First Impressions: PSOne Classic Suikoden on PS Vita

As of late I have been looking at my PS Vita through nostalgia goggles–taking advantage of the Vita’s portability and emulation for some of the biggest PSOne Classics available on the system.

Suikoden, developed by Konami, was originally launched in 1995 on the PlayStation, during what was the pinnacle of the Japanese developer. Konami was already well-known for its masterpiece JRPGs and it wasn’t stopping there.

Upon my first hour of playing Suikoden, I was greeted with a very rich story, a story of corruption, revolution and friendship. You start in a small, yet wealthy town known as Gregminster–which features the headquarters of the shady Imperial Army. Ironically, you play as the son of Teo McDohl, who is one of five Great Generals in the Imperial Army. After a series of events, you experience the true corruption that seems to empower the surrounding lands and discover you are destined to lead the revolution and restore the long-lost peace.

Now that quick summary of the story is over, let’s push on to the gameplay; Suikoden uses turn-based combat, as with other JRPGs, you control each member of your party and each member contributes to the party in their own way. For example, one member will be highly effective at healing other party members.

I did find that the turn-based combat could be somewhat tedious when facing enemies that don’t require much thought, luckily there is an option to have all party members attack instead of individually choosing the attack option.
Although this is just me nitpicking, I feel I must mention these two negatives:

  • Menus can often feel unresponsive during combat.
  • A guide will sometimes be needed as you’ll find yourself often forgetting where you must go next if you haven’t played in a few days or so.

Aside from those small nitpicks, Suikoden is a solid JRPG and the portability of the Vita allows comfy playthroughs around the house. If you love the original Final Fantasy games, Suikoden is worth a try.

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