. Mellore is going to be the marmite of these early recruits, I'm sure. I found her charming but I'm sure some will be tearing their hair out! Big fan of completing the requirements for a recruitable character, such as slaying a certain number of a certain type of enemy, before meeting them and then just being like "oh, you've done that already? Nice, I'm all yours!" That's always a win in my book. Somehow didn't mention it before, but the sprites!! I highlighted Suikoden II specifically when I played it as having some of my favourite sprites with how many unique ones there are, and that thankfully carries on here. One of my favourites so far is from the opening 5 minutes where you see some village folk picking crops in the background, it's such a small thing but adds so much. So, Suikoden generally lacked the sound of footsteps when moving around, but it was often because music was blasting, and at the very least small dust clouds often followed your footsteps. Here there's a bit of a lack of connection to the world when the music gets a bit more ambient, there's no dust clouds, and no footsteps to be heard. Just seems an odd choice. No small jingle for a weapon upgrade - even just a single "da-dun!" - feels kind of criminal. As with seemingly every HD-2D styled game, the depth of field is cranked up maybe just a little bit too much at times. It's weird walking into a shop which is just a guy and a desk some 5m away from your character and him looking a bit out of focus. Unless maybe that's why so many of these early recruits have Rune of Blind Resistance equipped, because visual impairment is so common in Allraan... Feels like the first time in a minute I've played a new JRPG where NPCs are just talking about the mundane or silly things going on to provide a slight grin and quickly move on. Still very much enjoying my time with it! 47 minutes ago, EEVILMURRAY said: I did get more drawn in so I did invest financially. I was thinking more of buying hundred heroes for PS5, so is it confirmed what will pass on from rising? It's these I did pass on Rising myself in the end purely because I didn't want it to potentially hinder my desire to play Hundred Heroes after seeing just how mixed reactions to it were getting and how a select few started to worry about HH would turn out because of it, so I'm glad to see it's got some people here who got on with it! Edited April 20 by Julius
Glen-i Posted April 20 Posted April 20 (edited) 11 minutes ago, Julius said: It's these Oh wait, the weapon names get carried over? Welp, guess Garoo will be swinging "Big and Large" for a bit longer. Edited April 20 by Glen-i 1
Julius Posted April 20 Posted April 20 9 minutes ago, Glen-i said: Welp, guess Garoo will be swinging "Big and Large" for a bit longer. 1
Glen-i Posted April 20 Posted April 20 1 minute ago, Julius said: That's literally what he does! Cracked up laughing when he reached into that pouch and pulled out that comically massive sword! Laughed even more when other characters asked "How the hell did he fit that in there!?" 1
EEVILMURRAY Posted April 20 Posted April 20 2 hours ago, Glen-i said: Oh wait, the weapon names get carried over? Welp, guess Garoo will be swinging "Big and Large" for a bit longer. I think that's literally what I called it too! 1
drahkon Posted April 20 Posted April 20 2 hours ago, Glen-i said: That's literally what he does! Cracked up laughing when he reached into that pouch and pulled out that comically massive sword! Laughed even more when other characters asked "How the hell did he fit that in there!?" Fine, I'll give this game another go... 2
EEVILMURRAY Posted April 20 Posted April 20 2 hours ago, EEVILMURRAY said: I think that's literally what I called it too! Correction @Glen-i, it's called Great and Big. 1
Dcubed Posted April 21 Author Posted April 21 Looks like the Switch version might be the version of choice for those nostalgic for those old PS1 loading times... Quote For example, you’ll be hit with a loading screen of anywhere from four to seven (!!!) seconds every time a random encounter triggers, and you’ll have to sit through another one just as soon as the fight is over. Sometimes the fight itself is shorter than the load times. ... woof! Yeah... stick to the versions on other consoles. 1
EEVILMURRAY Posted April 22 Posted April 22 @Glen-i what did you call Isha's weapon? I went a bit dark and called it Killing by Suicide. I'm surprised this was even an option
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