The Suikoden series has almost been around for a decade now. Debuting in 1996, the original Suikoden was among titles on every gamers' wish list for role-playing games that year. The sequel followed and while it didn’t try anything new, it brought everything back from the original that everybody loved. It was then that the Suikoden series would fall from grace and hit the bottom of mediocrity hard. Suikoden III & Suikoden IV both were bland and lacked enough spice to keep players interested beyond the already installed fanbase. Now Konami is ready to expand the franchise into a whole new realm to hopefully get it back on track; the strategy role-playing genre.

Suikoden Tactics is set of course in Konami’s Suikoden universe before Suikoden IV ever takes place. You’ll play as Kyril, a young boy whose father is killed while under investigation of the rune cannons. The rune cannons turn men into beasts that become violent and ruthless so Kyril decides to go on his own quest to discover the truth behind the rune cannons. Midway through you’ll eventually cross routes with the story of Suikoden IV and even play after the events of Suikoden IV. The story is predictable and the only point of interest for me was the Suikoden IV backdrop that I encountered.

Not much else needs to be said about the storyline due to how cliché it becomes. If you have played Suikoden IV, grab your memory card and load up your game completion save to unlock a few extra characters right off the bat. To be exact, the game starts seven years before Suikoden IV and goes beyond the end of the fourth game. How interesting is that? Not much at all. Suikoden IV was full of flavorless storytelling and characters so Suikoden Tactics encounters equivalent problems.

Even further poorly represented are the cutscenes for Suikoden Tactics which makes use of the in-game engine. The in-game engine is the typical top-down look. Strategy RPGS tend to use the in-game engines more for cutscenes and focus on the gameplay as its best attribute. Suikoden Tactics does just that but at least they could have spiced up the character models and design a little. In short, the cutscenes are just dull due to I expect a lot out of my RPGS even if they are S-RPGS.

Like I mentioned, the gameplay has a little more depth to it than the run-of-the-mill storyline and lackluster in-game cutscenes. Based on a grid, you’ll be taking turns with the opposition, attacking each other in battles. The main attraction is being able to use the five main elements to your advantage. Each character has an element associated to them, and they provide much needed stat boosts when combating the enemies. The stat boosts come from being able to instill the elements with the terrain while you battle. Like every other RPG and adventure game, each element is weak to another particular element that rivals it. You can expect fire to be weak to water and water to be weak to lighting. Nothing out of the ordinary but it does increase the depth in the gameplay system.

Suikoden Tactics is a beginner’s introduction to Strategy RPGs. I say that because hardcore fans of the genre will find it redundant and novice. What I do like is that if one of your non-story characters (ones that are important of course) dies, they’ll be lost forever. This is reminiscent to the Fire Emblem series and is a pain to see one of your favorite characters die. Only way to attain those characters again is to pull the plug on the current game and start over from the save point. You’ll find a wide range of characters to recruit to your team but nothing near to what I expect from a Suikoden title. Suikoden IV had 108 (109 I believe if you found a secret character) characters and Suikoden Tactics doesn’t even come close to that. Each character does fall into basic categories to split them up and allow a little diversity. You’ll find fighters, healers, magicians, and archers to your disposal. Only a few characters are unlockable through side quests so just focus on the main quest and you’ll end up with the majority of them being unlocked easily.

In terms of customization, not much is provided to give you the feeling you are actually controlling them. You’ll be able to give them specific items and magic runes but that is it. The items you can equip them with include gloves, armor, helmets and the usual body equipment/accessories. Runes allow you the ability to conjure up elemental magic or give you stat upgrades. Runes also have you capable of pulling off special moves to finish off some opponents or damage them heavily.

Leveling up abilities is basic and simple. After each completed battle, you can jump into the skills list to increase their stats that will help you out in the following battle. There are skills to better your critical hit percentage, the accuracy of hits, and even being able to allow you to move twice per turn. Only being granted to equip a couple skills limits the profoundness of this battle system.

Similar to Suikoden IV, there are cooperative attacks. The cooperative attacks deliver a lot of damage and I recommend using them as often as you can. While in battle, you’ll want to use the talk command with the specific character several times. After chatting with them a few times, the cooperative attack will become available. The only thing left to do is get in the right formation and execute.

If you know your RPGS and especially your Eastern RPGS, then you have come to expect less than pleasant voice acting. The voice acting is choppy and always suspect of embroiling accents. It feels forced and has you wanting more by the game’s end. I never encountered a moment where it felt authentic and encouraged me to play more.

Suikoden Tactics isn’t essentially bad but it isn’t quite good either. Falls along the lines of average and stumbles to entertain past the die-hard Suikoden fans. This shouldn’t be your first Suikoden game I urge you to play. The jury is still out on the upcoming Suikoden V but as of right now, Suikoden Tactics is a title you must avoid unless you are a fan of the franchise or need a new Strategy RPG to play.

Gameplay: 7.5
Being able to manipulate the terrain is fun but not enough to compare to the likes of Disgaea or Final Fantasy Tactics. Suikoden Tactics is nice for beginners who have never played a single game in this genre.

Graphics: 6.4
Nothing beautiful but it does the job. Next time around, I am hoping for better character designs that could also use …. (continued to the sound section)

Sound: 6.1
... Better voice acting! Suikoden Tactics is just like every other Japanese RPG as of late. Horrible voice acting is a trait that is common in this genre.

Difficulty: Easy
This is clearly for beginners in the genre. It’s easy to pick up and play once you get the hang of it. To learn the controls, it should only take about 30 minutes to figure out.

Concept: 7.0
I like that they at least tried something different with the series. Strategy RPGs are among my favorite games and I get the most out of them compared to the traditional RPGS since there’s tons of replay value offered in one game.

Overall: 6.6
You’ll easily drag yourself to play this twice to make sure you beat the entire game and completed everything. Whether you enjoy it both times is a whole different question. If you are a fan of Suikoden, you’ll love it.