It's finally the Summer of Suikoden again! This summer, I'm covering Suikoden IV, Tactics, and V! Sorry for Tierkries fans, that's going to have to wait until I get a 3DS capture card. (Those things are crazy expensive!) Please remember the golden rule: Be excellent to one another and party on dudes! :)
I was very surprised to hear this was considered the weakest in the series. This is one of my favorite games of all time. I can’t count the amount of times I replayed this game as a kid.
Did you play the other suikoden games? Many people agree suikoden 4 is the weakest in the series, it's not bad but suikoden 4 failed the fans expectations. If only they combine suikoden 4 and suikoden tactics into 1 game it's would be a lot better game story wise.
@@xero7087 try playing suikoden 5 it's the second best game in the series (1st is suikoden 2 imo). Suikoden 2 has the best story while suikoden 5 has the best gameplay.
@@hendribadaya8814 I like suikoden 1,2 and 5 the best, they’re all tied for me. I also played tierkreis for the ds, which actually was pretty decent considering there was no other suikodens to play anymore. I never played tactics but I really want to now that i enjoy tactical games now a lot more than I used to
Finally. A refreshing review of this game! THANK YOU. Not gonna lie but the hate and gatekeeping for this game from the crazy fans is absolutely ridiculous sometimes. The game is decent but the fanbase is terribly toxic. After 15 years I still see old gamers who can't let go of the hate of this game lol
I'm one of those people lol. I think what makes people so angry about 4 is the damage it did to the brand and trust it lost from the fans. It was the first one without the series creator who was also the writer of the first two games. It changed so many core mechanics and failed in such a way that I think a lot of fans turned their back on 5, which is when the series needed support most. 5 sold very poorly and doomed any chance the series had at continuing. It's a shame because many people consider 5 the second best or even the best game in the series. There's no reason it should have sold as poorly as it did. It proved Konami could continue the series without the creator and was a great step in the right direction at recapturing the classic feel of the first two games. It would have been an amazing building block to build off of and go into the ps3 era with but that never came to be. A lot of fans and myself included feel as if the damage 4 did to the series reputation indirectly or directly killed 5 before it even released and thus ended the series. And it didn't have to be that way...4 was different just to be different...had they stuck closer to the formula like they proved they could with 5, we may still have suikoden today. 5 being good makes 4 the ultimate slap in the face...if the series ended with 4 it would have been an easier pill to swallow...you could always say "well the creator left Konami and they couldn't make a good suikoden..end of story." But the fact 5 was as good as it was and we never got to build off that...its just not fair. Suikoden was very unique for it's time and unlike final fantasy, all of it's games were connected some way, took place in the same world and had a very deep lore.its just unfortunate things had to end on the high note of 5 which couldn't even move as many units as 4...a very flawed game and the least liked in the series. Suikoden fans are so passionate...can you blame people for still harboring resentment towards 4 if they felt it was responsible for ending their beloved series
@@liquidmetalslime9 You know, don't blame Suikoden IV for V's shortcoming. Konami decided to release Suikoden V a few days before Kingdom Hearts 2 in the US. I blame the fanbase for being too conformist
@@Gaian0000 how was the fan base to conformist? I'm not following. I don't think it's necessary fair to blame 4s failure on the fans, and not the fact it was Konami's first attempt to make a suikoden with the series creator/writer and it went horrible..due to myriad of issues and bad game design choices I listed above. The fans didn't create a ridiculous encounter rate, clunky ship controls and place the game's setting in such a space to where you would spend the majority of your time navigating through said controls and encounter rate. I don't understand how the fans were conformist about 4, please elaborate. I don't see how the fans can take the blame for 4 and ultimately the failure of the series
@@liquidmetalslime9 suikoden series is bound to die anyway unless konami actually does something. Be grateful that the original developers are doing Eiyuden Chronicles in which it introduces both newcomers and old suikoden fans.
@2:16, It wasnt skill and luck. (spoiler ahead) Lazlo survived Brandeu's attack because his mother most likely intervened to save his life. Go back and rewatch cutscene. A green aura appears around Lazlo shielding him and saving his life. The same green aura appears around his mother at the end of the game. None of the other souls in the Rune had strange aura, but hers alone. Thus, she prob saved his life.
The luck I was alluding to was the appearance of reinforcements showing up. And not dying during the ship battle was a matter of skill, at least in the in-game world. :)
Shortly before the release of Suikoden 3 Yoshi Takimuriyama left Konami. And his name was stricken from the game credits in accordance with company policy. Working with Moriyama from the start though Was Junko Kawano. What is this random poetry?
Thank you for your opinion. It made me want to play Suikoden 4. I love playing old school jrpgs and have enough time and dedication to see them through. P.s. starting to play the game right now
Thank you for being fair and honest in your review of Suikoden IV without mindlessly ranting about how "awful" it supposedly is. It's very refreshing. I'll concede it did have a lot of weakness, and it did need Suikoden Tactics to help it out, but the relentless hate it gets tends to be really over exaggerated. It's still a very solid game with a decent story, likeable characters, and probably one of the most interesting True Runes. (Little fun fact: The Rune of Punishment is the only True Rune of the series to have its own theme song, which is very hauntingly beautiful with its use of piano and violin. The full version is on the Suikoden Tactics OST.) Razro (you call him Lazlo) is also my absolute favorite Tenkai of the series. Adorable, beautiful, strong, and very humble in personality, if a bit on the withdrawn side. My kind of character. :D The Suikoden series as a whole is a fantastic story. I appreciate all the games because of that (even Suikoden V, which is my personal least favorite). ^^
I was introduced to the series with Suikoden 3. I've since played them all, but 3 will forever be my favourite with 4 and 5 tied for second. Great series. Miss it terribly.
don't miss out on the first two... the 2nd one is revered in the series for a reason. If you play the first one first, then move to the 2nd, it makes you appreciate the little things that they switch up on you from the first! gosh if I had the time.... I would!!!!
Great review of Suikoden IV! You did a fantastic job examining why this game is often seen as the weakest in the series. The insights into the character development and storytelling were really interesting. Thanks for sharing this review!
Man I love this game, and tactics even more. But lol most of the long time suikoden fans are hella toxic towards anyone that likes IV, just like long time final fantasy fans. I get that nostalgia is a major factor in enjoyment, but people shouldn't reject new ideas and hate on a game for doing things differently just because of that.
OK, but I hate on Suikoden 4 for having a simpler, more predictable plot than any other game in the series, terrible looking graphics, and maybe 4 characters out of a cast of 108 that I sort of liked. It brings nothing new or interesting to the franchise, and looking at the story after 2 and 3, it's a joke.
Todd Crabtree the plot was very similar to earlier suikoden games, the graphics were the best in the series at the time, liking characters is entirely subjective and a lot of them actually had quite some depth, especially if you played tactics, and it brings an original story to the franchise that expanded upon the world of suikoden just like every game before it did. Not only that, it was the only jrpg at the time, and probably still is, that emphasised the ocean theme with a very iconic atmosphere, similar to how wild arms did with the wild west theme. Also, I don't remember inviting people to hate on the game lol so move along
Sorry dude, this is the internet, and people can respond to stuff you say. When you start off with dumb shit like "people who hate on suiko 4 are toxic" you're just dismissing how bad the game is. Suiko 4's plot is basic as hell compared to 2 and 3, with no interesting villains, and the only character development all game is Snowe. The battle system is dumbed down compared to the rest of the franchise. There's less interesting world building in the game than there is in 1, and that game's pretty simple too. The graphics might be "best in the series at that time" if you mean on a technical level of having the most polygons or supporting 480p, but I would take 3's graphics over this easily. There are at least some maps on character faces to give them more than blank stares at all times. Plus, let's be real: Are you seriously going to say 4's graphics are better than 2's gorgeous sprite work and animations? SuperDerek already talked in the video about how terrible the sailing part of the game is. And oh god, is it terrible. The inexplicable choice to have tank controls for the boats, have messy hit detection for docking in new areas, randomly getting turned around while sailing the overworld, the stupid high encounter rate... it all adds up to the worst sailing in any game. Who cares about the ocean theme when they make it so bad to experience? They took a story that should have been cool, about pirates kicking out an evil invading force, and managed to make it dull, predictable, and stupid. They took a battle system that was unique and fun, and turned it into something you'd see out of a beginner RPG Maker game. About all they did right was the ship battles, and even those aren't good enought o carry the rest of this junk. Elenor Silverberg deserved a better game.
Suiko 1-3 we got 6 person party. Suiko 4 only got 4 person. Adding to the 108 characters player can recruit, imagine how much time for us to raise them into the party.
Todd Crabtree lol what's your loss anyway? Pointing out flaws in a game that someone else enjoyed. What's your purpose? "Its the internet" isn't an excuse for an individual to be a dick. And you're not gonna say anything about the game that I haven't already heard, so why bother? Imagine all the stuff you could be doing instead of spewing hate about a video game on the internet lol
I own and have enjoyed all the suikoden games. I always liked III and IV equally as much. At the time, my only complaint was Suikoden IV had weaker art direction/character design, but the story and writing were solid. Suikoden V may be my favorite, simply because I loved the games art style, character designs, and battle system. Suikoden II and Tactics (I am a sucker for strategy rpgs) are tied for a close 2nd place. Great video! Keep it up!
This was my first Suikoden game also but I didn't even know that it was until a decade later. Suikoden IV was a demo at EB Games back in the day, and I didn't know what game it was.
I played Suikoden III and then Suikoden IV; and while I enjoyed III I loved the ship battles of IV, I can't tell you a bit of the plot though. I think it's time to play it again.
The game isnt a "hidden gem", it isnt "underrated" it isnt "unfairly criticised"...I think this game is the standard 7/10 not bad not great, solid good imo, maybe a bit more on the good side due to having the Suikoden feeling to it.... Why didnt you mention "La Mer", the opening theme of the game....that song is incredibly beatiful.
4 is really the black sheep of the series. party reduced, the slow boat travel. besides 3 returning character feels separate from the rest of the series which is an issue both 4 and 5 share. really shows this was not maade by the same person that did 1,2, and 3.
I love your channel! Both light hearted and very informative, and damn, you are excellent at pronouncing Japanese names! Great job pro status^_^ 👏👍 I love how much I learn watching the videos to find out if a game I'm curious about would be worth bringing home to the retro collection 😀 I love collecting as much as actually playing! So many games, so little time... sigh.... such is life^_-
i feel it's the suikoden game thats easily skippable . it's so far in the timeline that it's barly connected to the rest of the games besides 1 character and a brief mention in 5.
Great review, Derek! I completely agree with your evaluations of Suikoden IV. It is a mediocre game but worthwhile playing for fans of the series, and by far not as bad as the distorted perception of the last ten years makes it out to be.
Also funny thing about this game is that it made a lot of critics go back and take a second look at Suikoden 3 again which helped create that specific title’s cult status since when it came out most people either loved it or hated it. Weird to think how much this helped out 3’s own reputation and got a lot of those critics to look past the Dreamcast graphics and traveling through same maps with different characters. 3 is my favorite and it’s what got me into Suikoden. It’s crazy how much you can benefit knowing the first two games and Suikogaiden games but you don’t even need to know any of those games and still consider Suikoden III a top 5 JRPG. It’s good for newcomers and it was basically a culmination of themes, ideas, characterss, and certain quests from the first two to wrap things up in a trilogy that spanned twenty years of history and continuity within its own game world. Also I know people love Luca Blight and consider him one of Suikodens best villains and I love him too but that type of villain had nothing on the main antagonist in III, the masked bishop, whom is a character that shows up in all three games as a star of destiny and has close ties to the game’s best lore and best mysteries. 3 might be perfect in my eyes as it is for newcomers and fanboys alike.
Great Review. I always held off playing this game when I was younger because people told me it was not that good. I agree this game is no Suikoden 2 or 5 which depending on who you talk to is the best of the series. I’am glad however that I stopped listening to those people and gave this game a chance. I agree super super slow to start, but picks up well once you get going. I only have two downsides to this game. Only having four to a party and the enemy encounter rate which is through the roof high. Overall though i love this game and I’m glad I own it.
Very nice review. I remember playing this years and years back. I went from Suikoden II to Suikoden IV, skipping 1 and 3, and Suikoden IV's criticism is well deserved but it does have many moments that make it definitely a Suikoden game. The worst part is the slow build-up which makes re-plays of the game particularly grueling, but if I'm honest even Suikoden II had quite a trek to go on before the game really opened up, this is just par the course for the series. I found it a very fun game once you got to spend some time in it, my only negative aside from what was mentioned is many characters aren't that memorable as unlike Suikoden II, very few characters in IV stand out in my memory. I honestly can't even recall the main antagonist of the series.
*Assassin's Creed designers room* Designer one: "What should we do for our fourth game?" Designer two: *glances at shelf of PS2 games* "Uh... Fourth entry uh... boats?" Jokes aside,this was actually my first Suikoden, also! I had watched a friend play the first one when I was a kid, but this was the first one I actually played. I think it has the Final Fantasy VIII problem where it's a great game, but had the misfortune of being a great game in a series full of amazing games
Suikoden 3 actually flopped, it sold so little that Konami decided to cancel the release for Europe and other countries to cut their losses.... I played it on an Emulator a couple of years ago and understood why they stopped the Europe release...
One of my biggest problems with Suikoden IV, aside from things you mentioned like the ship travel and 4 party members, is that the game is actually really short. Like it takes you forever to get the ship, and then once you do get it you only have a handful of mandatory dungeons to go. To me, it's almost like they planned the length of the game with ocean travel in mind, but then (rightfully) gave you Viki "early" (relative to when you get your ship) so you don't have to ocean travel much. I also just don't like the Rune of Punishment. While I guess subverting the notion that all the True Runes make you immortal is nice, I don't like the idea the story/gameplay disconnect that for story reasons, you should never, ever use it in battle. I dunno. Suikoden IV isn't a bad game, it's just a mediocre at best Suikoden game. I would never bash anyone who loves the game (my favorite in the series is III, which is also something of an unpopular opinion), but I can't say I understand them
The best way I describe this game to people that want to check it out is that it’s not the best Suikoden game but still remains an excellent fairly fast paced JRPG on its own. I think it still should be checked out alongside all the numbered Suikoden titles. I know it’s a complaint from most people but it’s run time of 25-30 hours is actually a positive. Most PS2 JRPGs tend to drag their ass to the finish line or add in so much filler it’s not uncommon to lose focus of what you’re originally supposed to be doing. None of that is in this game. Also it’s way more fun and doable to get all 108 stars of destiny on the first run since the side quests add so much to this game like encountering Ted and his Soul Eater True Rune(fan favorite from Suikoden) and for most Suikoden fans that have never played it due to it’s reputation just drop your pride and scoop it up for $20. This isn’t a blow your mind story like 3 and 5 but there are so many references to the first 3 games and even stars from the first three games or characters clearly influenced. This game definitely hits more than it misses.
I may get the game anyway, this game from what you have told us reminds of skies of arcadia. And if you played that game before then I wish you talked about it in comparison to this game to get a batter idea of somethings.
I don't think this game is as bad as people say it is, but it falls a little flat as a Suikoden game. I still mostly enjoyed my time with it though, I could have been playing something much worse of course.
Good review. I am glad you were able to give the sort of analysis that this game so frequently is denied by people who give upon it too quickly. While not the best the series has to offer, it is a pretty good game with an interesting environment. And I love the ship base.
One of the complaints for this game I hear a lot is that you can only have 4 party members, but I think that it makes sense. Suikoden 4 is the first game in chronological order, so maybe in that point in time in the suikoden universe they didn't think of 6 member parties. Thats what I think. One reason I say this though might be because it is my favorite in the series.
Suikoden 4 was my introduction to the series too, and while i can see how grand and impressive 2 is, 4 is still my favourite in the series, followed by Tierkreis (the next one I played after 4) But i also dip everything in mayonnaise so im no stranger to controversy
Suikoden 4...could never get into it. It was so different from my beloved Suikodens 1-3. With only 4 party members and those shorts...just couldn't get over those shorts. I'd like to give it another try at some point though.
Suikoden 4 wasn't great, but I liked it a lot more than 3. The Punishment Rune was pretty much the Soul Eater all over again, but at least I didn't have to deal with the protagonists of 3 again. I know what they were trying to do with them, but I think the execution didn't exactly click with me. :P
I always thought Lazlo was creepy. I hated Snowe's character. But those are my biggest complaints. That mahjong game was something great though. I probably put as much time in that as the rest of the game!
Agree I've been trying to tell people three was the biggest let down in the series and I would rather have four party members then the buddy system that had in 3
@@crazycasey1ify615 Yep. The combat was worse in III, and it had terrible exploration. IV nailed what I like in JRPGs at least, if a little different for a Suikoden title. III just sucked.
@@antichoice1 and the third one is the main reason why the series went downhill The friendly fire was the most stupidest thing you can put in the game people call the fourth one the black sheep but honestly that that was way better than this one
I actually hated Suikoden 4 with a passion but I only played about 5 hours into it so maybe I didnt give it enough of a chance. I loved ps1 era RPGs so much that when ps2 era RPGs came out I barely gave any of them a chance. It seemed to me like they focused too much on trying to improve graphics and story/gameplay were second to that. When Suikoden 5 came out I did give it a fair chance and loved it.
So this is worse than 3? I played like 5 hours of 3 on psn and the frame rate was so atrocious and the game was kinda boring so I quit. Does that mean I should skip this too? Maybe I should try 3 on an emulator and see if I can get a slightly better frame rate. Psn has some horrible frame rate for ps2 games sometimes
Personally, and I think this is an uncommon sentiment, I enjoyed IV more than III. I think that if III focused more on Thomas, I would have preferred that instead, but as they are, IV is my preference. :)
Suikoden 4 is easier to get into than 3 simply because it returns to form in several ways. It plays more quickly than does 3. I enjoyed the third game but it took a while for me to get into it.
That's true, I hadn't even noticed it though until you mentioned it. I wonder if it's because of this entry's attempted shift toward realism maybe? Hmm..
@@SuperDerek I think it's because of the order you played them in. I feel like if I would've started with this one I'd like it a lot more. But after going through the first three it disappointed me a bit. It's not a bad game by any means though and I'll keep trying to push through it (I just started this one about a week ago after beating three)
I liked the game, but would rate this at the worst of the series. Some of the reasons are mentioned in the review, like crazy encounter rate, way too much time travelling between locations and a four member party. Also, I think the game was too short overall. I liked what they did with changing the environment to islands, but the execution could have been better.
I honestly don't get why people say this is the weakest woman in the series it would have to go to the third game a lot of expectations and it didn't live up to it which cause kind of the downfall of the series
As a kid I randomly convinced my dad on spot to buy me this game it ran about 50$. I played it and I was extremely let down by how bad it was and felt guilty about how i made my dad buy it for me... I think this might have been the worst game i've ever played lol.
Yeah, it's the low man on the list for me as well, but I still enjoyed playing it. I'm putting the random encounter rate, the four person team and the lame main character as the major flaws that gave it last place. I liked the ship combat more than the large scale combat from 3, but only by a small margin. I'd give the game a 6.5/10.
It's finally the Summer of Suikoden again! This summer, I'm covering Suikoden IV, Tactics, and V! Sorry for Tierkries fans, that's going to have to wait until I get a 3DS capture card. (Those things are crazy expensive!) Please remember the golden rule: Be excellent to one another and party on dudes! :)
I take it you're a fan of Bill and Ted? ;)
I think the music was alright, but the opening song was really good la Mer
I was very surprised to hear this was considered the weakest in the series. This is one of my favorite games of all time. I can’t count the amount of times I replayed this game as a kid.
Did you play the other suikoden games? Many people agree suikoden 4 is the weakest in the series, it's not bad but suikoden 4 failed the fans expectations. If only they combine suikoden 4 and suikoden tactics into 1 game it's would be a lot better game story wise.
hendri badaya I played 1-4
@@xero7087 try playing suikoden 5 it's the second best game in the series (1st is suikoden 2 imo). Suikoden 2 has the best story while suikoden 5 has the best gameplay.
@@hendribadaya8814 I like suikoden 1,2 and 5 the best, they’re all tied for me. I also played tierkreis for the ds, which actually was pretty decent considering there was no other suikodens to play anymore. I never played tactics but I really want to now that i enjoy tactical games now a lot more than I used to
Same here! I cried a little bit when my disc got scratched so bad it wasn't playable :(
Finally. A refreshing review of this game! THANK YOU.
Not gonna lie but the hate and gatekeeping for this game from the crazy fans is absolutely ridiculous sometimes. The game is decent but the fanbase is terribly toxic. After 15 years I still see old gamers who can't let go of the hate of this game lol
I'm one of those people lol. I think what makes people so angry about 4 is the damage it did to the brand and trust it lost from the fans.
It was the first one without the series creator who was also the writer of the first two games.
It changed so many core mechanics and failed in such a way that I think a lot of fans turned their back on 5, which is when the series needed support most.
5 sold very poorly and doomed any chance the series had at continuing. It's a shame because many people consider 5 the second best or even the best game in the series. There's no reason it should have sold as poorly as it did. It proved Konami could continue the series without the creator and was a great step in the right direction at recapturing the classic feel of the first two games. It would have been an amazing building block to build off of and go into the ps3 era with but that never came to be.
A lot of fans and myself included feel as if the damage 4 did to the series reputation indirectly or directly killed 5 before it even released and thus ended the series.
And it didn't have to be that way...4 was different just to be different...had they stuck closer to the formula like they proved they could with 5, we may still have suikoden today.
5 being good makes 4 the ultimate slap in the face...if the series ended with 4 it would have been an easier pill to swallow...you could always say "well the creator left Konami and they couldn't make a good suikoden..end of story."
But the fact 5 was as good as it was and we never got to build off that...its just not fair.
Suikoden was very unique for it's time and unlike final fantasy, all of it's games were connected some way, took place in the same world and had a very deep lore.its just unfortunate things had to end on the high note of 5 which couldn't even move as many units as 4...a very flawed game and the least liked in the series. Suikoden fans are so passionate...can you blame people for still harboring resentment towards 4 if they felt it was responsible for ending their beloved series
@@liquidmetalslime9 You know, don't blame Suikoden IV for V's shortcoming. Konami decided to release Suikoden V a few days before Kingdom Hearts 2 in the US. I blame the fanbase for being too conformist
@@Gaian0000 how was the fan base to conformist?
I'm not following. I don't think it's necessary fair to blame 4s failure on the fans, and not the fact it was Konami's first attempt to make a suikoden with the series creator/writer and it went horrible..due to myriad of issues and bad game design choices I listed above.
The fans didn't create a ridiculous encounter rate, clunky ship controls and place the game's setting in such a space to where you would spend the majority of your time navigating through said controls and encounter rate.
I don't understand how the fans were conformist about 4, please elaborate. I don't see how the fans can take the blame for 4 and ultimately the failure of the series
@@liquidmetalslime9 suikoden series is bound to die anyway unless konami actually does something.
Be grateful that the original developers are doing Eiyuden Chronicles in which it introduces both newcomers and old suikoden fans.
@@50kekk I'm more than grateful, I contributed to the Kickstarter
Walking around on the boat and seeing the various characters as part of the crew was my favorite thing about the game lol 😀👍
That run animation still cracks me up, another great review Derek
Suikoden 4 is charminig and Suikoden 3 is overrated.
@2:16, It wasnt skill and luck. (spoiler ahead)
Lazlo survived Brandeu's attack because his mother most likely intervened to save his life. Go back and rewatch cutscene. A green aura appears around Lazlo shielding him and saving his life. The same green aura appears around his mother at the end of the game. None of the other souls in the Rune had strange aura, but hers alone. Thus, she prob saved his life.
The luck I was alluding to was the appearance of reinforcements showing up. And not dying during the ship battle was a matter of skill, at least in the in-game world. :)
Awesome review. This was my first intro into the series as well. I love the game. Can't wait for your next review.
Shortly before the release of Suikoden 3
Yoshi Takimuriyama left Konami.
And his name was stricken from the game credits in accordance with company policy.
Working with Moriyama from the start though
Was Junko Kawano.
What is this random poetry?
Thank you for your opinion. It made me want to play Suikoden 4. I love playing old school jrpgs and have enough time and dedication to see them through.
P.s. starting to play the game right now
This brings back memories this game was my fav for ps2
Thank you for being fair and honest in your review of Suikoden IV without mindlessly ranting about how "awful" it supposedly is. It's very refreshing.
I'll concede it did have a lot of weakness, and it did need Suikoden Tactics to help it out, but the relentless hate it gets tends to be really over exaggerated. It's still a very solid game with a decent story, likeable characters, and probably one of the most interesting True Runes. (Little fun fact: The Rune of Punishment is the only True Rune of the series to have its own theme song, which is very hauntingly beautiful with its use of piano and violin. The full version is on the Suikoden Tactics OST.)
Razro (you call him Lazlo) is also my absolute favorite Tenkai of the series. Adorable, beautiful, strong, and very humble in personality, if a bit on the withdrawn side. My kind of character. :D
The Suikoden series as a whole is a fantastic story. I appreciate all the games because of that (even Suikoden V, which is my personal least favorite). ^^
I was introduced to the series with Suikoden 3. I've since played them all, but 3 will forever be my favourite with 4 and 5 tied for second. Great series. Miss it terribly.
don't miss out on the first two... the 2nd one is revered in the series for a reason. If you play the first one first, then move to the 2nd, it makes you appreciate the little things that they switch up on you from the first! gosh if I had the time.... I would!!!!
I've played them all now, even Tierkreis.
@@cmdrleonhart beaaaaautifulll I just need to do 3. The art style direction didn't intrigue me much.
This was also my first Suikoden game. Planning on downloading it from the Ps3 store soon.
XD the run animations. good job man, keep it up
I was really looking out for this! Great video, man!
Great review of Suikoden IV! You did a fantastic job examining why this game is often seen as the weakest in the series. The insights into the character development and storytelling were really interesting. Thanks for sharing this review!
Was it really a year ago???? WOW!
Your looks seem inspired by Lino En Kuldes
Man I love this game, and tactics even more. But lol most of the long time suikoden fans are hella toxic towards anyone that likes IV, just like long time final fantasy fans. I get that nostalgia is a major factor in enjoyment, but people shouldn't reject new ideas and hate on a game for doing things differently just because of that.
OK, but I hate on Suikoden 4 for having a simpler, more predictable plot than any other game in the series, terrible looking graphics, and maybe 4 characters out of a cast of 108 that I sort of liked. It brings nothing new or interesting to the franchise, and looking at the story after 2 and 3, it's a joke.
Todd Crabtree the plot was very similar to earlier suikoden games, the graphics were the best in the series at the time, liking characters is entirely subjective and a lot of them actually had quite some depth, especially if you played tactics, and it brings an original story to the franchise that expanded upon the world of suikoden just like every game before it did. Not only that, it was the only jrpg at the time, and probably still is, that emphasised the ocean theme with a very iconic atmosphere, similar to how wild arms did with the wild west theme. Also, I don't remember inviting people to hate on the game lol so move along
Sorry dude, this is the internet, and people can respond to stuff you say. When you start off with dumb shit like "people who hate on suiko 4 are toxic" you're just dismissing how bad the game is. Suiko 4's plot is basic as hell compared to 2 and 3, with no interesting villains, and the only character development all game is Snowe. The battle system is dumbed down compared to the rest of the franchise. There's less interesting world building in the game than there is in 1, and that game's pretty simple too. The graphics might be "best in the series at that time" if you mean on a technical level of having the most polygons or supporting 480p, but I would take 3's graphics over this easily. There are at least some maps on character faces to give them more than blank stares at all times. Plus, let's be real: Are you seriously going to say 4's graphics are better than 2's gorgeous sprite work and animations?
SuperDerek already talked in the video about how terrible the sailing part of the game is. And oh god, is it terrible. The inexplicable choice to have tank controls for the boats, have messy hit detection for docking in new areas, randomly getting turned around while sailing the overworld, the stupid high encounter rate... it all adds up to the worst sailing in any game. Who cares about the ocean theme when they make it so bad to experience?
They took a story that should have been cool, about pirates kicking out an evil invading force, and managed to make it dull, predictable, and stupid. They took a battle system that was unique and fun, and turned it into something you'd see out of a beginner RPG Maker game. About all they did right was the ship battles, and even those aren't good enought o carry the rest of this junk. Elenor Silverberg deserved a better game.
Suiko 1-3 we got 6 person party. Suiko 4 only got 4 person. Adding to the 108 characters player can recruit, imagine how much time for us to raise them into the party.
Todd Crabtree lol what's your loss anyway? Pointing out flaws in a game that someone else enjoyed. What's your purpose? "Its the internet" isn't an excuse for an individual to be a dick. And you're not gonna say anything about the game that I haven't already heard, so why bother? Imagine all the stuff you could be doing instead of spewing hate about a video game on the internet lol
My first suikoden game was for the DS Suikoden Tierkries. Maybe we will see it in the future on the channel.
This is my favorite one! I remember countless nights playing this over and over. And then I replayed to find out the island ending.
6:15 Yesssssssssssss
Behold true power!
Included that bit just for you! ;)
Playable cat-and-cat-adjacent-monsters are the singular connective thread throughout all JRPGs.
This was also my first introduction to suikoden and I loved the game lol.
not sure if you mentioned it but there is a sprint on the boat.
I own and have enjoyed all the suikoden games. I always liked III and IV equally as much. At the time, my only complaint was Suikoden IV had weaker art direction/character design, but the story and writing were solid. Suikoden V may be my favorite, simply because I loved the games art style, character designs, and battle system. Suikoden II and Tactics (I am a sucker for strategy rpgs) are tied for a close 2nd place. Great video! Keep it up!
Suikoden V the best, but i really hate that it doesn't have any map except at wod map. Which was sucks
This was my first Suikoden game also but I didn't even know that it was until a decade later. Suikoden IV was a demo at EB Games back in the day, and I didn't know what game it was.
I played Suikoden III and then Suikoden IV; and while I enjoyed III I loved the ship battles of IV, I can't tell you a bit of the plot though. I think it's time to play it again.
It was my introduction too, and the hidden combos were probably my favorite part of it (some hilarious)
The game isnt a "hidden gem", it isnt "underrated" it isnt "unfairly criticised"...I think this game is the standard 7/10 not bad not great, solid good imo, maybe a bit more on the good side due to having the Suikoden feeling to it.... Why didnt you mention "La Mer", the opening theme of the game....that song is incredibly beatiful.
7/10 implies above average.
4 is really the black sheep of the series. party reduced, the slow boat travel. besides 3 returning character feels separate from the rest of the series which is an issue both 4 and 5 share. really shows this was not maade by the same person that did 1,2, and 3.
@@megamike15 Boat can be sped up, its just that a lot of people didnt know that
I love your channel! Both light hearted and very informative, and damn, you are excellent at pronouncing Japanese names! Great job pro status^_^ 👏👍 I love how much I learn watching the videos to find out if a game I'm curious about would be worth bringing home to the retro collection 😀 I love collecting as much as actually playing! So many games, so little time... sigh.... such is life^_-
I haven't played this yet but I think this deserves a remake.
i feel it's the suikoden game thats easily skippable . it's so far in the timeline that it's barly connected to the rest of the games besides 1 character and a brief mention in 5.
Agreed. I'd love if Suikoden IV got another shot and was remade with the issues people had with it addressed. Like a Suikoden IV Definitive version.
Great review, Derek! I completely agree with your evaluations of Suikoden IV. It is a mediocre game but worthwhile playing for fans of the series, and by far not as bad as the distorted perception of the last ten years makes it out to be.
Also funny thing about this game is that it made a lot of critics go back and take a second look at Suikoden 3 again which helped create that specific title’s cult status since when it came out most people either loved it or hated it. Weird to think how much this helped out 3’s own reputation and got a lot of those critics to look past the Dreamcast graphics and traveling through same maps with different characters. 3 is my favorite and it’s what got me into Suikoden. It’s crazy how much you can benefit knowing the first two games and Suikogaiden games but you don’t even need to know any of those games and still consider Suikoden III a top 5 JRPG. It’s good for newcomers and it was basically a culmination of themes, ideas, characterss, and certain quests from the first two to wrap things up in a trilogy that spanned twenty years of history and continuity within its own game world. Also I know people love Luca Blight and consider him one of Suikodens best villains and I love him too but that type of villain had nothing on the main antagonist in III, the masked bishop, whom is a character that shows up in all three games as a star of destiny and has close ties to the game’s best lore and best mysteries. 3 might be perfect in my eyes as it is for newcomers and fanboys alike.
i actually love the suikoden 4.. the plot is believable and at that time.. pirate are the key... and.. keep up the good work derek...
and this is the first suikoden jane as playable,,, love the thunder rune,,,
Great Review. I always held off playing this game when I was younger because people told me it was not that good. I agree this game is no Suikoden 2 or 5 which depending on who you talk to is the best of the series. I’am glad however that I stopped listening to those people and gave this game a chance. I agree super super slow to start, but picks up well once you get going. I only have two downsides to this game. Only having four to a party and the enemy encounter rate which is through the roof high. Overall though i love this game and I’m glad I own it.
Suikoden 4 was such a weird but great game, I'd love a re-release on Switch or PC.
I remember when I spent my whole summer vacation in gambling games from suikoden IV...
Will the Suikoden games ever be uploaded to the Playstation 4?
Thanks for a great review. I love this game!
Very nice review. I remember playing this years and years back. I went from Suikoden II to Suikoden IV, skipping 1 and 3, and Suikoden IV's criticism is well deserved but it does have many moments that make it definitely a Suikoden game. The worst part is the slow build-up which makes re-plays of the game particularly grueling, but if I'm honest even Suikoden II had quite a trek to go on before the game really opened up, this is just par the course for the series. I found it a very fun game once you got to spend some time in it, my only negative aside from what was mentioned is many characters aren't that memorable as unlike Suikoden II, very few characters in IV stand out in my memory. I honestly can't even recall the main antagonist of the series.
This is a fun series. Suikoden 2 is still my favorite but 1 and 5 are great too. Honestly they are all good.
Eric Davies same
know where ican get the first one
@@sakimtornado Ebay. Usually around 25/30 complete
OMG, the protagonist looks like Coconut Head from Ned's Declassified School Survival Guide!
*Assassin's Creed designers room*
Designer one: "What should we do for our fourth game?"
Designer two: *glances at shelf of PS2 games* "Uh... Fourth entry uh... boats?"
Jokes aside,this was actually my first Suikoden, also! I had watched a friend play the first one when I was a kid, but this was the first one I actually played. I think it has the Final Fantasy VIII problem where it's a great game, but had the misfortune of being a great game in a series full of amazing games
Ok I’ll check it out, I always wanted to play the 3rd one but that one never came out in Australia.... even though the other ones did.
Suikoden 3 actually flopped, it sold so little that Konami decided to cancel the release for Europe and other countries to cut their losses....
I played it on an Emulator a couple of years ago and understood why they stopped the Europe release...
Anyienk9 ah ok didn’t realise.
3 suuucks
After FFX-X2HD, FFXIIHD, Grandia II, and .Hack, I'm hoping we see more PS2 era RPGs arive on PC.
One of my biggest problems with Suikoden IV, aside from things you mentioned like the ship travel and 4 party members, is that the game is actually really short. Like it takes you forever to get the ship, and then once you do get it you only have a handful of mandatory dungeons to go. To me, it's almost like they planned the length of the game with ocean travel in mind, but then (rightfully) gave you Viki "early" (relative to when you get your ship) so you don't have to ocean travel much.
I also just don't like the Rune of Punishment. While I guess subverting the notion that all the True Runes make you immortal is nice, I don't like the idea the story/gameplay disconnect that for story reasons, you should never, ever use it in battle.
I dunno. Suikoden IV isn't a bad game, it's just a mediocre at best Suikoden game. I would never bash anyone who loves the game (my favorite in the series is III, which is also something of an unpopular opinion), but I can't say I understand them
Is it coming to.ps4?.
The best way I describe this game to people that want to check it out is that it’s not the best Suikoden game but still remains an excellent fairly fast paced JRPG on its own. I think it still should be checked out alongside all the numbered Suikoden titles. I know it’s a complaint from most people but it’s run time of 25-30 hours is actually a positive. Most PS2 JRPGs tend to drag their ass to the finish line or add in so much filler it’s not uncommon to lose focus of what you’re originally supposed to be doing. None of that is in this game. Also it’s way more fun and doable to get all 108 stars of destiny on the first run since the side quests add so much to this game like encountering Ted and his Soul Eater True Rune(fan favorite from Suikoden) and for most Suikoden fans that have never played it due to it’s reputation just drop your pride and scoop it up for $20. This isn’t a blow your mind story like 3 and 5 but there are so many references to the first 3 games and even stars from the first three games or characters clearly influenced. This game definitely hits more than it misses.
Wait- is that Jean as a playable character???
I love Snowe's character as well. One day I'll be clenching my teeth on how he's being an idiot. Then the next I just wanna hug him :((
Are you doing Tierkries this year? Love that one it’s pretty underrated on the story
nice one Derek
to me this isn't the black sheep in the series, it's lll
I may get the game anyway, this game from what you have told us reminds of skies of arcadia. And if you played that game before then I wish you talked about it in comparison to this game to get a batter idea of somethings.
Oh yeah it is CHEESE, but that game is one of the few games I played that made moving in the overworld somewhat fun.
Still remember play this game when i was still secondary school.
I don't think this game is as bad as people say it is, but it falls a little flat as a Suikoden game. I still mostly enjoyed my time with it though, I could have been playing something much worse of course.
I totally forgot this game, but see this review makes me remind. I like this RPG.
Awesome review Derek.
I love your reviews!
Good review. I am glad you were able to give the sort of analysis that this game so frequently is denied by people who give upon it too quickly. While not the best the series has to offer, it is a pretty good game with an interesting environment. And I love the ship base.
S4 for some reaosn felt a bit of a slog, especially at the end. It was also very brown like, wheres the nice colors-
One of the complaints for this game I hear a lot is that you can only have 4 party members, but I think that it makes sense. Suikoden 4 is the first game in chronological order, so maybe in that point in time in the suikoden universe they didn't think of 6 member parties. Thats what I think. One reason I say this though might be because it is my favorite in the series.
It has nothing to do with that, lol
Suikoden 4 was my introduction to the series too, and while i can see how grand and impressive 2 is, 4 is still my favourite in the series, followed by Tierkreis (the next one I played after 4)
But i also dip everything in mayonnaise so im no stranger to controversy
4 is my favorite as well
Suikoden 4...could never get into it. It was so different from my beloved Suikodens 1-3. With only 4 party members and those shorts...just couldn't get over those shorts. I'd like to give it another try at some point though.
Definitely one of my fav childhood games, never finished it tho
I still got the physical copy
Cue Yakkety Sax over that run animation.
Suikoden 4 wasn't great, but I liked it a lot more than 3. The Punishment Rune was pretty much the Soul Eater all over again, but at least I didn't have to deal with the protagonists of 3 again. I know what they were trying to do with them, but I think the execution didn't exactly click with me. :P
Ooooo age of sail styled adventure. Now this is more interesting to me
Nice review good sir
Hmmm. Guess I'll have to pop that in one day and actually play it.
I love your game collection.
You must be a teacher cause I notice you do your reviews alot in summer time.
I always thought Lazlo was creepy. I hated Snowe's character. But those are my biggest complaints. That mahjong game was something great though. I probably put as much time in that as the rest of the game!
Oh ye gods the ocean... THE OCEAN!!!! It's not a bad game but it's definitely number 6 in my list of suikoden games.
Suikoden III was by far the weakest in the series. IV was a rebound to form.
Agree I've been trying to tell people three was the biggest let down in the series and I would rather have four party members then the buddy system that had in 3
@@crazycasey1ify615 Yep. The combat was worse in III, and it had terrible exploration. IV nailed what I like in JRPGs at least, if a little different for a Suikoden title. III just sucked.
@@antichoice1 and the third one is the main reason why the series went downhill The friendly fire was the most stupidest thing you can put in the game people call the fourth one the black sheep but honestly that that was way better than this one
@@crazycasey1ify615 You sir, are a true connoisseur of JRPGs.
A fair review. Well said.
I hope you like a game that you played 12 hours spread within the week!
Actually my current rate is about 25 hours each week of streaming! :)
I actually hated Suikoden 4 with a passion but I only played about 5 hours into it so maybe I didnt give it enough of a chance. I loved ps1 era RPGs so much that when ps2 era RPGs came out I barely gave any of them a chance. It seemed to me like they focused too much on trying to improve graphics and story/gameplay were second to that. When Suikoden 5 came out I did give it a fair chance and loved it.
So this is worse than 3? I played like 5 hours of 3 on psn and the frame rate was so atrocious and the game was kinda boring so I quit. Does that mean I should skip this too?
Maybe I should try 3 on an emulator and see if I can get a slightly better frame rate. Psn has some horrible frame rate for ps2 games sometimes
ArtifiShuL Instinct five is only one on ps2 that I could get into.
D3clin3 Gaming thanks! That’s good to know. I’ll have to get a copy of 5 somewhere.
Personally, and I think this is an uncommon sentiment, I enjoyed IV more than III. I think that if III focused more on Thomas, I would have preferred that instead, but as they are, IV is my preference. :)
SuperDerek RPGs thanks for the reply! It looks like I would enjoy 4 more than 3 too. I’ll be sure to at least check it out at some point.
Suikoden 4 is easier to get into than 3 simply because it returns to form in several ways. It plays more quickly than does 3. I enjoyed the third game but it took a while for me to get into it.
I was disappointed with how the rune spells looked in this game. They were so epic in the previous ones and then they were so dulled down in this one
That's true, I hadn't even noticed it though until you mentioned it. I wonder if it's because of this entry's attempted shift toward realism maybe? Hmm..
@@SuperDerek I think it's because of the order you played them in. I feel like if I would've started with this one I'd like it a lot more. But after going through the first three it disappointed me a bit. It's not a bad game by any means though and I'll keep trying to push through it (I just started this one about a week ago after beating three)
I liked the game, but would rate this at the worst of the series. Some of the reasons are mentioned in the review, like crazy encounter rate, way too much time travelling between locations and a four member party. Also, I think the game was too short overall.
I liked what they did with changing the environment to islands, but the execution could have been better.
Very informative
I honestly don't get why people say this is the weakest woman in the series it would have to go to the third game a lot of expectations and it didn't live up to it which cause kind of the downfall of the series
The only good thing about this game, is the character profiles and the major battles. In my opinion
As a kid I randomly convinced my dad on spot to buy me this game it ran about 50$. I played it and I was extremely let down by how bad it was and felt guilty about how i made my dad buy it for me... I think this might have been the worst game i've ever played lol.
Mebi time for shadow hearts🙃
Suikoden 4 sure looks nicer than 3 that's for sure
Love this game
Ooof, those are some goofy (main) character designs and animations.
Next season is ace the lad series lol
Better than 3 at least
One thing that blows my mind is, for the love of God, why are Kobolds CATS in this game?!? In every other Suikoden game, they look like DOGS!
i hate how they move in this game. is like dancing in water
Yeah, it's the low man on the list for me as well, but I still enjoyed playing it. I'm putting the random encounter rate, the four person team and the lame main character as the major flaws that gave it last place. I liked the ship combat more than the large scale combat from 3, but only by a small margin. I'd give the game a 6.5/10.
This game is so not worth such kindness
Suikoden 4 is a dumbdown generic rpg. Why did they remove the passive system from 3
Suikoden 4 isn't my favorite but the Sea Battle was my favorite
Oooooooooooo hamaon
It's better than Suikoden V.