Suikoden Tactics

by Konami

Product Features

• Over 25 battle scenarios in highly detailed 3D battle environments
• Modify your characters' skills, tailor their equipment and upgrade their weapons to fully customize your team members throughout the game
• Unique Combination Attack system allows players to combine the powers of numerous characters in battle, as they build friendships with one another
• Includes a cast of over 50 characters - some new to the series and others that were featured in Suikoden IV
• Stunning environments, extravagant and exciting story scenes and an amazing cast of characters

Product Details

• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B0009Z3KB2
• Product Dimensions: 7.5 x 5.2 x 0.8 inches ; 3.2 ounces
• Media: Video Game
• Release Date: November 9, 2005
• Average Customer Review: 3.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #13,033 in Video Games (See Top 100 in Video Games)
• Discontinued by manufacturer: Yes

Product Description

Suikoden Tactics takes you into the world of the popular role-playing game Suikoden, for incredible strategy and combat simulation gaming. See this world through the eyes of Kyril, a young adventurer who investigates the sudden appearance of hideous creatures in the Island Nations. As you explore and battle with him, you'll discover the secrets of the legendary Rune Cannons -- and try to destroy them before they destroy the world. Real-time rendered story events and voiceovers

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

20 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Solid, Addictive, Fun!, January 15, 2006

By 

JowySiren (The Multiverse) - See all my reviews

= Fun:5.0 out of 5 stars 

This review is from: Suikoden Tactics (Video Game)

Usually, I tend to dismiss a lot of beloved games as "Eh, they can wait", but not so with Suikoden Tactics. The Suikoden Series is one of my favorites, so about a week after the game came out, I snatched it right up. I was pleased to see Suikoden with a Strategy RPG turn since these sorts of games are a load of fun for me. This game is good on its own, but great if you're already a Suikoden fan and would like to see some of Suikoden IV explained more.

Sound/Music: 8/10

The music for the most part is just excellent. The songs used for the Kooluk Empire in particular(like El Eal and Graska) are just flat out beautiful and reminds of why Suikoden has some of the best music ever. The battle music is fairly decent too and suits the situations quite nicely. It tends to stick with you without being too much of a distraction. I generally liked the music and is a must for video game music buffs. The only song I didn't care for much was the beginning song as I found the singing rather grating, but I have no doubt that others will enjoy it.

This game does have voice acting and it's actually fairly decent. I've heard better, but I've also heard much worse. Kyril's voice can be very grating, but Andarc's and Seneca's really aren't that bad. I'd say it's farily average overall.

Story: 8/10

The story is more of a companion piece to Suikoden IV more than just a standalone(you can transfer data from Suikoden IV) and it actually does help improve Suikoden IV quite a bit since ST includes many of the returning characters, reveals parts of S4 that weren't quite explained(although I wish more was done with Troy), and has the same atmospheric feel.

Suikoden Tactics takes place before and after Suikoden 4, starting out in Raziel where a young Kyril and his group find young Snow and Siobahn(my name for hero 4). They discover a fish creature that had died because of a Rune Cannon and things go on from there. The entire purpose of the game is to find Rune Cannons, research them and destroy them. Of course, it's never that simple given the game is full of twists, turns(some you could see a mile off, but the twists are still there), emotional scenes, and political intrigue typical of the Suikoden series.

What really makes this game(and basically all of Suikoden) stand out is the characterization. Kyril might not be too dynamic, but he's powerful. Andarc and Seneca provide very interesting and oftentimes amusing moments. The same could be said for a lot of the characters there. Old favorites return and one of the new characters almost entirely steals the show(should have been a story character, but isn't, which is a shame). Overall, very solid and what I expect from Suikoden.

Graphics: 7/10

The graphics of the characters could have been much better. The portraits are fine and look great, but beyond that, the characters look a little too distorted for my taste. Not bad, but far from the best Suikoden has had to offer. The sweeping scenes before the battles and the town backgrounds showed some beautiful scenery, but nothing that goes beyond typical strategy RPGs. The spells, however, look beautiful, which is quite usual in the series. Overall, just good. Nothing special, except for the spells.


Gameplay: 9/10

To put it simply, this game is crack. The battle system is fun and you can actually have conversations in battle that increase "good will", something that makes someone protect, assist and grow angry over another being attacked. "Good Will" also helps gaining Cooperative(or Unite) Attacks. The elemental grids, which increase or decrease abilities depending on compatability, help give this game a unique feel. The only real complaint is that if the character is not a "story character", he/she could die and be permanently removed from the game. Not a large complaint since it's fairly easy to avoid if you have the right strategy and this sort of thing has occured in all the Suikoden games. Beyond all that, it uses the tried and true methods of most other Strategy Games. Not a real flaw though since it works like a charm in Suikoden Tactics.

Replay Value: 8/10

When you complete the game, you have the opportunity to play a "Clear" game, which means that you retain Equipment (If they are not equipped on some one), Runes (If they are not equipped on some one), Potch and
Items. You get a new character and the ability to skip cutscenes. That, and the general fun of the game is enough to warrent a fairly high replay value, especially if you're a Suikoden fan already. What's more is that it makes me want to play Suikoden 4 again. Can't say any other game has ever done that, except Final Fantasy X-2.

Final Score: 40/50

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A fun diversion into the Suikoden universe..., May 26, 2008

By 

M. A Jenkins "southerndudeman" (Manhattan, KS) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

= Fun:3.0 out of 5 stars 

This review is from: Suikoden Tactics (Video Game)

...but just not good enough as an SRPG. Suikoden Tactics is interesting, as it continues the story from Suikoden IV (incidentally, I find it amusing that the 1UP reviewers on this page called the game a "prequel," as the prequel aspect ends after the FIRST CHAPTER).
The problem with this game? It's way, waaaayyyy too easy.The offending culprit? Elemental squares. Your characters can control the elements of the squares on which they and the enemy. Of course, so can the enemy, in theory, but usually, they'll just waste their spells and items in the first two rounds, after which you can just change back the colors of the squares. And why does this simplify the game? While standing on an elemental square, your attack and defense nearly double, and you regain health every round. Yeah, that tends to make a game easy.

But any, here we go:
The Good:
1) The story - I think I'm the only fan of Suikoden IV in the world today, but I was very interested in the idea of a follow-up to that game. And Tactics delivers, sort of. Well, actually, the storyline is tangential to Suikoden IV, but it is nonetheless interesting (if incredibly strange).

2) Graphics - While not the stunning nature of FF or anything, for a game in the SRPG genre, these graphics are actually pretty nice. Yes, the strange flat hands, reminiscent of FFVII, rear their ugly, uhhh, head, but all in all, I thought the graphics showed more color potential than ANY of the 3-D Suikoden titles to date. Not flashy, but certainly sufficient for this genre.

3) Extras - Remember when you could load your saved data from one Suikoden game to the next? Well, Suikoden Tactics allows you to load data from Suikoden IV, and if your game has 108 stars, you get some pretty cool bonuses. I won't spoil them here.

The Bad:
1) Voice acting - while I have no particular disdain for the voices themselves, the delivery of lines leaves a LOT to be desired. As mentioned in another review, a dialogue window appears on the screen, followed by some of the most lackluster emotion ever experienced on a video game (and I played "Star Ocean 2"!). The more entertaining voices (such as Brandeau's) end pretty early, and the main character's voice is akin to the scraping of a chalkboard with fingernails. As for the rest, they are fine, but they deliver their lines with such little passion that it hardly matters.

2) Difficulty - one of the easiest SRPGs I've ever played.I've outlined the main culprit above, but there are plenty of others. In short, there is little strategy needed to win THESE battles.

Anyway, that's my thinking. In terms of gameplay, it's fine, but the battles are too easy, and the libretto in between is somewhat boring, which is too bad, really; Suikoden Tactics had a lot of potential. Here's hoping they try again and fix some of the problems.

4.0 out of 5 stars Good game., December 7, 2011

By 

J. Tishma (Woodland, WA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

= Fun:4.0 out of 5 stars 

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Suikoden Tactics (Video Game)

I love all the Suikoden games (I through V) and play them over and over. I like this one because it refers to the people and events in the other games. I am more of an old style RPG lover, so I am wrestling with the strategic battle style (usually just get a C grade on them!) but I'm learning and it's a nice introduction into strategy games. I would call it a combination RPG/strategy game. It moves a little slow but I don't mind that. I wish there were more places to save. It's depressing to go through 3 levels of dungeons and have someone die on you and have to start from the very beginning again. I'm not that far into it so maybe there is a way to resurrect them that I haven't found yet. But overall I am enjoying the game. I wish they would continue the series - it's one of my favorites.