My head's spinning
After a hundred-and-fourty-two hours ...
I finished Suikoden V.
And while I'm going to talk about everything in a non-spoilery fashion in the usual review at some point, I feel as though I kind of need to talk about the ending in spoilery, gory detail first.
I feel mildly conflicted.
On one hand, I think Suikoden V suffered a bit from Your Princess is in Another Castle-itis. I know it's a common thing in video games - IT IS THE FINAL BOSS. BUT WAIT, IT ISN'T ACTUALLY IT'S THIS OTHER THING THAT LOOKS LIKE A GIANT FLOATING CABINET OF DEATH - OR IS IT?! God forbid you actually fight, you know, a person and certainly not the character you've thought you'd been pursuing throughout the entire game in any form. But I actually think the Suikoden series has sort of fluctuated on that sort of thing. Sure, in Suikoden III you fought ... some kind of freakyass rune bird thing that was Luc or was summoned by Luc, but he was the enemy from the beginning, more or less. Ditto Suikoden IV, kind of, and the ... uh ... dog ... tree ... thing that Graham Cray turned into. Or something. I'm kind of fuzzy on the ending of Suikoden IV, being it was Suikoden IV. And in the first game, you had General Barbarosa in the form of a giant ass golden dragon with multiple heads. So it's not that the final boss in Suikoden V is some kind of weird floating stylized sun thing with two ethereal bird/slug companions (that actually looked rather cool). It's that the final battle wasn't against Gizel Godwin. The Prince's duel with Gizel was a logical ending to the game's plot, an emotionally effective one. That you beat Gizel's ass to the ground, are reunited with Lymsleia, and are even able to take control of the Sun Palace again, with pretty much all of Falena delighted with this turn of events and happy to see you, and then have to go and do /more/ ... it doesn't quite work. It's like you've already achieved victory in every sense of the word. The last dungeon and the final battle actually seem a bit redundant.
In a way, it's like it took the way the ending of Suikoden II worked and then got it all in the wrong order. You fought against Luca Blight's giantass monster form, the rebels won, and the final duel against Jowy after victory was technically grasped was not only optional but a different kind of conclusion. The duel with Jowy didn't make the fight with Luca Blight seem any less necessary or redundant. While the combination of dueling Gizel and then fighting his father made it seem like Konami really wanted to make Gizel a sympathetic character, but also couldn't let him live because of his marriage to Lym. It's like they wrote themselves into a corner and the simplest way to resolve things was to knock Gizel off and make the real big bad someone else.
But I think the only reason that particular problem feels like such a huge problem is that Suikoden V was such a superb game up to that point. I think, if they had orchestrated a more effective ending, Suikoden V would have easily taken the title for best Suikoden game from II. As it is, I think they're probably of equal value.
Beyond my feelings that something just felt off with the ending as was, I'm pretty sure Suikoden V has had me crying more than anything else, ever. I cried when I realized Arshtat and Ferid were /both/ dead, then again when we had watch their death scene. I cried when I had to fight /Miakis/ and when Sialeeds betrayed us. And then when we fought Sialeeds the final time. I got sniffly talking to all my characters the Night Before the Final Battle that Wasn't. And finally, I bawled like a baby during the post-battle movie when Ferid and Arshtat showed up. God. I think it may be the sort of thing where your mileage will vary, but for me? It was kind of breathtakingly sad and wonderful all at once. I don't think I realized until that moment how much, in the course of the intro, I'd come to /like/ Ferid and Arshtat as characters. Even knowing that, as RPG parents, DOOM hung over their heads in giant letters from pretty much minute one. (The fact that Sialeeds, Gizel, Lord Godwin, Alenia, and Zahak all showed up as well was oddly soothing, too. Sort of a final punctuation on the fact that /everyone/ involved in this mess of a war really did have what they believed were the best and even selfless - note lack of Salum Barows - intentions. Suikoden's always been about shades of grey, when it's at it's best, but I don't think any game prior to this has managed to make that idea so all-encompassing. Luca Blight sure as hell didn't have noble intentions.) It was just ... perfectly put together. Completely without dialogue, too, and damn, I don't know how they managed it, but the Prince's silence never seemed so unquestioningly right. After the first couple hours, the fact that he never spoke, even in fulled voice-acted scenes, stopped bothering me, and after a point I barely even noticed it. Here, it just ... added to the sadness.
Graphically, I know Suikoden V doesn't look half as glossy and vomitingly perfect as, say, Final Fantasy X, but the Prince running after the image of Lyon only to stumble and fall flat on his face? One of the most heartbreaking things I've ever seen.
The Lyon thing may be part of the reason the game's ending may vary for some people. I know that some really didn't like Lyon. As for myself, I mostly found that their choice of voice was just a little too precious and childlike. I'm not sure how I feel, within the context of Suikoden as a series, about the silent hero having such an obvious and overwhelming emotional/romantic relationship with another character, when things have usually been kept so ambiguous or nonexistant. But as far as things go, with regard to these characters in this game? It works. The thought that after all that Lyon might /still/ die nearly broke my heart and the ending, with the Prince as the Commander of the Queen's Knights (with cut hair!) and Lyon with him, so obviously /together/ just ... it was perfect.
Hell, even the individual star endings were perfect. Some had me actually laughing with delight and pleasure at the screen as I read them, even the ones for characters I hadn't made much use of. I laughed when Chuck's ending informed us that he was the best damn storage guard in the Sun Palace. I was so pleased when I found out Lun got to be a dragon knight, that Roy went on to become an /actor/, and Faylon and Faylen still following after him. Bernadette, returning to her father and his /mind games/. Killey getting hauled back to prison after being involved in a riot! That both Kyle and Galleon retired from the Queen's Knights provoked a kind of bittersweet smile from me (did Kyle and Sialeeds /actually/ have a relationship of the sort the bits near the end implied?). I want to know who Haswar married! I even smiled at the thought of the window-obsessed dwarf Zunda taking over control of the dwarves. I want to see Toma grow up into a Queen's Knight. I want to know if Ernst and Norma ever find a way to rid him of his curse (but this is Suikoden). The thought that Sagiri might finally get beyond her horrible past ... All the endings /work/ - this is, of course, after Suikoden IV, where, I swear, every other ending seemed to be 'And they disappeared, never to be heard from again' - and actually have me wondering about the futures of a lot of the characters, which isn't actually that common for me and Suikoden.
/God/, that was a good game.
That I'm going to play this again, probably several times, to get even the bad endings, should be very, very obvious.
... Apparently, my mother has decided I need a laptop. Any recommendations?
Life may actually be good,
Almighty Ingrid, Signing Off
I finished Suikoden V.
And while I'm going to talk about everything in a non-spoilery fashion in the usual review at some point, I feel as though I kind of need to talk about the ending in spoilery, gory detail first.
I feel mildly conflicted.
On one hand, I think Suikoden V suffered a bit from Your Princess is in Another Castle-itis. I know it's a common thing in video games - IT IS THE FINAL BOSS. BUT WAIT, IT ISN'T ACTUALLY IT'S THIS OTHER THING THAT LOOKS LIKE A GIANT FLOATING CABINET OF DEATH - OR IS IT?! God forbid you actually fight, you know, a person and certainly not the character you've thought you'd been pursuing throughout the entire game in any form. But I actually think the Suikoden series has sort of fluctuated on that sort of thing. Sure, in Suikoden III you fought ... some kind of freakyass rune bird thing that was Luc or was summoned by Luc, but he was the enemy from the beginning, more or less. Ditto Suikoden IV, kind of, and the ... uh ... dog ... tree ... thing that Graham Cray turned into. Or something. I'm kind of fuzzy on the ending of Suikoden IV, being it was Suikoden IV. And in the first game, you had General Barbarosa in the form of a giant ass golden dragon with multiple heads. So it's not that the final boss in Suikoden V is some kind of weird floating stylized sun thing with two ethereal bird/slug companions (that actually looked rather cool). It's that the final battle wasn't against Gizel Godwin. The Prince's duel with Gizel was a logical ending to the game's plot, an emotionally effective one. That you beat Gizel's ass to the ground, are reunited with Lymsleia, and are even able to take control of the Sun Palace again, with pretty much all of Falena delighted with this turn of events and happy to see you, and then have to go and do /more/ ... it doesn't quite work. It's like you've already achieved victory in every sense of the word. The last dungeon and the final battle actually seem a bit redundant.
In a way, it's like it took the way the ending of Suikoden II worked and then got it all in the wrong order. You fought against Luca Blight's giantass monster form, the rebels won, and the final duel against Jowy after victory was technically grasped was not only optional but a different kind of conclusion. The duel with Jowy didn't make the fight with Luca Blight seem any less necessary or redundant. While the combination of dueling Gizel and then fighting his father made it seem like Konami really wanted to make Gizel a sympathetic character, but also couldn't let him live because of his marriage to Lym. It's like they wrote themselves into a corner and the simplest way to resolve things was to knock Gizel off and make the real big bad someone else.
But I think the only reason that particular problem feels like such a huge problem is that Suikoden V was such a superb game up to that point. I think, if they had orchestrated a more effective ending, Suikoden V would have easily taken the title for best Suikoden game from II. As it is, I think they're probably of equal value.
Beyond my feelings that something just felt off with the ending as was, I'm pretty sure Suikoden V has had me crying more than anything else, ever. I cried when I realized Arshtat and Ferid were /both/ dead, then again when we had watch their death scene. I cried when I had to fight /Miakis/ and when Sialeeds betrayed us. And then when we fought Sialeeds the final time. I got sniffly talking to all my characters the Night Before the Final Battle that Wasn't. And finally, I bawled like a baby during the post-battle movie when Ferid and Arshtat showed up. God. I think it may be the sort of thing where your mileage will vary, but for me? It was kind of breathtakingly sad and wonderful all at once. I don't think I realized until that moment how much, in the course of the intro, I'd come to /like/ Ferid and Arshtat as characters. Even knowing that, as RPG parents, DOOM hung over their heads in giant letters from pretty much minute one. (The fact that Sialeeds, Gizel, Lord Godwin, Alenia, and Zahak all showed up as well was oddly soothing, too. Sort of a final punctuation on the fact that /everyone/ involved in this mess of a war really did have what they believed were the best and even selfless - note lack of Salum Barows - intentions. Suikoden's always been about shades of grey, when it's at it's best, but I don't think any game prior to this has managed to make that idea so all-encompassing. Luca Blight sure as hell didn't have noble intentions.) It was just ... perfectly put together. Completely without dialogue, too, and damn, I don't know how they managed it, but the Prince's silence never seemed so unquestioningly right. After the first couple hours, the fact that he never spoke, even in fulled voice-acted scenes, stopped bothering me, and after a point I barely even noticed it. Here, it just ... added to the sadness.
Graphically, I know Suikoden V doesn't look half as glossy and vomitingly perfect as, say, Final Fantasy X, but the Prince running after the image of Lyon only to stumble and fall flat on his face? One of the most heartbreaking things I've ever seen.
The Lyon thing may be part of the reason the game's ending may vary for some people. I know that some really didn't like Lyon. As for myself, I mostly found that their choice of voice was just a little too precious and childlike. I'm not sure how I feel, within the context of Suikoden as a series, about the silent hero having such an obvious and overwhelming emotional/romantic relationship with another character, when things have usually been kept so ambiguous or nonexistant. But as far as things go, with regard to these characters in this game? It works. The thought that after all that Lyon might /still/ die nearly broke my heart and the ending, with the Prince as the Commander of the Queen's Knights (with cut hair!) and Lyon with him, so obviously /together/ just ... it was perfect.
Hell, even the individual star endings were perfect. Some had me actually laughing with delight and pleasure at the screen as I read them, even the ones for characters I hadn't made much use of. I laughed when Chuck's ending informed us that he was the best damn storage guard in the Sun Palace. I was so pleased when I found out Lun got to be a dragon knight, that Roy went on to become an /actor/, and Faylon and Faylen still following after him. Bernadette, returning to her father and his /mind games/. Killey getting hauled back to prison after being involved in a riot! That both Kyle and Galleon retired from the Queen's Knights provoked a kind of bittersweet smile from me (did Kyle and Sialeeds /actually/ have a relationship of the sort the bits near the end implied?). I want to know who Haswar married! I even smiled at the thought of the window-obsessed dwarf Zunda taking over control of the dwarves. I want to see Toma grow up into a Queen's Knight. I want to know if Ernst and Norma ever find a way to rid him of his curse (but this is Suikoden). The thought that Sagiri might finally get beyond her horrible past ... All the endings /work/ - this is, of course, after Suikoden IV, where, I swear, every other ending seemed to be 'And they disappeared, never to be heard from again' - and actually have me wondering about the futures of a lot of the characters, which isn't actually that common for me and Suikoden.
/God/, that was a good game.
That I'm going to play this again, probably several times, to get even the bad endings, should be very, very obvious.
... Apparently, my mother has decided I need a laptop. Any recommendations?
Life may actually be good,
Almighty Ingrid, Signing Off