Suikoden 2

Genre: JRPG, RPG
Release Date: December 17th 1998

Platforms: PS1, Mobile, Android, Iphone
Score: 9/10
Similar Titles: Final Fantasy, Kessen
Worth Playing: By now (2016), Suikoden II is an epic classic that should be played by every connoisseur of retro RPG titles. It holds up well to the test of time, being one of the best Suikoden games to date.

The cover, trying to display as many of the characters as possible.

If you're wondering why I'm reviewing Suikoden II before I, it's because I think the first game was a little unpolished and annoying to play at times. Suikoden 2 however, has everything that its predecessor doesn't, and is wonderful all the way through.

The main character and his partner in crime, Jowy.

Suikoden II review

Suikoden II is not the type of game that can fully captivate your attention in today's age, however if you can get it running on your smartphone it's definitely worth giving it a try. It's better than your typical RPG, but I would highly recommend having a way to speed up the game to skip through some of the grindy bits.

You might not have played this retro PSX game, possibly because it was overshadowed by the popularity of Final Fantasy at the time. Your best chance to play it at minimum expense is to emulate it, since copies are getting expensive these days. What you will find in this game is an excellent 2D adventure/RPG, with an immersive and engaging storyline, standard random battles, and army battles in which you use the characters you have collected to lead troops into battle.

Random battles are frequent but fast.

Following the great events in the first game (nothing special, you don't really miss out on anything), the young protagonist sets out with the army to fight for his home town with his best friend, Jowy. After a while you somehow procure a castle and empire, and fight to take control of the world. What's incredible is the huge host of over 100 characters to recruit to your cause, who will turn up in your castle, sometimes providing minigames and bonus stuff and interacting with each other. Twists in the plotline might throw you a little off balance, but there isn't much that hasn't already been done.

Some spells can do a ridiculous amount of damage.

Combat is very well designed, random battles are fast with short loading times, allowing fast players to power through the fights without getting bored. Bosses can really screw your plans if you aren't prepared, and can be intimidating to beat on your first playthrough. For those of you accustomed to the westernized JRPG, you will be surprised to see that up to 6 party members can be used in fights. While this seems like it could get annoyingly complicated, I assure you that is not the case. There are also spell combos that certain characters can use together, some of which can really put the smackdown on your enemies.

After a selecting actions in combat won't require thinking.

Military warfare on the game is more like a minigame than anything else, but it's interesting to use your vast array of characters to line up the next war in your favor. Overall, the game is essentially Suikoden I with a fresh plotline and fully polished for those of us who aren't Japanese.

A military skirmish.

This game is a must for any JRPG connoisseur, anyone else shouldn't go out of their way to find it.