Suikoden: Tierkreis – NDS – Review

Konami’s well-known RPG series,
Suikoden, is ready to bust out and make a name for itself on the Nintendo
DS in the form of Suikoden Tierkreis. Having a strong cult following,
Suikoden players salivate for their chance to recruit a huge cast of 108
extraordinary characters. Created as a spin-off to the central series, players
must stop The One King, the villain who is the leader of a religious sect of
sorts who is out for world domination. So does this handheld rendition of the
popular RPG series set the standards or does it simply straggle behind?

First off, the
core idea of collecting 108 stars (a.k.a. characters) is found in Suikoden
Tierkreis as it is in any other Suikoden title. This has been – and
always will be – one of the main attractions to playing Konami’s beloved
role-playing game. With the same anime look and feel from previous iterations,
fans will find themselves at home when they play through the title. Sadly, one
of the typical Japanese role-playing-games clichés shows up in the form of
horrible written dialogue for the characters – you’ll be laughing hard at how
hilarious the speeches are. It tries to be witty, but there’s no real direction
outside of silly banter between the characters.

If you have played
Squaresoft’s RPG masterpiece, Final Fantasy Tactics, and enjoyed the
mysteries, backstabbing and involving storyline, then you should find several
moments from Suikoden Tierkreis that are enjoyable. There are a handful
of factions battling for or against you, so half the fun is trying to figure out
who’s who and what their goals are. While it isn’t 100 percent original, the
storyline does its job in keeping players involved and entertained.

In similar fashion
to Final Fantasy Tactics, Suikoden Tierkreis employs a turn-based
battle system. Unfortunately, it’s not as well-versed as FFT or many
other turn-based titles as the fights aren’t too complicated or difficult. The
strategy of the enemies often results in them rushing you with their speed and
attacking you with strong force. There are a few attributes to factor in such as
blindness and other status effects, but Suikoden Tierkreis won’t have
players stumped in figuring out methods of their attacks and how to overcome the
odds. The last portion of the gameplay that needs mentioning is that players can
take advantage of combo attacks when certain members are in your party, but they
aren’t in-depth to the extent that RPG fanatics will find pleasing. Outside of
that, you’ll simply be looking at special abilities, weapons, and certain
elemental attributes to balance out your parties before battles.

The length of
Suikoden Tierkreis isn’t extravagantly long, but players should find a good
length in this handheld RPG. More often than not, the missions are brisk.
Players will be searching for all 108 stars and going on sieges to occupy most
of their time. Not all of the 108 stars will join with a certain degree of
difficulty as they’ll join without much fuss or requirements.

On the Nintendo
DS, Suikoden Tierkreis is a beautiful title that stands out among the
best handheld RPGs. The backgrounds are prerendered and the lighting that has
been incorporated is stunning, so be prepared to be impressed from beginning
till the end. The title has colorful environments and vivid details added in
create one of the best looking handheld titles of 2009. Furthermore, the
animated cut-scenes are well done and helps put the title over the top in the
graphical department.

Suikoden Tierkreis is an
effective handheld RPG that should hold a player’s attention for a few weeks’
worth of time. The music is superb for a handheld title, the graphics are spot
on, and the gameplay is simply amusing from beginning till end. Sure, the
voice-acting isn’t top-notch – and who would ever expect a RPG to have great
voice acting – and the gameplay could’ve used another layer of depth, but
Suikoden Tierkreis is a brilliant title.

Gameplay: 8.0
Suikoden Tierkreis may
have needed another layer of depth of battle tactics, but players should find
what’s presented to be acceptable.

Graphics: 8.8
The animated cut-scenes help
give the story a real sense of progression and purpose.

Sound: 7.5
While the music is almost
perfect, the voice-acting fails to keep up the pace.

Difficulty: Easy

Concept: 7.8
It’s nowhere near innovative or
original, but Konami has put together a great package

Multiplayer: 6.5
Trading characters via Nintendo
Wi-Fi, players can put together better parties for missions. But there’s one big
hang-up, you have to unlock Nintendo Wi-Fi by finding a special character to
give you access.

Overall: 7.9
If you haven’t had your RPG
kicks for the Nintendo DS in 2009, then it is best you pick up Suikoden
Tierkreis to feed your cravings. Collecting your 108 stars for your parties
is still as pleasurable as ever. With close to 35 hours of gameplay, players
will have a tremendous amount of replay value to hold them over at least for a
month.