Suikoden remaster and the rebirth of Konami?

[Captain Murphy]

I wanted to talk about Konami a bit. Not just as a Suikoden fanatic but as a lover of all good games.
Where do I start?? Explaining Konami's trajectory as a company is important in appreciating and recognizing the development of all of their intellectual properties over the years. So where did it begin for me, personally? I am an old bastard. Been playing games a long time and Konami was always making some of the best stuff out there. I have been there with them supporting them since the days of yore, the NES days, and I am extremely excited to once again see a spark re-lighting within this company after 10 years of silence. The Suikoden remaster along with the announcements for the new projects in the Suikoden series, along with Metal Gear Delta and Silent Hill, is giving Long suffering fans have a lot to be excited about right now. This release of Suikoden 1 and 2 remastered, the release of a Suikoden 2 anime and a new spin-off game, and this is probably only the tip of the iceberg. We have much to be excited about!

Any Suikoden fanatics here? What's your favorite Konami game?

 

[RageBurner]

I have never played any Suikoden game at length, but I understand many people love it (I have a friend that is absolutely bonkers about it, especially 2). There is also a pretty ambitious hack of Suiko 1 that outright changes story events, so I've been curious to see what veterans think about it.

As for myself, I've had good Konami memories, and they mostly stem from CV (especially SOTN and the subsequent games on the GBA and DS) as well as MGS1. I've never been a horror fan so Silent Hill is out of my wheelhouse.

 

[UnDubious]

Konami was definitely one of the giants of Japanese gaming for many years, just as much as a Capcom. Their catalogue is deep and varied and it's a shame how they went out. If they're really making a comeback they're going to have to form their own internal teams again though, and not be a publisher that farms out old IPs to random devs (which is what they're doing with the new Silent Hill, even though it looks promising).

 

[Strategist's iconStrategist]

Suikoden 2 is a great RPG game that I started many times but have become distracted and never finished. It has a really interesting premise and intro. I've also looked into Suikoden 1 and 3, but they didn't quite capture me as 2.

I do appreciate the Metal Gear series but I forswore it after MGS4. MGS1 is still one of the best video games ever made. I doubt a continuation without Kojima will be any good as his ideas are what made it be more than another action game. I have my doubts that 2025 Kojima could make a truly great MGS game, but that is another can of worms.

I haven't played too many Silent Hill games outside of 2, but SH2 is pretty awesome. I'm also a big fan of Castlevania:Symphony of the Night and the subsequent DS Castlevania games.

 

[Captain Murphy]

Yea Not really into silent hill either. It just seems kinda whacked out. I am not sure I am in the state of mind where playing that game would be a healthy adult decision lol. So bonkers. Suikoden 2 might be the best jrpg I've ever played. It just is touching in a way that few other games are. It's definitely a game to check it out. I did see that mod for suiko1. I had to hold off b.c I am playing the remaster right now trying to get platinum. (omg that whack a mole trophy is pissing me off) The decisions that you make in the game feel weighted and meaningful and change outcomes. There is warmth, quirkiness there is tragedy, there is sacrifice. Beneath the sheen is a very gripping tale. I have never played a game that made me feel the same way. The only ending that I felt was stronger than this one was Persona 3's ending.

Post automatically merged: Mar 21, 2025

Suikoden 2 is a great RPG game that I started many times but have become distracted and never finished. It has a really interesting premise and intro. I've also looked into Suikoden 1 and 3, but they didn't quite capture me as 2.

I do appreciate the Metal Gear series but I forswore it after MGS4. MGS1 is still one of the best video games ever made.

I haven't played too many Silent Hill games outside of 2, but SH2 is pretty awesome. I'm also a big fan of Castlevania:Symphony of the Night and the subsequent DS Castlevania games.

No doubt you've played Rondo of the Night, then? It's outstanding

 

[RageBurner]

As someone outside the series, I heard 1, 2 and 5 are the strongest, most consistent entries, while 3 and 4 are meh. Is there truth to this?

 

[LiberoVulpesLiberoVulpes's icon]

Eeeeh, don't know man, remasters/remakes alone don't buy me, they just seem to be nostalgia farming, they saw it work for Nintendo and Capcom. Probably the pachinko machines ain't doing so hot.

Also the newer Silent Hill was made in Unreal Engine, which means i hate it automatically.

As much as i like Castlevania and Silent Hill, i don't trust Konami enough.

 

[UnDubious]

I'll also mention I like Suikoden 1 even better than 2, it's just so fast-paced. The battles move fast with multiple characters attacking at once, something every turn-based RPG after should have copied, the dungeons are nice and quick, the story moves along constantly, it just doesn't waste any time. 2 is good but 1 impressed me more.

 

[Captain Murphy]

I personally cannot stand 3 though the last time I tried to play it was on emulated and I could fastforward and it felt like a much more fun experience lol. It's pretty uninspired. Suiko5 definitely feels like it gets back to the roots though I have yet to finish 3-5 myself so I should hold off making improper judgments hah

Post automatically merged: Mar 21, 2025

Eeeeh, don't know man, remasters/remakes alone don't buy me, they just seem to be nostalgia farming, they saw it work for Nintendo and Capcom. Probably the pachinko machines ain't doing so hot.

Also the newer Silent Hill was made in Unreal Engine, which means i hate it automatically.

As much as i like Castlevania and Silent Hill, i don't trust Konami enough.

Normally I would agree with you with the small exception of the amount of work that went into bringing the series back to life. Suiko 2 remaster feels more like a remake with the amount of added visual detail, cleaning up of text, fixing bugs and other missing parts in the original. It's all accounted for now. I am super familiar with the source material so it's easy to see how impactful some of the new visuals are along with fixing some of the fixing of broken mechanics of the game. It's a much more refined experience now though I understand your caution when it comes to giving Konami the benefit of the doubt. They have a lot of work to do to rebuild rapport with their fanbase after some of the shit they've pulled over the years but I do feel like the company is to beginning to engage again in a meaningful way. I hope so

 

[Azazelivae]

I've played Suikoden before but because it was when i was a Child i don't really think whatever i think about Suikoden at that point would mattered.

Though i do remember them as fun, but considering i am a big RPG Fan i think it just expected at that point.

But i do played Hyakunen no Toki recently and, to be honest, there's some part of it that do dragged, but it is ultimately a fun game, even though it left too many mystery to be answered for my taste (for the love of God what is Zephon?????).

But.

I honestly think despite these recent releases, we still need to hold Konami at the doorstep before considering that this is their some sorts of Rebirth phases or something.

Because i mean for all we know it just can be "Hey we need new stuff to develop yeah? why not spend 5 years to make new stuff or remakes and shit and then we can do Pachinko again ya?"

 

[Strategist's iconStrategist]

No doubt you've played Rondo of the Night, then? It's outstanding

I haven't played Rondo of Blood, I have it in my queue to play one day. That one is the prequel to Symphony right?

 

[RageBurner]

I haven't played Rondo of Blood, I have it in my queue to play one day. That one is the prequel to Symphony right?

Yeah. Rondo is top tier classicvania by any reasonable metric.

 

[Captain Murphy]

I haven't played Rondo of Blood, I have it in my queue to play one day. That one is the prequel to Symphony right?

Yes it is but it's more of an action game than a metroidvania and it can be particularly challenging. Still worth the effort imo. I actually think simons quest is a better precursor for SOTN b.c of it was one of the first metroidvania's out there and SOTN took a lot of liberties in taking that concept further and my god was it glorious!

 

[RageBurner]

You can think of Rondo as the culmination of the idea that started in CV3: multiple paths, different stages.

 

[Yousef]

Konami revival is never going to happen. It’s modern gaming’s big foot. There’s always claims and signs but they’re not gonna pull a Capcom.
Tbh even Capcom struggled to pull a Capcom.

 

[Captain Murphy]

Cmon man, work with me here! :D

 

[Yousef]

Working hard or hardly work is my motto.

 

[LiberoVulpesLiberoVulpes's icon]

I don't care about Suikoden, so whatever on that front.

 

[RageBurner]

Konami revival is never going to happen. It’s modern gaming’s big foot. There’s always claims and signs but they’re not gonna pull a Capcom.
Tbh even Capcom struggled to pull a Capcom.

And their revival put a lot of classic franchises under the bus, too. They are running with the power of a tri-gemmed crown (RE, MH and SF), but everything else basically got thrown to the sacrificial pyre.

 

[glokglakglak]

konami's a joke, like squaynix
they don't even make their own games anymore, like squaynix

i played suikoden 2 for the first time around 2021
it's a love hate relationship, cos i was so addicted to it, so much so that i had to research specifically what each item and skill did because the descriptions were either very misleading or just flat out lacking information
also cos

Spoiler

nanami fucking died no matter what i did

i literally had to reload quite a few hours back just to get the result that i wanted, but

Spoiler

she still kept fucking dying, until i let the cutscenes played a bit longer to find out she actually didn't die but just became unpartyable

she was honestly one of the biggest assets to my party cos of her agi, but well, fuck it

but yeah, konami's a joke now
they never bothered to fix the bugs even in the ps3 port that i played
i've been meaning to play suikoden 2 again but this time, the bug fix version, but now that there's a remaster, i could probably give that a go instead

they had their time, like squaresoft was once upon a time, and sony, and <insert literally all companies here>

 

[Muklas]

As someone outside the series, I heard 1, 2 and 5 are the strongest, most consistent entries, while 3 and 4 are meh. Is there truth to this?

3 is jank and 4 is a sin against god. Tactics is actually pretty decent and justfies suffering through 4 so you can get a complete file to transfer it over into Tactics.

 

[LiberoVulpesLiberoVulpes's icon]

Konami has to do something, before Nintendo re-releases everything again for the Switch 2 and completely monopolizes the nostalgia farm, again. So, here they are.

 

[Captain Murphy]

also cos

Spoiler

nanami fucking died no matter what i did

i literally had to reload quite a few hours back just to get the result that i wanted, but

Spoiler

she still kept fucking dying, until i let the cutscenes played a bit longer to find out she actually didn't die but just became unpartyable

she was honestly one of the biggest assets to my party cos of her agi, but well, fuck it

they had their time, like squaresoft was once upon a time, and sony, and <insert literally all companies here>

Oh poor nanami. lol Honestly I was okay with that ending ... actually I wasn't. It was devastating but seeing all the different outcomes can be a pretty cool experience as well. I always try to get 108 stars of destiny before my army reaches RockAxe castle. If you ever have any questions during the playthrough I'd be happy to help. I am no expert but I've played through the game probably over a dozen times by now

 

[Gorse]

Probably the pachinko machines ain't doing so hot.

I would absolutely love the chance to play some of these, especially the Castlevania one — some of those cutscenes are HOT!!!!!!! I’ve tried to find one in Las Vegas every time I’ve been there, but no dice… I’m certainly more interested in Konami’s bloody pachinko games than anything they’re putting out on consoles.

 

[UnDubious]

I'm probably the only person who cares about this here but I hope their 3D arcade fighter Fighting Bujutsu/Fighting Wu-Shu is properly emulated one day soon. Kensei: Sacred Fist could have been a contender on the PS1, the only problem was it didn't feel quite as responsive as it should've. The multiple stances per character gimmick worked well though.