suikoden review part 2

Timeline

Main series
While the main series is numbered, each individual game takes place either before or after a consequent installation. The second and third Suikoden games were each direct sequels of their respective predecessors but with Suikoden IV, the series began to delve into prequels in which events take place earlier than any of the other games. The sequence according to in-universe chronology is as follows:
Suikoden IV (143 years before Suikoden V and 150 years before Suikoden) → Suikoden V (6 years before Suikoden) → Suikoden (3 years before Suikoden II) → Suikoden II (15 years before Suikoden III) → Suikoden III



Prequels and sequels
The games Genso Suikogaiden Volumes 1 and 2, though not part of the main series takes place before, during, and after Suikoden II as well as Suikoden Tactics which takes place before and after Suikoden IV.

Elements

Gameplay

In the Suikoden series, the player takes control of a battle party having a maximum of six people (consisting of the protagonist and 5 other characters). The goal of the game is for the protagonist to defeat the opponents who are trying to oppose his/her team. This becomes possible as every game in the series revolves around the recruitment of the 108 Stars of Destiny; wherein the fighter characters recruited from the bunch can be used as members for the battle party; each game in the series have its respective Stars of Destiny. The series practically makes use of running around towns on different islands and into dungeons filled with monsters or enemies. A base or headquarters will also be obtained by the player which is usually abandoned, monster-infested castles which turns into bustling communities when captured.

Battle Modes

The most typical form of battle in the series is the turn-based battle wherein the 6-man team faces the opponents. However, it is not the sole form of battle featured in the games. There are 3 different types of battle present which recurs and have been accustomed to every game. They are: 'Basic Battle', 'One-on-one Duel' and 'Strategic War Battle'.

1. Basic Battle: It is the most common form of battle. It is when the protagonist's 6-man team will have to battle out. This mode allows the player to control the 6 party members with different commands such as the 'Fight' where the player designates the action he/she wants the characters to perform, 'Run' to escape, 'Bribe' to use the party's money called Potch to bribe the enemy for escape and the 'Auto' command in which the game automatically designates the 'Attack' command for every character.
2. One-on-one Duel: A battle where only a single character fights and happens only in special events. It is a turn-based duel in which the player chooses command to attack (instead of manually controlled fighting). Duels in the series is typically not time-based except Suikoden V wherein choosing a command is timed for 3 seconds. Duels are usually accompanied by dialogue exchange between the player and the enemy.
3. Strategic War Battle: A turn-based strategical battle between the protagonist's side and the enemy. In more accurate terms, this is a battle between armies of the protagonist and the enemy. The protagonist's army is made up of many units which could be organized by the player however he/she desires. Every game in the series have different form of war battles most notably in Suikoden IV, where the battles are done in the sea. Suikoden V however, is the first game to make use of real-time strategy.

Development

The Suikoden series was created, written, produced, and overseen by Yoshitaka Murayama, who left Konami near the end of Suikoden III's development. Noritada Matsukawa took over as Senior Director of Suikoden III following Murayama's departure. Suikoden IV was directed by Matsukawa as well but was produced by Junko Kawano, who was the chief designer in Suikoden I. Suikoden V was directed by Takahiro Sakiyama, a relative newcomer to RPGs.

Future

In an interview conducted by Japanese website 4gamers.net regarding the RPG Frontier Gate, Konami developers revealed that the Suikoden development team has been disbanded with members scattered about teams within Konami and elsewhere. This led to speculation that the franchise had indeed been abandoned following disappointing sales of the latest entries in the series.
Despite these rumours, Konami presented a trailer for a new Suikoden game on Tokyo Game Show 2011: Genso Suikoden: The Woven Web of a Century (Genso Suikoden Tsumugareshi Hyakunen no Toki). It is scheduled to come out on PSP.

World, setting, and concepts

Essentially, each game follows the plot formula of a coup d'état by corrupt power holder(s) and the main protagonist is an exile from his/her home. The plot also follows the disastrous misuse of the "True Runes" while the hero struggles, despite overwhelming odds, to bring peace to the land alongside his/her friends, and the climactic showdown with the corrupted True Rune incantation.
source : wikipedia