The Mega JRPG thread.

[ATenderLad]

The Suikoden I&II remaster been a pretty good nostalgia trip, I've been blaring Rage Against the Machine and Nine Inch Nails to really complete the mood.

They don't offer a really substantial difference from the originals, but the bugfixes are welcome. There's a bit more QoL in the first game than the second, but it's the sort of thing that QA really should have caught back in the 90's to begin with.

(For instance, every time a character joins your party for a scripted battle, they get automatically assigned to the back row. There's multiple instances where a short-ranged fighter joins the team to be *completely* useless, hiding behind your archers.)

 

[Gorse]

The Suikoden I&II remaster been a pretty good nostalgia trip,

What are your thoughts on the redone visuals? I've seen a lot of hub-bub surrounding them, but I've never so much as touched a Suikoden game – do you feel that they significantly change the game's style from the original?

 

[ATenderLad]

What are your thoughts on the redone visuals? I've seen a lot of hub-bub surrounding them, but I've never so much as touched a Suikoden game – do you feel that they significantly change the game's style from the original?

To my eye, it's less offensive than simply up-scaling the old assets. The new visuals were made to mimic the original, and everything matches up pretty closely to the old games. After awhile, I've simply stopped noticing the difference between the old and new.

That might not be a ringing endorsement, but at least it isn't jarring. (I might be less perceptive of this sort of thing, but I *have* played the originals an unhealthy number of times.)

If anything, I'm apprehensive to recommend the remaster because they're so similar to their source. Everyone here emulates (probably), and fifty bucks - or y'alls local currency - is pretty steep for an experience you could get for free on here.

Edit: Forgot I've been taking screenshots, soooooo

The second game generally looks better than the first as is, even on the PSX the sprites were a huge improvement. There's also a lot more effort in the visual story-telling in the sequel as well, particularly in the opening hours of the game.

If there's a particular change that might rankle, it's the portraits in the first game. The big-eyed anime style was already present by Suikoden II, but the first game had a different art style. Personally, I'm mixed on the change; some are better, some are worse.

The war battles in both games are probably the worst examples, the sprites were always terrible and the HD backgrounds don't help.

One last random screenshot, I love this freak.