GameCheats&space Movie

Is there something wrong with console RPGS today? Is the genre going stale? Is it dying? If you're inclined to agree with any of these statements, Suikoden V's numerous charms are probably not going to sway you. If your answer is "Not necessarily," "Hell no!" or "RPG reviewers like you are a dying genre, jerk!" (in which case, please calm down and read the next sentence) this could be your next big game. It may not cater to the tastes of every finicky fanboy, but Suikoden V is a fine example of what console RPGs have been doing right all these years. Suikoden V has a robust, well-done plot that doesn't telegraph every twist or conform to embarrassing clichés. It has what's arguably one of the most attractive groups of core character designs to come along in a while, and a thoughtful translation delivered by confident voice actors. It keeps you involved in every major decision, lets you recruit your own army one member at a time, and has you command that army in strategic battles. Great stuff, but the game is less than ambitious when it comes to reinventing the aging RPG wheel, and whether or not you'll mind them, you'll feel a few bumps. The game seems to have both old school virtues and old school vices. Before we get into that though, the game has to be commended for its strong aesthetic. The world has an unassuming style but is loaded with small touches. An expansive overworld map and zoomed out view towns give the game a solid sense of scale, but can still be easily explored. Areas contain numerous implied nooks, and crannies are mixed in with a few genuine secrets you can actually explore. The game mercifully relieves you of having to press a button to search every dresser, mantle, and barrel by putting important items in treasure chests often found by wandering off the beaten path. Towns each have their own unique architecture and character, and you're able to feel like a tourist visiting a series of new locations without getting lost in empty, uninteresting spaces. After all, there's a whole world out there.
Thumbs up here; the feeling of visiting exotic locations in strange lands is a great fit for an RPG. One small caveat is that even if you know where you are, you won't necessarily know where you need to go. As the prince of a land called Falena (you name him yourself), you can always talk to your bodyguard Lyon to get a general suggestion on what you should be doing, but you will have instances of where-the-hell-do-I-go-now syndrome. In many annoying cases, the characters know exactly where they're going but you don't, leaving you to wander around like an idiot hoping to come across the right doorway to trigger the next bit of plot. In one of these instances a soon-to-be-enemy joins your group to show you around his castle. The game shows this by having the character walk directly into the prince, whose personal space functions as some kind of weird nexus shared with the other five people who aren't his bodyguard (she's visibly walking behind you). If you've played a lot of RPGs, you probably won't blink an eye, but this strange abstraction hardly seems necessary. Plus, if the guy who just merged bodies with you would just inhabit his own physical space, he could lead you to points of interest around the castle.